text: if you suffer from chronic and severe back pain, how do you cope? i hate taking pain pills, but it seems to be the only way for any blunting of the symptoms.  the pain is so bad, i even wake up at night.    this has been going on for several years now, and yes i have seen doctors, who only tell me that surgery will not help and only give me meds.  so, if you suffer from never ending back pain, how do you cope? a tens unit has done wonders for me. it can be worn for up to 10-12 hours a day. you can't use it for sleep though. i would highly recommend one.