For 78-year-old Madeleine Brown, living with pain has been part of everyday life for more than 25 years.

Madeleine has lived with sciatica for over two decades, which has become increasingly difficult to manage, as well as suffering with ongoing pelvic pain following the removal of pelvic mesh two years ago. It is her back and sciatica that cause her the most difficulty.

“The pain has been terrible every day. You just live with it 24/7. You can’t get away from it because you won’t live your life if you don’t take painkillers,” Madeleine said.

After her doctor recommended Derby County Community Trust’s Pain Management Programme, Madeleine decided to give it a try. She joined around six weeks ago and has since been encouraged to look at some of the different factors that can affect how she manages her pain.

She said: “Well, I’ve learnt quite a lot, although I know quite a lot. It’s sort of made me look into things more, like what I eat, how I pace myself, sleeping and all the rest of it.”

The programme has given Madeleine the opportunity to think about how different parts of her lifestyle can affect her day-to-day life, with sleep becoming one of the biggest areas of focus.

“Sleep has been a big thing for me, because I seem to be getting worse with my sleep because of the pain. Even though I take painkillers, it’s still hard to sleep. It’s difficult getting round that,” Madeleine said.

She has also been looking more closely at her diet and the impact her everyday habits can have. Madeline explained: “I’ve been looking at my diet more, I probably eat more junk food than I should. I’ve got to think about how those factors affect me.”

Another important part of the programme has been learning to pace herself. Madeleine enjoys walking but has had to recognise when she is doing more than her body can manage.

“I will just carry on and do what I can, but obviously I can’t think I’m superwoman when it comes to doing the mileage on my walking. I’ve got to cut down on my walking as I can’t do it,” she said.

For Madeleine, learning to manage her pain is not about stopping completely. It is about understanding her own limits and continuing to do what she can: “But you have to have a positive attitude and try and do what you can, what your body will let you,” she said.

After six weeks on the programme, Madeleine says it has given her more discipline to think about the different factors that can influence her pain, while also helping her learn along the way.

She explained: “It does make you look at things when you read things that you do know, things that you don’t know, because I’m well up on a lot of things anyway but I have learnt a few things along the way. It’s also given me a bit more discipline to look at things.”

The Pain Management Programme supports people living with persistent pain to explore different ways of managing it and improving their day-to-day wellbeing.

Find out more about the Pain Management Programme and how to access support here.