I wrote a 2 1/2 page report on my procedures and what the results were and the nurse called it a novel. REALLY? 4 years of BS condensed into 2 1/2 pgs to lay it out SIMPLY for them was a NOVEL?
JERKS! I agree RUN< RUN< RUN!!!!!

I agree with Enna on not burning bridges, you do never know if you may need that doctor. But there are graceful ways out of treatment. You can always cancel a procedure saying you need to think it over, discuss with primary, or family, etc. Leave a message for the nurse to please let the doctor know you have decided to hold off. That way you are showing you are communicating and not non-compliant or failing to follow up. This really shouldn't be an issue. If it is then Wow!

On writing out medical history....speaking from the work experience end, right or wrong some doctors and their staff can take this as entrenchment in the illness, overly wrapped up patients, too complicated patients, etc. Etc. Some will immediately cringe, some may find it useful. I do agree it is helpful, especially when there IS a lot of history and the timeline can get confusing. If you decide to write something out (I have done so myself) keep it to bullet points of major diagnoses, injury, surgeries, procedures. Put the Dates and names of whatever it was without any detail. Current meds and dose, Drug allergies, discontinued meds if there were significant side effects. Without detail or subjective thoughts this can generally be done on one page and will be better received.

My personal opinion is that pain management docs often have too many patients and those patients are often high maintenance. If you have an urgent need, the staff will often say go to the ER. I've only been to the ER twice in 12+ years and have had to my doc to squeeze me in due to an urgent issue probably 4-5 times. I will suck it up when at all possible, so if I break down and ask for a little extra attention, I don't want to be treated like I'm a PITA.

The funny thing is, I've had stellate ganglion blocks performed by 3 docs. There can be a huge difference in results based upon how this procedure is performed. I experienced the shortest span of relief from the PM doc.

PM docs have actually become more conservative than some other docs when prescribing pain meds. Why? The DEA is scrutinizing all their patient records very closely. I don't think we should be penalized for PM docs over prescribing opiates to people that had no business ever taking them in the first place. I didn't begin taking serious pain meds until 4 or 5 years after developing CRPS, and I had been offered them probably 6 months after being diagnosed. I'm compliant with a pain contract and have been on the same dosages for years. So, I think I deserve to not be treated like an addict by office staff...

I would question what percentage of their current patients have CRPS.

My last doc, whom I think is wonderful and would go back to in a heartbeat, actually closed his practice and is now working in a PM clinic. (I can't imagine he's allowed major changes in either his care or his staff's handling of patients. But I'm an optimist!) So, obviously I'm making some generalizations based on my own experiences and those of others I've spoken with.

Anyway, I think it's a good idea to try and connect with other CRPS patients and see what options are available to you, within the farthest possible distance you can manage. --My current routine for managing to get to my doc once a month is probably crazy, but receiving excellent care from someone I trust is one of my top priorities.

Just want to clarify that I don't think anyone on here that said to 'RUN' meant for you to 'burn any bridges'.....honestly this dr won't remember if you never appear before him again.

Canceling appointments is no biggie and once you have approval from workman's comp to move on to another pain dr you should be set. In the meantime do some research on other pain dr's in the area and as said by other posters try to find out if they treat your condition. Usually the conditions each office treats is listed on their website.

Good Luck

I don't see why you can't titrate down off the Lyrica and add back the gabapentin. Actually I was switched from one to the other without titrating off...this was done by my neuro.....for some reason they seem to be interchangeable. Anyone ?

Debi from Georgia

I have never in my life taken something that knocked me for such a loop without knocking me out (couldn't sleep, and I tried), and for it to last all day!! wow, I don't like being high and that is how I felt all day!! and not a good high.... (if there is such a thing)

The pain doc did not give me anything other than the lyrica for pain, and honestly even though I was stoned out of my mind if I paid attention I felt the pain. So I'm not so sure how good it is for it. I'm dreading taking it tonight...

My three page of notes, were bullet points, and very limited to only facts. I just have a somewhat extensive history, starting with a stroke at age 7, so you can guess how unlucky I have been . And since I have trouble speaking sometimes, and more so now I don't get sleep, I included things I do to try and cope, what has worked and what does not.

I'm seriously looking at the Cleveland Clinic, does anyone know anything about them, maybe personally been there?

thank you all!!

I have been to the Cleveland Clinic and saw Dr. Bruce Vrooman who has worked with Dr. Stanley-Hicks. I am also a Work's Comp case and informed my rep before going to make sure it would be covered. Luckily they said they will approve it because otherwise it would have cost a good amount. I don't know the exact amount they billed but I can imagine it was several hundred. My primary reason was to get more information about ketamine and what I needed to get started. They recommended trying a repeat lumbar sympathetic block ( I had 2 prior one had great results the other not so much) and if that didn't work then I should try a spinal cord stimulator trial. The wait list for the ketamine infusions was over 2 years and that was a year ago so I would assume the list is even longer now.

Also with regards to worker's comp they will not pay for certain treatments. Mine will not cover a stimulator or ketamine. Personally I would recommend consulting a lawyer. I never thought I would need one but I am so happy I have one now. Plus he is also handling my disability case. Good luck!

Miss Debi beat me to clarification. She also said it much better than I can but I will add my two cents, too.

As Debi said, you are not burning bridges by NOT returning to this doctor. No one said to write him some scathing letter to be put in your file. Cancel any appts. you may have on the books and just do not return. In my area, if you are a patient that has not been seen within the past two years or more, (sometimes less) your file is sent to some mysterious place as if you never existed. I let 2 years lapse between visits with my cardiologist and they said they had NO record of me. I insisted that I had procedures performed by this doc and they said they would get my file out of storage.

Another comment about "burning bridges" on a doctor you might need in the future. Why would you need a doctor like this in the future anyway unless he is the ONLY physician in your area? In some cases, NO doctor might be better than a bad doctor that will cause you more harm. I am not saying this doc is incompetent, I just think you could find someone that would be more appropriate for you.

About your written history........... First, good for YOU. We are told all the time to bring written notes with us so we don't forget to disclose important information. But I can also see this from both sides of the coin.

From many a physician's view point, they don't want to take the time to read it, they want to ask questions for themselves, they don't want to alter their "system", etc. etc. Some may WANT and appreciate your time and effort. Each doc is different and has his/her own way of taking a history.

From the patient's view point, presenting a doc with important history in a written form, ensures no vital or pertinent information will be omitted under the time constraints and stress in the exam room.

You presented the info in the best possible manner if bulleted and concise. That way the doc can scan it quickly, inquire about items he/she feels pertinent, and then further explanation can be discussed.

If you had written a 15 page paragraph style mini-novel, I don't think many docs would be willing to read it during the exam.

You DID the correct thing and the doc should have addressed it in a much better manner.

I stand behind my initial post,.... RUN. This doc is not right for you.

I bring a written recap to my PM doc almost every visit. His PA reviews it with me, types the information into the computer, verbally states it to my doc when he comes into the exam room, and then he gets to ask me questions not already covered by the information I provided. It actually says him a lot of time and it works well for us both. My PM doc acts like a team with me, not as a dictator. He LISTENS first and then we discuss options.

I sure hope you find someone else quickly that will be of HELP to you. I don't think the doctor you saw is the one to help you.

My PCP thinks very highly of the Cleveland Clinic. He sends a lot of patient information to them for their opinion. And he (my PCP) is no where near Ohio.

I am sorry if I implied I wasn't happy with the clinic because I was very happy with them. It helped my comp case too because they agreed with the CRPS diagnosis that my doctors had given me but the comp doctor disagreed with. Everyone I encountered there during the appointment was wonderful.

If you are interested in the ketamine treatment the only doctor who does them is Dr Bruce Vrooman. The first appointment I made was with a different physician and I had to call again and change my appointment to Dr Vrooman. Also make sure you give yourself enough time to get you med records sent to the office. They review your chart before your appointment and this helps to give them a clear picture. I am sure there has to be a way you can get all the information you have sent to them prior as well. Personally I would try very hard to do this because they do not have enough time to review the information during your appointment. They aren't bad doctors that don't care they just only have a limited amount of time to spend with each patients.

Hope this helps!

Hi NurseKris,

Sorry MY post may have seemed in response to yours but it was not. The original poster had asked what we (NT members) thought of the Cleveland Clinic.

I have no personal experience with them and was just saying that my primary care doctor seems to think highly of them. He sends some lab results to them for their opinion on some of his patients so he must think they are OK.

Since I could not give any personal experience info about Cleveland Clinic, I thought it might be helpful if the poster knew my PCP thinks highly of them.

Sorry for any mis-understandings.