Hi Serious,

A couple of things....

1. Doctors simply don't know as much as many people think that they know. This is frustrating for patients, but it's better that they're upfront about it than string a patient along with BS. They will rarely/never admit a case is hopeless because they shouldn't; they know that they don't know everything, and there may be another doctor, or a new technological breakthrough that will offer hope -- if not today, then perhaps tomorrow.

2. Surgeons cut. That's pretty much all they do, so they do not, as a rule, prescribe unless it has to do directly with the surgery they are performing.

3. It's not the doctors who don't care about your pain; it's the bureaucrats & politicians who "play" doctor and make it so difficult for real doctors to prescribe pain medications that many have quit, by choice or ultimatum, and many just won't even bother anymore. If a patient dies on the operating table, it's an unfortunate accident. If a patient dies due to a mishap with pain medication that is not even the doctor's fault, that doctor is persecuted, characterized as a drug dealer or worse, and is lucky if s/he doesn't lose her license (and sometimes does). The standard is not the same.

Materials Distributed at AAPS 9/18/2004 Briefing to Congress - "Politics of Pain"

4. Some doctors, when confronted with cases they cannot help, are intimidated, and behave badly. It may not be "professional" but it is human.

A Letter to Patients With Chronic Disease

I know this won't help your pain, but I hope it will help you understand some of the situation.

Doc