A few years ago i went to have an epidural steroid shot in the cervical spine as a test/treatment for the broken bones feeling in my feet when i stand or walk. The doctor who was doing it was part of a pain center in a hospital and they wanted me to sign papers that they were the only ones who could prescribe me anything with substances such as hydrocodone, codeine(which i get prescriptions once in a while from my pulmonary doctor) or that i would have to get their permission to fill any prescriptions from pulmonary doctor etc. and that i had to give them the name of my pharmacy and i could use only that pharmacy for all my prescriptions even for things like anti biotics. I told them i didnt want any pain medication prescriptions from them that im there for a shot only. Anyway it went back and forth. I got the shot, it was a big mistake by the way, it increased my pain exponentially and still has to this day. The whole experience left a very negative taste to me.

You bring up a good point, cowboy. We do, in fact, have what they call a "Cadillac" policy. I get 35 PT units per year. Some cynical people might suspect that that's the reason these people think I'm such a perfect candidate for their program. I wonder what conclusion they would come to if it were you...which, if I'm correct, is reprehensible and immoral of them, but that's another discussion.

And daniella, I really do believe that while your program was about what you said, this OT description explicitly says "Use of proper body mechanics (ways to move and lift) to prevent or reduce pain." And that's what I'm saying--that kind of stuff does not address my problems.

Please believe me, I'm not anti-PT. I've had it for:

• A broken ankle: appropriate treatment
• An injured back: appropriate treatment
• A hip replacement: appropriate treatment

But they're gonna have to give me concrete examples of what these things are that will help me before I deem this appropriate treatment.

Jannaw, you said Exactly! In the description, it says that this program is flexible, yet in reality it's all or nothing and cram-packed full of rigid schedules and rules (opposite of flexible). If they offered an option to choose the parts you want, I might be a little more open to it. Speaking of opposite world, the letter indicates that this program consists of all group activities, yet it is "designed to meet your special needs." I think that they need to go to my program, where I teach them the difference between synonyms and antonyms.

Echoes, I'm so sorry that your treatment turned out so bady! My mother had those same injections because of stenosis in her spine, and it seemed to help for a short time. But your situation sounds different. And the obsessive controlling behavior that you describe with the prescriptions sounds very familiar. They even want me to agree to drug testing. I get it that they come across a lot of drug-seeking people, but if they're so good at what they do, they ought to be able to recognize those instead of treating all of us like criminals when we walk in the door.

I don't want to get high, I don't want to spend time with other people learning how to gracefully accept my plight, I just want my pain reduced. If they can't do that for me, I wish they would just be honest.

Hi no I will agree with you that even the program I went to it was not individualized enough and part of why I could not move forward. There were people with nerve conditions but not with RSD and PN and that is treated different so I do understand. The honesty part is another issue because I will say that I was not told honestly what the program was about I went to. Sometimes even the concrete ?'s I was told opposite of what was true. I hope you can find something that relieves your pain.

Thanks daniella. It's good to know I'm not crazy...at least about this.