Dear CRPS: The very first thing I thought about when I read your post is how much I suffered by sticking with a pain management doctor who was not doing anything to control my pain. I went into pain management in 2012, and at the time, he asked me to stick with him, because it takes a while to get a protocol of pain management that works.....so I did.
As issues mounted, one on top of the other, over the years (CRPS spread and other issues, such as complete loss of all cartilage in both knees and hips), this doctor did not change my meds, and I got suicidal because I was living in so much uncontrolled pain. Every time I went to see him, my blood pressure was off the charts, and I felt extreme anxiety, because I felt like I needed to convey to him how it was to live, day by day, in so much pain, and garner some help from him. He wouldn't budge or change anything, and I got very close to ending my life...it became a constant thought process.....and battle within me. I didn't want to leave this planet, but I couldn't tolerate what I was living with, either.

I got to the point with him that I was screaming at him when I went in, and finally, he said these words to me "the level of care you need exceeds my ability." What he meant was he didn't have equipment in his office, he only had pills to prescribe, and he wouldn't increase or change me to anything that would be effective.

I called my insurance company (strangely enough) as this doctor was going to refer me to a large hospital with a pain dept. My insurance company denied the referral. I gasped and sobbed my way through several agents at the insurance company (as I spoke to one, they transferred me higher and higher up their protocol list). It was such a relief to get it out there...and I refused to "see a therapist" to discuss my suicidal thoughts, because there was no conversation that was going to change what I was living through....it wasn't about talking....it was about being in severe, unrelenting and extreme pain, and not getting relief, and not being able to stand it, minute to minute, hour to hour, day after day.

My insurance agents asked me to try a different pain care doctor, and promised that if this didn't work out, they would help me get the care I needed to change my situation. I had no idea I was in such a state, because I thought I was doing all I could, and trusted the doctor I had to make the calls.....BAD decision. After the change, I still want to refer my prior doctor to the authorities over him for what he did to me and put me through.....

I went to the new pain mgt. doc and he prescribed adequate pain medication (doesn't matter what.....what I take versus what another takes isn't the point....having a doctor who listens and works with you to get your pain under control is the point). I remember taking the first dose....maybe second......What I felt was peace......PEACE.......At that moment, I realized that just under the surface was a type of hysteria in me, brought on by this unrelenting and life disturbing pain I was in. We are still tweaking my medications, but my life has literally changed due to getting proper pain control, and having someone working with me to ensure I have that.

Also, my new pain mgt. doctor is an anaesthesiologist and he has done a procedure on me that I wonder if you might not want to discuss with your doctors....it's called Radio Frequency Ablation.....he burned away 4 nerves on my left side, which took away the pain going down my left leg.....took it away!!!! From what I read in your post, this seems like it could help you???? I recommend getting a pain mgt. doctor in your area who has skills and equipment in his office....not just pills.....THAT has made all the difference in my life and care.....My particular pain mgt. doc is an anaesthesiologist, a lawyer, a shrink and an MD.....super skills....all geared towards helping patients like me....it's amazing how much my life has changed since I changed to a doctor who worked with me to ensure I have pain control......I am alive again and slowly but surely planning my days and weeks and have a longer vision....I trust being alive again.

I know many of us pain patients worry about doctor shopping....we've all heard the stories....which is precisely why I refused to get that label on me.....but I went so far overboard the other way that I let a doctor mistreat me.....and he did....and I almost took drastic measures to get away from unrelenting pain....I'm not sure how I let it happen, but I hope others will listen to my story, and if you are not getting adequate pain care, consider whether it is the doctor, and do what you need to do to fix the problem, because it may not be you.