For those who wish to follow the state of current research into chronic pain, the following article from Time Magazine seems particularly lucid: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2053382_2053379,00.html?iid=moreontime.
One of the statistics quoted in this article may also be of some help in dealing with family members who have difficulty believing that the pain is real and NOT just all in your head: over 70 million Americans now deal with some form of severe chronic pain. These include patients with arthritis, diabetes, fibromyalgia, TMJ Disorder, neuropathies, surgically induced pain syndromes, and many other legitimate medical diagnoses.
Regards all,
Red