Regrettably there are quacks in all medical fields... I call our local hospital one of two names when asked about it, Camden Malpractice Center, or Southeast end of Life Services “if you aren’t dead yet we can fix that!”. Truly not a single doctor there, not just the ER doctors, are competent enough to distribute a bandaid let alone put one on a patient. But they’re number one in care for the county! Of course they’re the only ones in the county, if a witch doctor opened a hospital in the back of a rusty van they’d definitely beat out our current hospital for patient care, cleanliness and lack of neglectful death and secondary infections. Sorry ran of topic there....

But when looking for a pain management doctor it is an important thing to realize that very few doctors are created equally, so always go in for a consult first, and ask what your diagnosis is as they know it, will they require more testing, what treatment options are available, risks and benefits of them and how do they view your prognosis, are you going to spend the rest your life popping pills like skittles or are they going to try a multidisciplinary approach? And how long until you should expect to see results from the treatment plan?

If the doctor’s response is only to tell you about the various medications available to treat you, narcotics, muscle relaxants and anti-depressants, thank them for their time and find someone else. If they tell you they can get you fixed up and running again in a month, again find someone else.

You’re looking for a doctor who doesn’t offer the “wonder drug combination”, who doesn’t make unrealistic promises either. That’s not to say medication is bad and simply because they offer a medication program that you should ditch them, but they should be offering more than popping a few dozen pills a day. It might be cortisone shots, PT, tens, hot/cold therapy, massage, even speaking with a therapist or a nutritionist.

And pay attention to what they ask you as a patient as well, they should not only ask what your pain level is, but about your emotional state as well, your social health too. They should ask about activities you can and can’t do, what seems to make the pain worse, what seems to make it better, and what all you have already tried. And a really good pain management doctor short of you going after getting every test in the book, will likely ask for further testing. The MRI isn’t the only test on the books, blood tests to show cortisol levels in the blood can show how much pain one is truly in and if it is reaching a point of causing additional health concerns, nerve conduction tests (EMG) are equally important, and they may also want to test your blood sugar levels as well or in lieu of the cortisol testing. But it still comes down to they’re probably going to want more tests as you go through treatment.

If the doctor seems distracted, inattentive, or really just not listening to you and is unwilling to explain the whys and wherefores of their treatment find another doctor... really that applies to all doctors even a family practitioner. Never forget the doctor is working for YOU! They may be the ones who went to medical school, but they weren’t learning on YOUR body to get through YOUR life. And while it’s PC to say “we’re all equal” We most certainly are not, by any stretch of the imagination, not even identical twins are perfectly equal in life. It is your right as the employer of the doctor to know what is best for you and your life and how willing are they to adapt to what you require instead of the other 80% of their patients.

I mean you wouldn’t hire someone to put carpet down on your floors if they only carried one type because that’s what 80% of their clients want or are satisfied with right? Beige Berber carpet in every room of the house without a single variance in color or texture. Or an architect with only one floor plan who refuses even the smallest change to his design. So why take it from your doctor? A patient should feel engaged by their doctor, that you both are working towards a common goal, and that both understand the other and yes you are well within your rights as a patient to disagree with your doctor and tell them as much.

I left a doctor after telling her I was rejected from PT since they made me worse and she came back with the suggestion of yoga?! If a trained medical professional broke me further why would I put myself in the hands of a 6 week certificate course yogi?! Asked as much, she said for the stretching exercises, she goes to her local Y all the time for yoga classes... again PT was focused on stretching and I tore 3 ligaments while doing it, so why yoga? Because it’s healthy.... time for a new doctor... she’s also the doctor who told me to watch my sodium intake even though my sodium levels were on the low side of normal, after passing out several times and staring longingly at a salt block for deers at the local store, I went back to eating salt.