Thank you for the welcome and sugestion re a Pain Management doctor.

I do have a Pain Management doctor who has been giving me shots in my back for 10 months for chronic pain. My hand surgeon wrote him a note asking him to evaluate my hand. He concurred with what my surgeon was doing, and did suggest a lidocaine ointment to help with the pain.
He also said I might consider blocking the nerves somewhere in the neck area. He no longer does that, but another doctor in the practice does. The nerve block could not be done when he mentioned it, as I was having the epidurals in my back at the time, so I would have had to wait awhile. My hand surgeon agreed on the lidocaine, but thought a lidocaine patch would work better than the ointment.

He had me apply it at night as I was waking up in pain during the night. He also prescribed 25 mg of Amitriptyline at bedtime, which works like a charm for me.

I think it's a good idea to see if my hand surgeon will release me to the care of my pain management doctor. Sure makes sense to me.

Janet