Support Group Meetings

There is no December meeting with Christmas falling around the normal date so the next meeting will be in the new year on January 27, 2009 from 1 to 3 pm. The North Shore Support group wishes all it's members and their families very warm wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

November, 2008 Support Group Meeting

About the November 25, 2008 Support Group Meeting

We had a very good meeting this month. We talked about the issues of chronic pain that we all have to learn to live with. Some of the most difficult issues that we all have to face are the following
1. ANGER
2. DEPRESSION
3. SELF ESTEEM
4. ALTERED ROLES
5. SUICIDE
6.DEPENDENCY
7. ISOLATION
8. FINANCES

All of these issues are very important to talk about together and to discuss the ways we can work out good ideas to deal with the problems.

Heather Divine

Our support group meetings etween these problems and many other arewill alternate bewtween

November 8, 2008 Meeting

The Forum hosted by the North Shore Support Group in coordination with The National Pain Awareness Week was a great success. We had a good attendance and e very nice lunch provided by Merk Frosst.

The information presented by Heather Divine, President of the Chronic Pain Association of Canada, about CHRONIC PAIN - THE DISEASE was very valuable and understanding that chronic pain becomes the disease and not the symptom was made very clear. We learned and understood how important it is to focus a program to educate the practicing physicians and all the health care providers in training to understand the newest evidence about chronic non cancer pain and apply the knowledge to help chronic pain sufferers to better manage their pain.

It was also good to have info from Ashram Mustapha, Public Health Manager for Merk Frosst Canada, about shingles and the new vaccine that will be available to the public in the late spring of 2009. Shingles is a terribly painful condition that can leave many people with terrible pain after a shingles outbreak. Any body who has been exposed to chicken pox is at risk for shingles and post herpatic neuralgia( a very painful complication of shingles.)

The day long forum was great and we all look forward to next year with more guest speakers and info about chronic non cancer pain.

Keep an eye out for info about our next support group meeting.
Heather,
President of the Chronic Pain Association of Canada

We also learned very interesting information about a therapy for helping chronic pain sufferers that originated many, many years ago in Australia. This technique is based on the theory of acupuncture and accupressure points and applied to a touch technique.

Most importantly we leaerned that we need to support each other in the daily struggle of living with chronic pain

National Pain Awareness Week Forum

On November 8, 2008, the North Shore Support Group is planning a day of chronic pain awareness. We will be in the basement of the Mollie Nye House from 11 am until 3 pm. There will be several quest speakers, experts in chronic pain, sharing their knowledge and expertise. As we confirm the speakers the program details will be published.
Registration will be required and the day will cost $10.00 per person.
Coffee and a light lunch will be provided.
To register,or for more information, email Heather heather.divine@chronicpaincanada.com

Fibromyalgia information meeting

Hi every one.

We had Dr. Jan Venter, a physician who has specialized in the treatment of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue come to our meeting on July 21, 2008.

It was a very informative presentation and Dr. Venter explained his approach to the treatment of this disabling condition. If you want to see some of the information he presented, you can access his web site at drventer.com. there is another web site that has a great deal of information and it is www.fm-cfs.ca.

Our meetings will continue each month on the 4th Tuesday. The next dates are:

1.August 26, and the topic will be, How pain affects our nervous system, and how the "messaging system goes wrong".

2. September 23,2008

3. October 28,2008

4. November 25, 2008

See you all at the meetings.

Heather

Hi every one.
We have had a few great meetings the last few months.
The meetings are going to be the 4th Tuesday of each month, from 1 to 3 pm, EXCEPT for the July meeting. It is moved to the Monday before, July 21 from 1 to 3 pm in the dining room at the Mollie Nye House. . We are changing this one meeting because Dr. Venter, a fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue specialist is coming to speak to the group. He is a new, young doctor who has specialized in this area.
Please join us for this meeting and any other that you can.
August meeting will focus on new information about chronic pain and how it affects out body, and how to take your pain story to your doctor.
See you all at the meetings
Heather

Support Groups Meetings

We have have 2 very successful meetings in May and April. The next meeting is on June 24, 2008 at the Mollie Nye House, located at 940 Lynn Valley Road.The meetings are usually the 4th Tuesday of each month in the dining room of the Mollie Nye House from 1 to 3 pm. Join us for coffee and share hints and ideas about living with chronic pain and how we can alter our body, mind and environment to make living with chronic pain manageable.
for additional information email Marilyn at mb250011@yahoo.ca or check our blog site here at nvancpsg.blogsite.com

Dates for Support Goup Meetings

We have been able to book meetings for the next 3 months. All the meetings are on Tuesday afternoons from 1 pm to 2.30 pm in the dining room at the Mollie Nye House. The address is 940 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver.

Meeting Dates:
1. March 25
2. April 29
3. May 20

Everyone is welcome to join us for coffee and share some information and help each other deal with the struggle of managing chronic pain.

If you have any questions you can email me at Heather.divine@chronicpaincanada.com
or call me at 604-929-0286

See you soon,

Heather

ps if anybody wants to bring a few goodies feel free.

Support group meeting

There was enough interest at the organizational meeting on February 24 to go ahead and start a chronic pain support group for the north shore. We hope to use Mollie Nye House and I will let every one know the time and place as soon as I can confirm all the details. Any one else who is interested just e mail me at heather.divine@chronicpaincanada.com and leave your name and email address and phone number.

See you soon.

Heather

A SUPPORT GROUP ON THE NORTH SHORE

WHY:

We need a support group because it is a very difficult job living with chronic pain. Pain is a very solitary experience that has many myths, misunderstandings and misconceptions associated with it. No one else can feel our pain, and pain is a unique emotional and physical experience. There are no tests or x-rays that can show pain, so pain is what the person says it is. That is a very new concept for many health care providers to grasp and many pain sufferers teach pain facts to their doctors.

Because pain affects every part of our lives and our families’ lives, it is very important to have a support system. Pain can be overwhelming. We all need to have a plan ready to use when the times occur that we are pushed past our limits. Often chronic pain sufferers think of suicide as a way to end the suffering. It is not that they want to die; it is just that there is a need for relief from the pain.

HOW:

We can form a group that meets regularly, in a comfortable and safe environment. It is very comforting to know that we are not alone with the daily hardships of living with chronic pain. There are ways to change our body, mind and environment to make chronic pain manageable.

OBJECTIVES:

We can meet together and decide what the most important issues are and arrange to have experts come and speak. We can benefit from the comfort and strength that comes with sharing with each other and the realization that we are not alone with the struggle. It is a good place for friendships to develop.

WHERE:

Mollie Nye House

940 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver.

Map http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&country=CA&popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&phone=&level=&addtohistory=&cat=&address=940+Lynn+Valley+Road%2C&city=North+Vancouver&state=bc&zipcode=

WHEN:

Sunday February 24, 2008

2.30 to 4.30 pm

REGISTRATION AND QUESTIONS:

Please send your registration for this meeting Feb. 24 and any questions via email to heather.divine@chronicpaincanada.com

AGENDA FOR FEBRUARY 24, 2008:

1. Introductions: We will introduce ourselves.
2. Goals of a support group:
3. How will we achieve the goals:
4. What are the next steps: