I need information on treatments for chronic pain patients. For the past seven years, my disabled brother-in-law suffers from a continuous headache. Tests and medications have been taken without diagnosis and relief. Is there a brain pacemaker?

Q. I need information on treatments for chronic pain patients. For the past seven years, my disabled brother-in-law suffers from a continuous headache. Tests and medications have been taken without diagnosis and relief. Is there a brain pacemaker?

A.First, find the cause of the pain. Your brother-in-law appears to have a large work-up, and the doctors can't find a cause. In a sense, that is good, because many causes of a chronic headache are serious problems. Your brother-in-law probably does not have a brain tumor. Second, treat the pain. There are several types of chronic pain. The approach for a chronic pain patient depends on the type of pain. For a chronic headache with a negative work-up, the pain is often treated with migraine or pain medicine. I assume your brother-in-law has tried both. Given his negative work-up and poor response to medications, your brother-in-law has two other options. One is to seek out a pain clinic. These clinics are designed to help chronic pain people while performing tricks to treat the pain; other times, they help the person to live with the pain. Alternatively, your brother can seek counseling. Counseling does not have to mean the person is crazy or the pain is in his/her head, but for helping he/she cope with the frustrating, chronic pain.