Thank you so much, Rae! I will give that forum a good browse in time. I am still getting used to using the site (I don't find it intuitive... or perhaps I'm just a bit too dopey on tramadol), but am encouraged by the possibilities it offers. I've always shunned "pain groups", as I've found listening to people commiserate about how their pain makes them feel makes me feel worse (while it DOES work for others). The fact that this site has a big emphasis on treatment strategies I find potentially very useful. I am fighting a battle of personalities with my doctors here; very frustrating when I have literally handed them a dossier with the "recipe" for resuming a proven treatment, but they make unconvincing excuses NOT to do it, favouring opiates. If I could find a ketamine-&-lidocaine-sympathetically-minded doctor, I would be over the moon!... however it also has to be on the National Health Service, as I cannot (like most people) afford to go private (in Scotland; in Canada, I'm not sure if most specialist medicine is even ALLOWED to be practised privately, which may shock Americans). Once again, thanks for welcoming me with pointing me in a potentially useful direction! Take care. - Deryck (AKA outaouais)