dr in houston? - Fibromyalgia Message Board

jamesgm · 06-26-2003, 10:16 PM

does anyone know of a dr in houston texas that treats fibromyalgia?

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pixiepoodle · 06-27-2003, 11:57 AM

Yes, I go to a pain mgmt. dr. named Hassan Chahadeh. The name of his clinic is Interventional Pain Management, L.L.P. and he has several offices in the Houston area (one on Katy Frwy, near Durham, one in Sugar Land and one downtown). I'm not sure if he is able to diagnose Fibro, but if you have already been diagnosed by another dr., he is a very compassionate and caring dr. He was willing to offer to put a pain pump in my tummy for me and it relieves my pain to about 90%. If I have breakthrough pain due to the weather fronts, I take Ultram and Soma and that gets me back to being pain free.

Jenetti · 06-27-2003, 06:38 PM

Hey Pixie,

I mentioned in the other thread that i used to live in LaPorte tx, right next to deer park. Actually my hubby used to work for the deer park post office.

I'd like to ask, the pain pump in your tummy. Can you tell me more about that? Is is done surgically? Does it release pain meds regularly or do you have control over it? How is it working? I really dont know anything about it, but, it sounds interesting, and perhaps something to look into sometime in the future .

Jen

pixiepoodle · 06-30-2003, 12:03 PM

Hi Jen,
You are going to believe this, but I live in Deer Park and my kids went to LaPorte schools (I live near the border of LaPorte/Deer Park).

The pump is wonderful because the meds go into your spinal fluid bypassing your bloodstream so you are not dopey or high and the meds don't damage your liver like pills do. It takes about a year to get to the dose that works the best because they have to start out with as low a doze as possible as the meds are very potent. I started out with morphine which is probably used in 99% of the time, but I had problems and was switched to Fentanyl. The meds work great and I only wish I could have had it implanted years ago.

The surgery to me was minor compared to a hysterectomy and rotator cuff surgery. I had it done on a Fri. and was back at work on Mon. I was given Vicodin for post surgery pain, which worked very well. The pump is implanted right under your skin on your tummy and they put a catherer from their under your skin along your side to your spine where it is connected. The incision on the tummy is 4 inches long and 2 inches on your back. The meds are pumped continuously 24 hr/day so there are no peaks and valleys. Depending on the dosage, you have to have it refilled every 1 - 3 mos. I started out getting refills every 3 mos. and worked my way up to 1/mo. as the dosage got turned up. Then the dr. increased the concentration so I am back to every 3 mos. The cons of the pump is the cost of the pump, surgery and refills and the usual risks of going under anthesia or getting an infection. Everyone at my drs. office can shut up about how they LOVE their pump. Please check out the manufacturers (medtronics)website for more info.