House tried everything to keep the pain abbey, and not only in season 6 Actually, he tried a few things, but he certainly didn't try everything. In Detox, after he admits his addiction, Wilson points out that there are other therapies, that Cuddy would give him time off to go someplace, and House outright rejects it because he sees Vicodin as being the best solution for him. He admitted that he never finished the therapy program immediately after the infarction because he thought the whole issue to "visual your pain" was a crock. I think that prior to Season Six, House sought out and tried methods that would completely alleviate his pain -- the Ketamine, the nerve graft concept, the methadone -- but other therapies and drugs for pain management, he rejected.

I agree with Bea that Cuddy is the caring type. Sitting at his hospital bed site at the end of season 5; even after she was humiliated by him at the end of season 6, she runs to him and asks him if he's alright, caressing his face after he confesses to his hallucinations. In "Locked In, she's running after him down the hall to check on his minor injuries, etc etc. I also agree with Bea that House would try to hide his pain. That's why I think she should be proactive. Make sure he gets regular massages, perhaps whirlpool baths. When House is really in pain, he uses the tub...although I'm not sure I understand how, I assume, warm or hot water helps.

Well, of course there are methods he refused. There are so many official and unofficial treatments, and there are always valid reasons to refuse to try some of them. Well, Cuddy's and Wilson's point is that he's not taking the Vicodin solely for his physical ailments, but also to numb any emotional issues he's having. So they want him to try therapy or something, to learn to process and deal with his problems without opiates. And also to try different medication that is less damaging to his health (not unreasonable, and he's obviously not opposed to taking medication). He stopped rehab but got quite a good mobility back on his own. Orthopedic rehab wouldn't have done a better job, I have worked as a rehab doctor and I know what rehab can do and what it can't. House has done greatly on his own. Yeah, just because it has been mentioned that he didn't finish his rehab back then, I've never believed that House didn't work on improving his leg/walking abilities. We've seen what he was capable of at the beginning of season 3 and that he's determined and able to push through the pain, and I think that's consistent with his obsessive and stubborn nature. He probably just preferred to do this alone, so I'd say he educated himself and exercised etc. on his own, without any "idiot" rehab doc telling him what he should and shouldn't do ;). A lot of people refuse the psychological part in a rehab therapy. It depends on the temperament of the person, and it's not necessarily a bad thing to refuse that part if a person has a strong minded character, and House is certainly a strong willed and minded person. You've got a point, I have always wondered how successful the psychological part of rehab would have gone for House, anyway. If he doesn't believe in its effectiveness and is subconsciously rejecting the whole concept, then he'll never be able to really get involved with this, even if he'd be prepared to at least try, I just don't think that he could change what he believes in. She's tough. But House loves that, it seems. He would probably welcome caring if it looked unintended, but I don't think mothering him would be accepted. But what do I know? After all, he may like being pampered. I'll say he hates and loves it at the same time ;). He's probably annoyed by the nagging and infantilising that goes along with it, but secretly also enjoys the attention.

Neither Wilson nor Cuddy ever said that House's pain was psychosomatic. They have ALWAYS acknowledged the fact that the infarction left him with a great deal of pain. But they were also aware that he had good and bad days and that his general mood had a great impact on how much pain he was feeling. On the other hand, neither believed that the way he handled it was the best for him in the long run. I'd say they were correct. Was their tampering unprofessional? That's not the term I would use. It's hard to see someone you care about run himself into the ground. I'd say it was ineffective and useless. The only one who can help an addict is the addict him/herself.

Read the article in Salon.com about chronic pain. It's a very good discussion about pain in general, involving a woman who is a sufferer and has written a book about it. Not everyone who has such pain becomes an addict. If you wish to continue to excuse House's approach to this problem, be my guest, but don't expect me to join you.

@ Ruthless I don't need another article about pain patients, having the professional knowledge myself and the necessary qualifications in that area. When I say Cuddy and Wilson handled the situation unprofessionally, I meant in the first line the way how they were nagging on him. They were acting like a mum and a brother, as biased and ineffectively as it goes. Cuddy gave him placebo and rubbed it under his nose, for crying out loud! This proves nothing, it is very insulting and shows the patient that you dismiss his pain and the value of his complaints. I agree with Vicodin: The fact that House has been treated like an addict was the reason for the great delay in the diagnosis. They have no right to lecture him on addiction, especially not Cuddy. And no, not every pain patient becomes addicted to pain meds. Every pain is different and reacts to different medication. Rheumatic disorders react great to Ibuprofen and similar meds, Cortisone helps also a lot. Neuropathic pain can react very well to antiepileptic like Gabapentine or Progabaline. There are pain patients who rather isolate themselves of commit suicide in the end. I don't think any of these options is better than becoming dependent on opiates. Partly amputated limbs or severe leg injuries tend very often to bring the person to the brink of madness. They have no way to avoid putting strain on the badly injured limb (it’s much simpler to go easy on your non-dominant arm, for example). The damaged self image is one of the reasons aggravating the symptoms (as we could see in the arm amputated man in ‘The Tyrant’). The problem is, a mirror wouldn’t do House any good, his mind won’t let him do the trick. What stays, is a hardly manageable pain witch wouldn’t go away, and an increasing amount of opiates needed. This leads to addiction and even opiate induced pain. Sad, but true: That’s how it might end, and that’s what brought House in Mayfield.

I understand what you are saying, but after Mayfield he doesn't appear to have any worse pain than he had before, when he was on drugs. At least that's not what was portrayed in season 6. He had good and bad days, just like before. And how he felt his pain was related to what was happening in the rest of his life. To me this proves that he didn't need drugs to the extent that he was using them before. They didn't really improve his life, at least during the time we see him in the series. He seemed to be taking them, at times, because he was afraid he might have more pain if he DIDN'T take them. House appears to be the type of person who will always take the easy way out, even though, in the long run, it may turn out to be very complicated.