Sam's story

As a chronic migraine sufferer I’ve lived with pain since I was a small child. With the help of sub-occipital electrodes and an implanted pulse generator (IPG implant) I can now manage my daily pain and rely less on heavy medications.

Before that though, I not only had to fight the regular horrendous pain but also the feeling that I was a terrible wife, a failure as a mother and a worthless person because some days I gave up; the pain was too great. It is very humiliating being an unproductive member of the community.

Migraines can come at the worst possible times. One of these was when my husband, Kieran, won gold in the 1500m freestyle at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics against the odds. All I can remember thinking is “Oh God, my head is going to explode” and I was about to vomit on national television.

Three years ago, our 11-year-old son, Harry, was also diagnosed with migraine. There is nothing more gut-wrenching than watching your child in severe pain. I am determined that my son will not face the same battle I’ve experienced to get adequate and helpful pain treatment.

So I urge the Australian Government to stop ignoring persistent pain, not just for the terrible toll pain has on sufferers but also for the economic cost of $34 billion a year. We need more pain clinics and better education among doctors and other health professionals on how to recognise and treat persistent pain.”

Waiting lists for the few pain clinics that do exist nationwide are so long that many GPs have given up recommending these to their patients who need immediate care for often crippling physical and mental pain symptoms. There is simply no place to go for many persistent pain sufferers and the repercussions are often felt by the patient’s whole family. It's very easy for the physical pain to worsen and for a patients’ mental state to decline, with depression a very likely result for every day access to specialist care is denied.

Sadly, it’s been my experience throughout my life to be sent from hospital to hospital because the overworked emergency department doctors have neither the expertise nor the time to treat a patient with a complex pain condition like me. Many doctors have never even heard of an IPG - the life changing device similar to a pacemaker that was implanted into my body three years ago to help with my daily battle against pain. This is never a good start.

Persistent pain sufferers also have to fight frequent prejudice within the medical system, stemming from a lack of knowledge by many doctors and other medical staff of pain conditions and the revolutionary treatments readily available in other countries. Most patients like me can accept their pain but not a doctor who refuses to treat persistent symptoms.

The government must direct more funds towards medical training and the development of specialised clinics if the five million Australians who suffer persistent pain ever have a hope at leading normal, productive lives.

Persistent pain has crippled me many times throughout my life. If not for the ground-breaking work and bedside compassion of Professor Michael Cousins and his team at RNSH I might not be here today. It makes me very sad to think that other Australians will continue to suffer because they have no access to pain treatment. The government can no longer ignore such a vital medical issue, after all lives are at stake.”