Your pain medication stopped working, and nobody has a next step
The pills that used to take the edge off don't anymore. The dose went up, the pain stayed, and the last appointment ended with some version of "we've tried everything." You are not out of options. You are out of the options that only point at tissue.
What this usually looks like
People find this page at a specific moment. It tends to be one of these.
- The dose went up and the pain didn't go down. What worked for a year works for an afternoon now, and you can feel where this is heading.
- The scan came back clean, and it still hurts. Nothing to operate on, nothing to inject, and a doctor who means well and has nothing left to offer.
- The pain clinic has a waitlist measured in months. And you are supposed to just wait.
- You were told to learn to live with it. You heard it as "we're done here." You are not done.
Why the pills stop
Pain that has lasted months or years is no longer a simple alarm about damage. It has become a pattern your nervous system runs, and it runs it well. Medication mostly works on the signal from the tissue. When the tissue is no longer the main thing producing the pain, there is less for the medication to act on, and the body gets used to what it is given. With some long-term medications the nervous system can also become more sensitive over time, which is something your prescriber can talk you through. None of this means the pain is imaginary. It means the pain is real, it hurts, and a good part of it is now learned, which is exactly the part hypnosis works with.
What hypnosis does alongside your medication
Hypnosis for pain is not relaxation and it is not pretending. It works on how your brain builds the pain signal: how loud it is, how much of your attention it takes, how much your body braces against it. Systematic reviews find a moderate reduction in pain intensity and pain interference for long-standing musculoskeletal and nerve pain, with the clearest results when the work runs eight sessions or more. That is the arc I plan for.
In sessions we find the parts of the pain that move: the bracing, the dread of the next flare, the sleep that never comes, the attention the pain takes all day. Every session ends with a recording made for your body, in your words, that you use between sessions. Most people notice the volume change before the pain disappears, and for a lot of them that is the first thing that has changed in years.
If you are not ready for individual sessions, there is also a weekly online group session.
Do not change your medication because of this page
Stopping or cutting a pain medication on your own can be dangerous, and with some drugs it is a medical emergency. Every medication decision stays with your prescriber. Hypnosis sits alongside your medical care. It is not a replacement for it, and I will never suggest it is. If your pain is new or changing, have it assessed first. I work with pain that has been looked at, not instead of a doctor looking at it.
What people notice
- The pain takes less of the day, even when the number on the scale has not moved yet
- Sleeping through more of the night
- Less bracing, which physical therapists tend to notice before anyone else
- Some people, in conversation with their physician, end up needing less medication. That is their doctor's decision and never mine.
Start here
Send a request and I reply within one to two business days with your paperwork and a booking link. Sessions are $250 for 60 minutes, online, worldwide.
Request an appointment (opens the secure SimplePractice appointment request form in a new tab)
Questions about pain medication stopped working
Can I use this to get off my pain medication?
That is a conversation for you and your prescriber, and I will say so every time it comes up. Some clients do reduce medication over time with their doctor's guidance, and hypnosis can make that easier to tolerate. Never do it on your own, and never because of something you read on a website, including this one.
I'm on opioids. Does hypnosis still work?
It can. Hypnosis is used alongside opioid medication in hospital settings. The only practical requirement is that you are alert enough to follow a voice and answer questions, so tell me what you take and when, and we will pick a session time that works with it.
My doctor implied it is all in my head.
It is not. Pain is made in the nervous system, which is also where every other real sensation is made. A pain that no longer matches a scan is still a pain, and the fact that it is partly learned is good news, because learned patterns can be worked with. That is the whole premise of this work.
How many sessions will this take?
The research points to eight or more sessions for lasting change with long-standing pain, and that is what I plan for. You pay one session at a time, and we review as we go. Some people get what they need sooner. I will tell you honestly if I think this is not working for you.
What if nothing helps?
Nobody honest can promise you a result, and I won't. What I can tell you is that this is one of the better-evidenced non-drug approaches to persistent pain, that it has no pharmacological side effects, and that it does not interfere with anything else you are doing. If after a few sessions nothing is moving, I will say so and help you think about what else might.
Ready to try a different approach to your pain?
Send a request and tell me what you are dealing with. I reply within one to two business days with your intake paperwork and a secure link to pay and pick your time. No payment is taken at the request stage.
Requests go to a secure, HIPAA-compliant SimplePractice form — no payment is taken there. Sessions are held online by video, worldwide.