Tips for working with your doctor to help pain

Thank you. I did not know how to do it. Merci!

Join the Doctor Patient Forum on the internet for lots of information. Do a search to find it. They are trying to help.
The government is to blame…CDC, DEA, etc. Doctors are afraid of losing their licenses to practice if they prescribe opioids for chronic pain because of the government.

It is my understanding is that there is, perhaps 2, certification requirements a doctor must obtain to prescribe opioids. My doctor prescribes opioids under a signed agreement I have with him. It is also my understanding that the hospital does not have restrictions on prescribing opioids. This may be a reason why my doctor prescribes the medication (besides having requisite certs, because he is on the hospital staff. So, maybe see if you can locate a doctor who works in a main hospital clinic and is certified to prescribe opioids.

Don't stop or give up on what you are doing and the way you are doing it. Unfortunately we have to take it to the point of writing letters, posting Dr. information on blogs and hiring attorneys. There has to be a bigger, stronger voice and it has to come from us otherwise it will never change.
If everyone here that has posted in this thread alone would unify and continue this type of response we might get somewhere or at least be heard.
Good Luck to you.
(former Chicagoan) R.

Rainbow, that is a great idea. Not trying to be lazy here, but if you could possibly put up the link I think we would get more traction on this.
Thx, R.

I would get frustrated when my doctors ( primary care, physical medicine, pain specialists) and physical therapists suggested behavioral classes and alternative therapies when I complained of increased pain. Turns out there was a very good reason for my pain increasing and now I have weakness in my left leg and because of the weakness in my left leg I now have a swollen right knee. So, I took all of the classes and did all of the alternative therapies. The next time I went to a doctor and they started suggesting the same things I could say “I already did them” even though those things never helped and I have tried them before. Now they are forced to address the problem. . Now I am being offered steroid epidurals and nerve oblations. It has taken me two years to get these since I’ve been on Medicare. Prior to that these were offered immediately and multiple times. My guess is they are trying to save money because I have a Medicare advantage plan and now that I am in my seventies they know that the odds are if they keep pushing back against offering me more expensive treatments that I won’t be around to receive them. And don’t think that that is an impossible reality. I saw my father, a retired Navy officer, who had many medical issues prior to his death, have his care mismanaged. While he was unconscious his family advocated for him repeatedly and loudly. And had to complain to our senator before he received treatment. Sometimes being the squeaky wheel does work at getting someone’s attention. However, it shouldn’t be like this. And what if you are single with no family?

I have told my provider, the pain i suff is nothing short of NOT HUMAN!
Yet the can gets kicked down the road.
I suffer from AS, spinal stenosis, kidney cancer and i get Gabapentin and epidural steroids, that minimally works.
Why are we allowed to suffer is the question.

We are paying the price for all the people taking or snorting pain meds to get a buzz and addicted, while the governments,state and federal make it hard on people in real pain.

Yes, in Canada a drug addict/user can walk into a “safe injection” site and get free narcotics to shoot up while people in real pain have to fight for a prescription, often being refused, and diabetics have to pay through the nose for their drugs as well as syringes. Go figure. 🤷🏼‍♀️

There appears to be no real and long term solution for treating chronic pain, which in many cases gets worse over time. Even opioids loose the efficacy over a very short time and can cause more harm and add to the pain.