Hypnosis for refractory severe neuropathic pain: A case study.

We present the case of a 67-year-old male with severe diabetic neuropathy refractory to first, second, and third-line treatments. His disabling pain precipitated premature retirement, contributing to severe depression with suicidality requiring hospitalization. Ultimately, he experienced relief through an integrative health regimen, and he identified hypnosis as the most effective therapy for his pain. Through individual and group sessions, recordings, and daily self-hypnosis, he improved both his chronic pain symptomatology and quality of life, simultaneously decreasing opioid use. Simulation modeling analysis of his pain ratings over time showed that they reliably decreased after engaging in hypnosis, r = -.33, p =.001. A growing body of research suggests that hypnosis is beneficial as part of an integrative treatment approach to chronic pain and enhances the efficacy of other therapies. Our medically challenging case study supports that hypnosis may serve as a viable and durable treatment for chronic neuropathic pain. PMID: 32744484 [PubMed - in process]
Source: The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis - Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Clin Hypn Source Type: research