College is out for the summer. Few pretty girls...lol...as our team didn't even get enough people, I decided to walk from town to the event, as opposed to walking the track. Mistake. Up hills, down hills, pushing the baby carriage, well...talk about pain. Damn, it hurt then, and way more later, for the balance of this week.

As far as the 'pain specialists', I find it ironic that the last thing they want to do is stop the pain. 'Here, let's stab you in the spine','here, take this pill, the side effects are horrid, and it only works 30% of the time, but that's what we're gonna do','have some physical therapy, oh, you can't take ibuprofen, too bad, no painkillers for you, suffer'. I've been to two of these people and never have I seen such a doublespeak in the name of the clinic alone. I personally believe they are fully funded by the drug companies to see what the drugs do to those who have no other choice. Find a good GP. The good docs usually do things in this order; 1) get a firm diagnosis 2) try meds 3) try other meds 4) try other meds The meds get more dangerous as they go down the list 5) make damn sure of what you have 6) try something invasive, via a pain specialist. The Pain Specialists do it in the reverse order. The first thing they want to do is stick your spine. If that fails, they want to operate. If you refuse or that fails, they want to give you the least effective med with the most risk of side effects, and only once they've run out of options do they MAYBE give you an actual painkiller. More likely, they refer you to someone else, who does the same thing they did. Yer best bet is to avoid pain specialists altogether, in my experience anyways, and find yourself an old fashioned doctor, usually, although not always, someone who has been in the profession for quite a few years. The young docs are unconcerned, it seems, with how badly they can ruin your life,(kickbacks?) whereas the older docs seem to actually care if they hurt you whilst trying to help. I had one 'doctor', and I use that word very loosely, after I had bounced an engine off my knee some years back, tell me she never prescribes opiates, and never would. "You will get addicted with just one dose of vicodin." That is her actual quote. She should be stripped of her license. As I left her office, I saw her drug rep come in. Upon being told, by me, that "Your dealer is here", she turned a color of red one usually only sees in a crayon box.