“I’d rather sit with a Doctor who says “I don’t know what’s going on” than not to believe me and say that I was trying to avoid work or I was making it up.”

In this episode of The Conditions for Recovery Podcast globally recognised patient advocate and educator Virginia McIntyre shares her story of being dismissed with accusations of over reaction and just not wanting to work to an “awesome life” full of purpose, participation and community.

Virginia was a high functioning, career focussed Super Mum who ran marathons and had an active social life until a workplace injury and subsequent surgery led to years of chronic pain which stopped her in her tracks.

She endured many disappointing, dismissive interactions with healthcare professionals who wouldn't listen to what she was saying about her pain and trust her story.

She began to see positive improvement once she started to work with people who specialised in persistent pain.

She is now President and Executive Director of the People In Pain Network, Chair of the Canadian Pain Society People with Lived Experience Committee, Co-host of The Action on Pain Podcast and member of the Pain Canada National Advisory Committee. She’s also enjoying being a grandmother and back to running just not quite as far.

Her journey with pain is one which many will relate to and her insights into how she has been able to rebuild her life are invaluable.

In this episode:

• Your Pain is Real: The power of being genuinely believed by healthcare
• Losing Trust in Healthcare Professionals: Being trapped in the wilderness of dismissal
• Improving Early Access to Specialist Services: Before people spiral into loss of hope, identity, and relationships
• The Need for Better Pain Education for Healthcare Professionals
• The Role of Purpose and Participation in Recovery
• The Benefit of Community Support: Often dismissed as sh*t life syndrome competitions but can be the missing piece
• Recognising your Agency in your Own Health Journey: When there is no simple, medical solution, then what?
• Drowning Out the Noise of Unhelpful Communities: Not all support groups are created equal
• Being Open to Opportunities: Trying something that might be helpful does not commit you for life
• Individualised Care: Pain is complex and individual and the approaches we take need to mirror that
• Rebuilding Identity and Self Worth After a Chronic Pain Diagnosis

Connect with Virginia:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-mcintyre-8867a247/

Action On Pain Podcast available on all major platforms

People In Pain Network: www.pipain.com

Connect with the Show:

Links: www.paincoaching.co.uk/links

Follow: @SpecialistPainPhysio

BOOK YOUR FREE 30-MIN CONSULTATION WITH GEORGE: https://www.paincoaching.co.uk/consultation

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult your qualified healthcare professional or personal clinician before making any decisions about your medication, treatment or approach to your health.

“You can’t focus exclusively on one part of your body or mind and neglect the rest.”

In this episode of The Conditions for Recovery Podcast Carolyn Sullins, PhD shares her journey from decades of medical gaslighting and misdiagnosis to feeling back in control of her symptoms and her life.

Carolyn now has a diagnosis of Functional Neurological Disorder but it took a long time to reach that outcome. Along the way she faced a huge amount of dismissal, stigma and self doubt.

Carolyn brings her expertise as a researcher to the table to help to increase understanding and support for others living with FND.

Even though Carolyn does not live with persistent pain her insights and experiences will be recognisable to many people with long term conditions and I know that this episode will be exceptionally valuable to many more people than just those with FND.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Carolyn’s long journey to an FND diagnosis: The stigma and self doubt that came with being misunderstood.
• Why symptoms can be real, life altering and vary significantly without showing up on standard scans or tests.
• How collaborative, individualised physical rehabilitation helped Carolyn regain confidence and function.
• Why Stress, Trauma and Mental Health Matter: Without being used to dismiss someone’s physical experience.
• The Need to Move Beyond One Size Fits All Healthcare: Listening to people as whole individuals.

Connect with Carolyn:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-sullins-phd-3b89582a/

Substack: https://drsullins.substack.com/

Connect with the Show:

Links: www.paincoaching.co.uk/links

Follow: @SpecialistPainPhysio

Other resources:

Neuro Symptoms: https://neurosymptoms.org/en/

FND Hope: https://fndhope.org/

BOOK YOUR FREE 30-MIN CONSULTATION WITH GEORGE: https://www.paincoaching.co.uk/consultation

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult your qualified healthcare professional or personal clinician before making any decisions about your medication, treatment or approach to your health.

“My pain was never there to be seen but it was always there to be heard.”

In this episode of The Conditions for Recovery Podcast Lee Vaughan shares his journey from 28 pills a day to being a leading voice in the patient advocacy world.

Lee suffered for 30 years with pain eventually leading to the point that he became a person he didn’t recognise. He was trapped by healthcare in the "learn to live with it mindset" but couldn’t accept the inadequate feeling “is this really as good as it gets?”

He attended a Pain Management Programme which completely changed his approach and eventually his life and now he is involved in multiple roles and projects to improve pain care.

Hearing Lee speak at a conference in 2024 was a key inspiration for starting this podcast so I’m hugely pleased to have been able to talk with him.

If you have ever felt sceptical about the pain management approaches you are being offered, victimised by the language that healthcare professionals use or that your identity is slipping away from you due to your symptoms then this conversation is for you.

We touch on issues with the expectation management model of pain care, why discovering your own agency is always more impactful than being instructed and the transformative role of gathering credible evidence that your symptoms aren’t your whole experience of life.

In This Episode we discuss:

• How Language Shapes Beliefs in Persistent Pain: Words can heal but words can also harm
• Paying Attention to the Whispers Before They Become the Screams: How noticing cues earlier can transform your experience of pain by reducing the intense highs and lows
• Agency is More Powerful than Empowerment: Why active ownership rather than passive reliance on the expertise of healthcare professionals is an important step towards recovery
• Recovery is Always Individual: Recovery is not a single technique or a strategy. It requires an approach that responds to the person’s story
• Finding Your Tribe: How well ran peer support groups are a life saver and how sh*t life syndrome competitions do the opposite

Connect with Lee:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-vaughan-ba696a29a/

Partnering Pain: https://www.partneringpain.co.uk/

Connect with the Show:

Links: www.paincoaching.co.uk/links

Follow: @SpecialistPainPhysio

BOOK YOUR FREE 30-MIN CONSULTATION WITH GEORGE: https://www.paincoaching.co.uk/consultation

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult your qualified healthcare professional or personal clinician before making any decisions about your medication, treatment or approach to your health.