The Way Out: The Revolutionary, Scientifically-Based Protocol to Stop Chronic Pain Paperback – February 6, 2020

I have suffered from hormonal migraines for 4.5 years. I started having debilitating migraines about 4-5 days per month in 2019, so I sought medical attention. Over the next several years, I went through MRI’s and blood tests, was prescribed a couple different anti-depressants, Sumatriptan, Frovatriptan, a couple different anti-seizure medications, birth control, monthly emgality injections, nurtec every other day, and I even tried Botox for migraine once - they inject you all over your scalp and into your shoulders and neck.. super fun. For a year I did testosterone pellets that are placed inside an incision every 3 months. In addition to all the trial and error of pharmaceuticals, I was taking 600-1600mg ibuprofen daily, along with 50mg caffeine pills every two hours.I tried acupuncture, massage, and a chiropractor. I stopped eating sweets and drinking coffee, and no more occasional alcoholic drinks. I kept a pain and medication journal. I logged every single pill I took. I wore ice hats nearly every day. I tried barometric pressure ear plugs, the Cefaly device, and the ear Zok.Needless to say, my pain was so overwhelming and intrusive that I would literally try anything to get my life back. The interesting thing was this - the more I tried, the worse I got. The more doctors I saw, the worse I got. The more medication I tried, the worse I got. I went from 5 horrible days per month, to 25+ horrible days per month. There wasn’t a single day that I didn’t have to take medication. I just accepted it as an escalating health problem that desperately needed a solution.I felt really hopeful this time last year when I FINALLY got approved to try Botox for migraine. The doctors kept telling me it was the holy grail of migraine management. I had to jump through many hoops and try many medications before insurance would finally approve... In the end, it didn’t work for me. It made me worse, just like everything else. And our insurance was a joke, so everything was costing us a fortune. I was overwhelmed and defeated.In February 2023, I had upper abdominal pain. It became bad enough that I sought medical attention. We assumed it was an ulcer from all the medication. The thought of a hole in my stomach was serious enough to force me to quit all the medicine. I HAD to quit. It was TERRIFYING to quit. How could I possibly do this??I stumbled across this book quite by accident. I normally would have thought it was not worth my time and there was no way it could help me, but I was compelled to buy it. I bought it right before the abdominal pain started, not even knowing I would desperately need it right when it was delivered.I used this incredible book about neuroplastic pain and “Pain Reprocessing Therapy” to get me through the detox. It changed the way I looked at my pain. It taught me that fearing my pain and my corresponding hyper vigilance was creating an unending cycle of intense, REAL PAIN that my brain was accustomed to producing. I was spiraling exactly the way the book described. Our brains are powerful! We believe whatever we constantly consume or constantly tell ourselves. We believe what the doctors and experts tell us. We believe the severity of their tone, and the severity of the diagnosis. We believe that medication is the only solution. We believe our fears. And our belief has power. This book helped me to rewire my brain. It gave me simple tools to get me through the difficult process of stopping medication, which had been exacerbating my pain for years. Migraineurs know about the slippery slope of medication overuse… it’s a nearly impossible tightrope walk.I now have about 4-5 migraine days per month (back to where I started) and for the most part they are manageable with a 50mg Sumatriptan. That was never the case before. I don’t take any other pain medication, other than ibuprofen very occasionally. That is a MIRACLE!!! PTL!!I can’t stress enough how incredible and ground-breaking this book is - it’s so insightful, very easy to read, and would help so many people living with chronic pain. Medication isn’t always the answer! It can definitely help, but not always. In my case, almost all of it was extremely detrimental. Be cautious.I also want to note that I started taking a DAO supplement, which has also been so helpful. I encourage all migraineurs to research histamines and their role in migraines.I hope and pray that my review encourages you to buy this book. If you don’t suffer from chronic pain, I promise that someone you know DOES. PLEASE let them know about this book.

I first learned about Alan Gordon's system through a television news broadcast, then an JAMA Psychiatry paper published in 2022. This prompted me to buy his book, The Way Out, to see if applying his Pain Reprocessing Therapy could help me with some post surgical pain that I'd been dealing with for months, with limited success. By the time I'd completed the book, and applying the advice therein as I went along, the pain I'd been dealing with had been dramatically reduced.Given that success, I applied RPT to pain I'd had following a joint replacement more that 10 years ago (the replacement was successful but going outside the reduced range of motion that had developed prior to the replacement had always caused pain. Using RPT I was able to restore a pain free range of motion that was equivalent what it was prior to the joint pain that led to the joint replacement. An amazing result.Oftentimes experts who have developed a treatment approach have trouble fully explaining it in a way that a layperson can understand and apply. Gordon's book is a welcome exception to that. His book not only explains RPT in a way that makes the basis and principles clear, but he includes just the right number of real world examples to make the implementation of his method understandable and prepare those who are applying the method to deal with common challenges successfully (e.g., bouts of regression at certain points).Many books on new methods are too general to be of real use to readers. Others drone on well past what is needed to covey the method. Gordon's book strikes the perfect balance between these extremes. It is long enough to convey the principles and means of applying the PRT method, while at the same time not being unduly repetitive, or convolutive. Consequently, The Way Out is a truly extraordinary achievement that will change the lives of countless readers. It deserves great success. My deepest thanks to the author!

I've just finished reading this enlightening, helpful & revolutionary book on chronic pain re "healing yourself." And I can honestly say: I'm beginning to see & feel a difference when applying these steps.I'm thrilled beyond words, as I've suffered 12 years with debilitating chronic pain. I wouldn't have believed everything it said, but it made so much sense I had to give some techniques a try. Plus, their techniques are backed up by specialists all over the world, as well as folks like me. I'm now convinced I'll be totally healed IF I do everything it suggests, but it takes time. It won't happen overnight, but I know healing is on the way! The ball is now in my court, and I finally have have the tools to knock it outta the park.

I'm a psychotherapist and I admit that I did not want to take an expensive course on pain re-processing therapy. This is a very readable book full of stories of people healing their chronic pain. It took me a bit to sift out from all the success stories the author's 5 step protocol for addressing chronic pain: (1) knowing the neuroscience of pain, (2) creating corrective exposure experiences, (3) using avoidance behaviors, (4) minimizing setbacks, and (5) understanding the healing process. These steps seem entirely doable and gave me a promising method I could use with my clients. HOWEVER, the section on "catching your fears" seemed far too optimistic as I know how difficult it can be to change entrenched thinking habits and core beliefs. This caused me to wonder if the whole approach might be as easy and effective as described in the book. Yet, the explanations of when to use "corrective exposure experiences," "avoidances behaviors," and the description of the healing process is very sound and can be applied to other disorders in addition to chronic pain.

A great follow up to Dr John Sarno’s work. Sarno gives you the reasons why, and Alan Gordon gives you, “The Way Out”.

I've suffered with lower back pain for two and a half years. After x-rays showed there was nothing structural wrong with my lower spine, I saw a physiotherapist, then a massage therapist, then an Alexander Technique teacher. I followed Stu McGill's Big Three exercise program religiously. Nothing helped.Six weeks ago I began reading this book and implementing some of the suggestions the author makes. They aren't difficult or too time-consuming . I must say that I did so pretty much out of desperation, with no real optimism that this would be any more successful than anything else I've tried. Thankfully, I was wrong! My pain has decreased by over 50 percent in this six week period. It's a gradual but steady process, but I feel increasingly confident that I will eventually be completely pain free. I just continue to do the work and, as the author says, 'Trust the process.'It wasn't easy to convince myself of the validity of the neuroplastic pain theory. I have read John Sarno's book on back pain and found it no help at all, but this book has a more nuanced and sophisticated approach than that book. Through practice and experience I am happy and amazed to find the neuroplastic theory to be true!I highly recommend anyone suffering chronic pain to give this book a try. You really can gain liberation from your pain.

Oh my where do I start? First of all, every chronic pain sufferer needs this book. Sure I’m glad my doctor prescribed my pain pills, but I really wish he would have explained the “how” and “why” of things. He directed me to a pain management place, but it had a year and a half wait, which means I would have STILL been waiting.The author of this book suffered with excruciating chronic back pain, so he knows what it’s like. The most hopeful part is, that your brain learns the pain via neuroplasticity, and neuroplasticity is “The Way Out.” To me, that’s more hope than any doctor gave me! I really thought I’d be living with this awful thing for the rest of my life.He also explains what to do when there’s a setback, or when you’re finally pain free, and say, possibly you have a relapse in a couple years—and potential reasons why this happens. But he also tells you what to do to help prevent them!I’ll keep this book forever and give it to any sufferer. I am applying everything he says and already feel much more hopeful about my recovery! 😊❤️❤️❤️

Bible for chronic pain... Must have

Mi è stato consigliato dal mio fisioterapista, a seguito di una lunga serie di trattamenti per un dolore cronico alla schiena. Il libro è in inglese, ma con l'aiuto del traduttore si comprende senza troppa fatica. Se mi ha risolto il problema? Si e no, nel senso che offre sicuramente un punto di vista alternativo e interessante al trattamento del dolore cronico, fornendo anche una strategia per eliminarlo. Sicuramente, dopo anni di sofferenza, è quello che di più si è avvicinato alla soluzione

Für mich das wichtigste Buch, was ich in den letzten 12 Monaten gelesen hab. Es ist sehr unterhaltsam und interessant geschrieben. Zuerst gibt es einen kurzen Überblick zur wissenschaftlichen Lage von chronischen Schmerzen (und anderen Erkrankungen) und wie sehr das Gehirn diese beeinflusst. Der Schmerz ist immer echt aber er entsteht auch immer im Gehirn- egal ob er von einer Verletzung kommt oder nicht.Der Rest des Buches gibt einem die Tools, den Schmerz wieder in den Griff zu bekommen. Z.B. wird somatic tracking erklärt, mit dem man quasi das Gehirn umtrainiert weniger Schmerzen zu empfinden. Klingt unglaublich, ist aber sehr beeindruckend wissenschaftlich belegt (Boulder Study von 2022).Ich leide seit mehr als 7 Jahren an Rückenschmerzen, war teilweise nicht mehr dazu in der Lage zu gehen und lag zwei mal deswegen im Krankenhaus. Physiotherapie, Osteopathie, Medikamente (inkl. Morphium!)- nichts hatte geholfen, die Schmerzen kamen immer wieder. Diagnostiziert wurde ein 1,4cm großer Bandscheibenvorfall, der aber erstaunlicherweise laut Ärzten nicht für die Symptome verantwortlich sein konnte.Um es kurz zu fassen- vor ein paar Wochen war ich noch im Krankenhaus und jetzt bin ich zu 99% schmerzfrei. Ab und zu spüre ich noch etwas Spannung im Rücken aber durch die Tools, die im Buch erklärt werden, habe ich endlich das Gefühl es im Griff zu bekommen.Unterstütztend kann ich jedem noch die App Curable ans Herz legen, die die Autoren dieses Buches unterstützt haben!Für alle die verzweifelt auf der Suche nach Hilfe bei chronischen Schmerzen sind, oder die auch immer wieder Probleme “durch” einen Bandscheibenvorfall haben- es gibt Hilfe und Hoffnung!