Hi Alaina,

I, too, am very sorry you have had this experience.

One of my doctors knows more about topical medications because she uses them more and wants to know about the options available. My primary care doctor is in favor of them and is just learning about the potentially helpful combinations. He is very open to writing a prescription once he understands what to write. (I often talk with the compounding pharmacist -- and look up topical medications online --to learn the latest and greatest and then show the options I prefer to my doctors.)

I have not had good luck with PAs for the most part. Some of them eventually gain a lot of experience and are highly specialized. Many PAs have minimal training and just aren't ready to handle more complex challenges. M.D.s have more extensive training and experience.

(We are seeing more and more PAs in the ER -- aka A&E -- and many find this fact a bit disturbing. My PCP and specialists are very upset with the fact that the local teaching hospital, also a Level I trauma center, is heavily staffed with PAs. I, personally, have had some very unhelpful experiences with PAs and have had to make sure I see practitioners with more experience/training. I do have a very experienced Orthopedic PA, however. )

I hope you will quickly find a practitioner better able to serve your needs, pronto.


DejaVu

Thank you everybody so far for your comments.

DejaVu, I have had both good and bad experiences with PAs so far. I prefer the PA at my PCP's office to the doctor who owns the practice, but prefer the other doctor that was there up until this past Thursday. The PA that is there is very knowledgeable about general health and he is currently in med school to get his MD. I do like working with him when I have that option but rarely do have that option. If the PA is in a specialized practice, such as pain management or orthopedics, they don't seem to know much other than some basics of the practice they are working for. I think that anyone that is willing to learn can do as much as they can.

I am really trying to look into topicals more now after I checked the results of my blood test that I had the other day. My AST (SGOT) levels have shot up quite a bit since my last test, which was done in June, going from 30 up to 50 now, which tells me my liver is having a little bit of a difficult time processing all of these pills I have to take now. It is not horrible but it is something that needs to be watched. At least the fetyanyl patch gets rid of having to take methadone 3x a day.

As for finding a new doctor, both PCP and PM, I have a few that are supposedly good doctors. I want to wait till the end of the year before I make any changes. I have never liked the hospital network I am in now, but my husband likes the doctor we were seeing. I want to switch out of this hospital network. The only problem is that I can't stand the idea of loosing my ortho by switching PCPs. I think it was his surgery that caused me to end up having CRPS, but he still does everything he can to help me

Hi Alaina,

I'm sorry that you were misinformed because Ketamine most certainly can be compounded in a cream and it is helpful for certain types of pain.

My cream had ketamine, marcaine and capsaisin compounded into it.

Good luck

Hi Alaina,

You have been on my mind.
Maybe your PA has an open mind and might appreciate some information on topical approaches? Some practitioners simply don't know and will support/treat their clients once they do know.


DejaVu