No personal experience, although I knew a well-regarded hypnotist whose services were called upon by medical professionals for patients who for one reason or another could not be anaesthetised via usual methods.

The hypnotist also wrote a weekly column in the local newspaper and was called upon by psychiatrists to evaluate patients on a few occasions.

The hypnotist was featured in a news-item several times .. he apparently was much in favour of childbirth without drugs or anaesthetics and assisted a number of women through pain-free birth .. even quite complicated births involving breech-births, etc.

He told me he'd successfully rendered a throat-cancer patient free of pain throughout a complex operation.

I went to a hypnotherapist when i was 18, had 35 dollars in my pocket and nothing else to do so I tried it. I still remember some of the exercises she had me do, most of it was for relaxation. The mind is a powerful organ, I can see hypnosis being used to eliminate pain in a Sitx. But also more than just pain relief, used to curb hunger, or help stay awake on guard duty or even raise awarness.

The only thing is you better be sure to trust the person hypnotizing you as they could plant any number of suggestions that would not be benficial to you. Otherwise hypnosis is a good option.

Of course not everyone can be hypnotized, they would need a diffrent approach to pain reduction.

There is self hypnosis which is more for relaxation.