OdCplKtts
01-22-2005, 10:51 AM
Hello All,
As stated in the Title line, alot has happened for me in the line of pain relief. First of all, the reason I haven't posted on this board recently is because my computer was on its last leg as it was and so one day it just up and decided that was enough, it wanted a permanent rest. So I had to change computers and am paying through the nose for this one but it works and works good too. :bouncing:
Anyway, I was registered under another name and had come to these boards in hopes of finding help with back pain. Shoreline, to help you remember me, you wrote a reply one day to my question about taking "Ultraset" every four hours nstead of the every six hours like the doctors had prescribed. I definitely deserved the very nice but forceful chewing out you gave me but of course I was too embarrassed to admit it at the time. :wave:
I am happy to announce that while getting a computer that worked good I was also working on getting some REAL pain relief for my back. Yes, the Ultraset works a little bit and the T.E.N.S unit also does its fair share of pain relief. Oh but the best thing was that I finally found a "Pain Clinic" and talked my doctor into giving me a referral. :angel:
The first thing I noticed about the staff at the "Pain Clinic" is they LISTENED and did not tell me "you are just going to have to learn to live with it". :) Of course the first step was to find out exactly what was wrong and that involved getting a 45 minute MRI that just about drove me crazy. I am VERY closterphobic (sp?) but between my live-in friend :angel: and a "Valium" I got through it ok with sanity in tact. That showed my lower back (from the lower spine on down) had been broken and healed wrong and that I also had permanent nerve damage. There is no cure but there is treatment. A couple days ago I went in for my first "steroid epidural" that numbed the left hip and leg for a time. The numbing has now left but the steroid is supposed to provide longer pain relief and also loosen up some of those nerves so they possibly heal or at least operate without so much pain. If it helps the way the doctors hope it will then I can have up to three of these shots in a 3 month period. So far so good. :)
Now comes the point where I need advice from you all. Since I last visited this board my live-in friend and I have discussed the issue of possibly moving out of state. We live in Minnesota and so the winters here can be harsh and usually are. Neither one of us are spring chickens and so a climate that has snow in the winter but slightly warmer temperatures on a regular basis would be a nice idea. We've of course decided that we best know something about the area before we decide to move there. The only other place I know anything about is Colorado (where I used to live) and my live-in friend knows Tennessee (where he lived until he was 9 years old and also visited frequently). Excuse me but Tennessee has HOT summers and no snow for Christmas. Both of us like the idea of having snow at least for Christmas. So that leaves Colorado and he has agreed that Colorado has much of what we want in a place to live (plus I have a grown son there) BUT they don't have "Pain Clinics" that I know of. :mad: So my question is whether anyone now lives in the Denver Metro area and knows of a good "Pain Clinic" that takes health insurance? If so I would appreciate any and all information you can give me.
BTW, to show how devoted my live-in friend and I are to each other allow me to tell you a little about him. He is just about the coolest guy I've ever met and I plan to be with him for the rest of my life. He studied to be a Lutheran Minister but gave that up after experiencing "established religion". He still demonstrates many of those spiritual traits though and he can definitely be a rock in the middle of the storm. The ONLY reason we don't get married is because we would suffer a $700 a month cut in our income and on fixed incomes neither of us can afford that. So we've decided to permanently live together. My live-in friend was married once before for 37 years to the same woman until she died some 7 years ago. He and I have lived together for a year now and would like to move out of Minnesota so "you and I can live our own lives together fresh and seperate from my family".
Anyway, any thoughts or comments anyone would like to make would be most welcomed and appreciated. :cool:
As stated in the Title line, alot has happened for me in the line of pain relief. First of all, the reason I haven't posted on this board recently is because my computer was on its last leg as it was and so one day it just up and decided that was enough, it wanted a permanent rest. So I had to change computers and am paying through the nose for this one but it works and works good too. :bouncing:
Anyway, I was registered under another name and had come to these boards in hopes of finding help with back pain. Shoreline, to help you remember me, you wrote a reply one day to my question about taking "Ultraset" every four hours nstead of the every six hours like the doctors had prescribed. I definitely deserved the very nice but forceful chewing out you gave me but of course I was too embarrassed to admit it at the time. :wave:
I am happy to announce that while getting a computer that worked good I was also working on getting some REAL pain relief for my back. Yes, the Ultraset works a little bit and the T.E.N.S unit also does its fair share of pain relief. Oh but the best thing was that I finally found a "Pain Clinic" and talked my doctor into giving me a referral. :angel:
The first thing I noticed about the staff at the "Pain Clinic" is they LISTENED and did not tell me "you are just going to have to learn to live with it". :) Of course the first step was to find out exactly what was wrong and that involved getting a 45 minute MRI that just about drove me crazy. I am VERY closterphobic (sp?) but between my live-in friend :angel: and a "Valium" I got through it ok with sanity in tact. That showed my lower back (from the lower spine on down) had been broken and healed wrong and that I also had permanent nerve damage. There is no cure but there is treatment. A couple days ago I went in for my first "steroid epidural" that numbed the left hip and leg for a time. The numbing has now left but the steroid is supposed to provide longer pain relief and also loosen up some of those nerves so they possibly heal or at least operate without so much pain. If it helps the way the doctors hope it will then I can have up to three of these shots in a 3 month period. So far so good. :)
Now comes the point where I need advice from you all. Since I last visited this board my live-in friend and I have discussed the issue of possibly moving out of state. We live in Minnesota and so the winters here can be harsh and usually are. Neither one of us are spring chickens and so a climate that has snow in the winter but slightly warmer temperatures on a regular basis would be a nice idea. We've of course decided that we best know something about the area before we decide to move there. The only other place I know anything about is Colorado (where I used to live) and my live-in friend knows Tennessee (where he lived until he was 9 years old and also visited frequently). Excuse me but Tennessee has HOT summers and no snow for Christmas. Both of us like the idea of having snow at least for Christmas. So that leaves Colorado and he has agreed that Colorado has much of what we want in a place to live (plus I have a grown son there) BUT they don't have "Pain Clinics" that I know of. :mad: So my question is whether anyone now lives in the Denver Metro area and knows of a good "Pain Clinic" that takes health insurance? If so I would appreciate any and all information you can give me.
BTW, to show how devoted my live-in friend and I are to each other allow me to tell you a little about him. He is just about the coolest guy I've ever met and I plan to be with him for the rest of my life. He studied to be a Lutheran Minister but gave that up after experiencing "established religion". He still demonstrates many of those spiritual traits though and he can definitely be a rock in the middle of the storm. The ONLY reason we don't get married is because we would suffer a $700 a month cut in our income and on fixed incomes neither of us can afford that. So we've decided to permanently live together. My live-in friend was married once before for 37 years to the same woman until she died some 7 years ago. He and I have lived together for a year now and would like to move out of Minnesota so "you and I can live our own lives together fresh and seperate from my family".
Anyway, any thoughts or comments anyone would like to make would be most welcomed and appreciated. :cool:
Sponsor
Shoreline
01-22-2005, 12:56 PM
Hi Oddcouple, Glad you made it back. I'm not sure if your going to notice a drmatic climate change from Minn to Denver bt just out of curiosity I did do a google search of colarado pain management and found 10 pages of docs, clinics and pain management docs.
Yu can also contact medtronics and find docs that are certified in pump and SCS management in the Denver area, then find the practice they are part of which would most likely lead you to a a multi disciplinart clinic or practice. I understand your may have never considered a pump or SCS but it's aback door way of finding a PM doc, most likely an anesthesiologist that's done a surgical residency for implanting pumps and is certified by medtronics to do the implants and mangeent. Pumps are obcvviously a more extreme method than many folks need, but I could ask medtronics for the same info and I would get the name of 2 ofthe docs at the clinic I go to, then it's just a matter of making an apt for a eval and being prepared for the visit with a list of meds your presently on, List of modalities you have tried, when where and who, basic contact info for verification that allows a doc t skip procedures you have already tried unsuccesfully. Te idea is to give them a list of everything you have tried and done so thatey can incorporate this into your medical file and justify their treatment plans with confirmable info that protects the doc from scrutiny of his treatment plan. Many docs simply need to the ability to justify what they are doing and they really can't without the background info of all the other methods and modailities you have already tried and failed or that you have tried and that help. The more tools you have to deal with pain the better ff you will be. A doc or a facility "clinic" that has more to offer than scripts or one or two procedures is what your looking for. A multi faceted aproach to pain management. If you know ahead of time they do pump implants and management you know they do believe in the use of opiates in properly screened patients that have tried and failed to manage pain in other ways. If the Ultram or your present method of management is working, giving them all the contact info will help validate your efforts and allow them to treat you withotut fear of having to explain why they started you at point D, because you have already given them documentation that you have tried A,B and C already, what the results were, and the contact info to confirm that you actually have tried other methods and won't have to repeat failed modalities and jump through the same hoops again.
Good luck and welcome back, Dave
PS. Sorry if you felt my post wasn't apropriate. My basic advice to all CP patients is that compliance with docs instructions is an absolute must , for your own safety and to protect the docs that we need. A doc that doesn't demand compliance and gives early refills, doesn't try other methods to manage pain and takes patients straight from Ultram to LA morphine would have a hard time justifying their own prescribing practices should they ever be audited.
Something as simple as a patient from their practicing getting a ticket for DUI/DWI or whatever they call it in Colorado could start an investigation into a doc they may believe over prescribes, or may simply get the patient booted from the practice. It's very easy to check up on your doc prior to a vist or while looking for a new one.
You can check Colorado's state guidlines as far as finding out their laws to protect docs who properly use opiates and treat pain versus docs that don't follow the guidlines. I've read my own states guidlines and they are incorporated into everyday practice at the clinic I go to. A doc that dosn't follow the guidelines in his or her state is asking fror trouble. One of every CP patients biggest fears is they will show up for the next apt , out of medication and find their doc is being investigated and the practice closed.
Check here for laws and guidlines for PM in any state, cut and paste into your browser.
http://www.medsch.wisc.edu/painpolicy/matrix.htm
A little research by CP patients in my area would have provided a patient with enough info to avoid the local doc who was arested 2 days ago for his practices. I typed his name into a local search and found every indescretion this guy has ever had and been charged with and the charges that are presently hanging over his head. He continued to except new patients up untill the day they arested him. Any new patient that had the 300 bucks cash for the initial consult could get whatever they wanted from this guy. After that, monthly cash visits would provide anyone with just abut anything they asked for.
A doc breathing booze on you at 11am in the morning would have been enough for me to decide not to see this guy. Although I have lived here so long I 've known about him fr 10 years, since the affair he had with his 17 year old patient who he married after getting out of jail for indecent liberties with a minor. They were married the day after his divorce from his former wife was final. It's really not hard to research any doc.
Welcome back and hopefully someone can give you a more personal recomendation.
Yu can also contact medtronics and find docs that are certified in pump and SCS management in the Denver area, then find the practice they are part of which would most likely lead you to a a multi disciplinart clinic or practice. I understand your may have never considered a pump or SCS but it's aback door way of finding a PM doc, most likely an anesthesiologist that's done a surgical residency for implanting pumps and is certified by medtronics to do the implants and mangeent. Pumps are obcvviously a more extreme method than many folks need, but I could ask medtronics for the same info and I would get the name of 2 ofthe docs at the clinic I go to, then it's just a matter of making an apt for a eval and being prepared for the visit with a list of meds your presently on, List of modalities you have tried, when where and who, basic contact info for verification that allows a doc t skip procedures you have already tried unsuccesfully. Te idea is to give them a list of everything you have tried and done so thatey can incorporate this into your medical file and justify their treatment plans with confirmable info that protects the doc from scrutiny of his treatment plan. Many docs simply need to the ability to justify what they are doing and they really can't without the background info of all the other methods and modailities you have already tried and failed or that you have tried and that help. The more tools you have to deal with pain the better ff you will be. A doc or a facility "clinic" that has more to offer than scripts or one or two procedures is what your looking for. A multi faceted aproach to pain management. If you know ahead of time they do pump implants and management you know they do believe in the use of opiates in properly screened patients that have tried and failed to manage pain in other ways. If the Ultram or your present method of management is working, giving them all the contact info will help validate your efforts and allow them to treat you withotut fear of having to explain why they started you at point D, because you have already given them documentation that you have tried A,B and C already, what the results were, and the contact info to confirm that you actually have tried other methods and won't have to repeat failed modalities and jump through the same hoops again.
Good luck and welcome back, Dave
PS. Sorry if you felt my post wasn't apropriate. My basic advice to all CP patients is that compliance with docs instructions is an absolute must , for your own safety and to protect the docs that we need. A doc that doesn't demand compliance and gives early refills, doesn't try other methods to manage pain and takes patients straight from Ultram to LA morphine would have a hard time justifying their own prescribing practices should they ever be audited.
Something as simple as a patient from their practicing getting a ticket for DUI/DWI or whatever they call it in Colorado could start an investigation into a doc they may believe over prescribes, or may simply get the patient booted from the practice. It's very easy to check up on your doc prior to a vist or while looking for a new one.
You can check Colorado's state guidlines as far as finding out their laws to protect docs who properly use opiates and treat pain versus docs that don't follow the guidlines. I've read my own states guidlines and they are incorporated into everyday practice at the clinic I go to. A doc that dosn't follow the guidelines in his or her state is asking fror trouble. One of every CP patients biggest fears is they will show up for the next apt , out of medication and find their doc is being investigated and the practice closed.
Check here for laws and guidlines for PM in any state, cut and paste into your browser.
http://www.medsch.wisc.edu/painpolicy/matrix.htm
A little research by CP patients in my area would have provided a patient with enough info to avoid the local doc who was arested 2 days ago for his practices. I typed his name into a local search and found every indescretion this guy has ever had and been charged with and the charges that are presently hanging over his head. He continued to except new patients up untill the day they arested him. Any new patient that had the 300 bucks cash for the initial consult could get whatever they wanted from this guy. After that, monthly cash visits would provide anyone with just abut anything they asked for.
A doc breathing booze on you at 11am in the morning would have been enough for me to decide not to see this guy. Although I have lived here so long I 've known about him fr 10 years, since the affair he had with his 17 year old patient who he married after getting out of jail for indecent liberties with a minor. They were married the day after his divorce from his former wife was final. It's really not hard to research any doc.
Welcome back and hopefully someone can give you a more personal recomendation.
OdCplKtts
01-22-2005, 11:38 PM
"PS. Sorry if you felt my post wasn't apropriate. My basic advice to all CP patients is that compliance with docs instructions is an absolute must , for your own safety and to protect the docs that we need......."
Shoreline, evidently I didn't state clear enough that I knew at the time I more than deserved that chewing out and you were indeed very nice about it too. I did hold off from increasing the Ultraset on my own until I had talked to the doctor who absolutely forbid it saying, "No, that would be too much tylenol especially with your other meds." So you were right in making me realize I'd better talk to the doctor before I did something I might regret later.
Shoreline, evidently I didn't state clear enough that I knew at the time I more than deserved that chewing out and you were indeed very nice about it too. I did hold off from increasing the Ultraset on my own until I had talked to the doctor who absolutely forbid it saying, "No, that would be too much tylenol especially with your other meds." So you were right in making me realize I'd better talk to the doctor before I did something I might regret later.
feelbad
01-23-2005, 10:18 AM
OdC,Just out of curiosity,what pain clinic do you go to?I too live in MN,the frigid tundra of the north.Did you see that Tower had a record temp of 54- last week??? EEEWWW!I was just wondering if you happened to go to the same one I do as the staff there is just wonderful too.I go to the midway clinic in St Paul.I know what you mean about trying to deal with the intense cold here but gosh, i could never move from here,it just really is such a beautiful state.I hope you can find a good pain doc like the one you have now.Marcia