Managing SEVERE long term back pain with opiates.

Dr. Chris Aldridge. Doesn't everyone know that?

Prescribing opioids is the family doctor's responsibility.

Chronic pain physicians act as consultants in this regard.

Speaking for someone else in a professional capacity is irresponsible.

As a former nurse, wisher should know better.

Yes, of course a family doctor can prescribe pain medication.

Thank you for the clarification.

I'm sorry; I will not recommend you to anyone in the future.

Doctor, are you aware this one is now on your ratings?

Yes, Chris - I had made a comment on your rating; you probably saw it as you seem to review and respond to your ratings. It was something to the effect that a 20 minute wait was nothing, and that 15 minutes of a doctor's time was pretty good. Can't remember the exact words, but they have been removed, and I apologize for the posting. I didn't realize that you would find it offensive; however I suppose I should have, therefore I have replaced with "no comment".

Interesting behavior.

In my reply to this patient, I indicated that their waiting time of 20 minutes was well below the average family practice and / or chronic pain clinic wait times. I fail to see where I stated that this waiting period "was nothing".

I believe an example was provided by Rockygirl of waiting 1 - 2 hours, which is not unusual. I usually wait approximately 1 hour for my family physician.

Chris - did you see my post? All I said was that 20 minutes was nothing. A twenty minute wait is nothing to me. I didn't say that you said it. I said it. As I see you do not want comments from me, I replaced my favourable comment with "no comment".

Waiting 20 minutes for a good doctor is nothing - that was all that I meant, and no offence was intended by that statement. I will not comment further.

Seems like chronic pain patients are sort of out in the cold. Maybe why Blake has come to know Dr. Ray Ray.

PCP's prefer to refer their chronic pain patients to pain management specialists.

Pain management doctors want to send them back to their PCPs.

It seems sort of like Badminton, and you're the birdie.

Perhaps, then, if you appeared one hour late in seeing your physician, you would usually be on time, with the opportunity to help three more patients in your practice.

While this would not usually inconvenience your family physician, it would usually lessen the inconvenience to three of your patients, whose time may be of equal importance.

Touché!

You just have to love the way this bunch does not actually give you any help, there was a bit of advice but delivered in rather argumentative way, notice how they discourse everything to death...

As to your question, see your family doctor for a referral (if necessary) to a pain management doctor and see how it goes. Or your family doctor can prescribe opiates if they feel that would be the best course of action for you.

WOMEN, PAIN AND DOCTORS

This is sexist plain and simple, I'm sexist in many ways....... the nice ones, I hold doors and will "protect" the woman and pick up the dog poop.

Poor Jane had the treble problem of having advanced cancer, fantastic pain and being a "hysterical" woman.

Posted below is an article, I found in my quest for a pain doctors take on House.
It is written by Denise Coleman.

hcm mare wrote: Should we
Submitted by barbiegirl on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 20:39.

hcm mare wrote:

Should we consider that women's complaints are received differently from men's?

Very much so, in my opinion. If a woman is in pain, it MUST be psychosomatic or she is just exaggerating for attention and synpathy. If a man stubbs his toe, he should be perscribed narcotics. It never ceases to amaze and sadden me that it is 2009 and women are still far too often being dismissed by their doctors.

http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/21749/50571/pain-patients/2

TV's image of pain patients via "House"
Related: Chronic Pain, Lower Back Pain, More Tags>Treatment, Pain Management, Medication, Doctors, Fewer Tags>More Topics >

Denise Coleman

Denise Coleman
Living With It

I am a 57-year old woman who has had five back surgeries and has...

Denise Coleman
Saturday, November 29, 2008
View All of Denise Coleman's Posts

Imagine walking into an office for your first visit with a new neurologist, only to find him slouched behind his desk, clearly in need of a shave, wearing a wrinkled shirt and no white doctor’s jacket. He barely looks up when you walk in the door and you wonder if you are actually in the right office. Could this be the brilliant neurologist that you heard about at the latest MS conference? Is this the same man who wrote that outstanding article in your recent MS newsletter?

You are just about to walk out and find someone to ask where you should be when he sits up a bit and asks, “Are you the patient I’m supposed to see now?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“You think so? Is it that you don’t know who you are or that you don’t know who you are supposed to be seeing? If you are supposed to see me sit down and tell me what your problem is because I have a lunch date in 15 minutes.”

“Fifteen minutes!” you exclaim. “This is my first visit. I expect you to at least talk to me about my MS and then do a physical. You can’t do all that in 15 minutes.”

“Who said I can’t do that in 15 minutes? I’m pretty fast. And who ever told you to expect all that anyway?”

You have had it now and you don’t care how brilliant this guy is supposed to be you aren’t going to see any doctor that is so rude and disrespectful of his patients. You get up and walk out.

Can you imagine this happening? None of us would stand for this kind of behavior, would we? Which makes me wonder why so many people are big fans of the television show House. I watched the show a few times, to make sure I wasn’t being hasty in my judgment. I wasn’t, I found Dr. House’s behavior just as offensive in all the shows I watched.

I realize that television shows are for entertainment. The difficult illnesses and symptoms the character of Dr. House and the ensemble cast are faced with can be interesting, and I guess entertaining, but I have a problem with some of the messages the show sends via the behavior of Dr. House. For instance, as a chronic pain patient for over 40 years, who lived for many years with inadequate treatment for my increasingly debilitating pain, and who was often perceived by members of the medical community as drug seeking and/or exaggerating my pain, I am not entertained by a drug addicted doctor who mistreats opiates and verbally abuses his patients.

As a young girl of 13 and 14, I had an orthopedist tell me that women can’t handle stress so they develop backaches and headaches and that was probably all my problem was. “Calm down and it will go away,” was pretty much what he said to me. A few years later, during my senior year of high school, this same doctor came into my hospital room, where I was in traction and on strong IV pain medicine, and told me I was having emergency surgery on my back the next day. Before my parents could even get to the hospital to speak with him he changed his mind and put me in a body cast for a few months. One year later, when it couldn’t be put off any longer, he did a lumbar Laminectomy on L4, L5, which was the first of my four major spinal surgeries.

It isn’t just chronic pain that some medical professionals question, however. In 2002, after having five surgeries on my right leg for 3 severe fractures resulting from a series of falls, my legs started to swell as much as 4x their normal size and turn very dark red. The pain in my legs during these flare-ups was unbearable. It took me five years and ten doctors before I found one that agreed to do the diagnostic test for Lymphedema, which is what I figured I had after doing Internet research in 2006. The usual medical response to me was that I didn’t have cancer surgery so I couldn’t have Lymphedema, although one doctor looked at me and asked, “How many diseases do you want to have?”

I asked him if he thought I blew my legs up with a bicycle pump, and left. It’s true that cancer surgery in which lymph nodes are removed is the primary cause of Lymphedema, however multiple surgeries on the same limb in which lymph nodes are compromised can have the same effect, but what did I know, I was only the patient. Finally in 2007 the test was ordered, taken, and Lymphedema was immediately diagnosed, except it was now in both legs, my arms and midriff. It is also a chronic condition, although if I am careful I can prevent major flare-ups.

I decided to mention these two situations just to make the point that pain is not the only illness or symptom that can cause a patient to be misjudged, and a television show such as House only glorifies the negative doctor-patient relationship that can do so much to prevent a person from having a positive experience and even from receiving the best medical care.

Regarding Dr. House’s use of pain medications, I have no problem with someone, even a doctor, taking opiates for pain management. It is often the best form of treatment for chronic pain, and to do anything to make it appear irresponsible to prescribe or take opiates for pain is a disservice to the millions who do rely on it for appropriate medical treatment for pain.

In our country there is a major undercurrent of fear around the use of opiates for treating pain and doctors are refusing to prescribe them in many places. Some doctors fear being penalized for prescribing these medications, and in some places the fear is justified because physicians have been arrested for prescribing opiates—not because they are misusing the drugs but because the political climate has resulted in legislation outlawing the use of certain medications for the treatment of pain.

While there are more doctors specializing in pain management today than there were just a few years ago, there is still a real lack of knowledge in the medical field about the physiology of pain and how to best treat it. The National Pain Policy Act that was introduced into Congress this past year calls for increased education for doctors, a national conference on pain, and increased funding for research into various aspects of pain and its impact on the patient.

In 2000 I had an intrathecal pump implanted in my abdomen, which delivers Morphine, Bupivicaine and Baclafen to my central nervous system to manage the chronic pain from my spine problems and reduce spasticity from the MS. For the first time since the mid 1960s, I have days in which I can honestly say I am able to manage my pain.

I am surprised, and disappointed, when speaking with someone who lives with chronic pain to learn that their doctor still gives them a difficult time about writing prescriptions for pain medication strong enough to help the level of pain they experience. In the past few months, I was stunned to hear that two people I know said their pain specialist did not know there was an intrathecal pump that could be used for pain management; the pumps they had heard about were for insulin and spasticity, and one doctor said it was only for treating pain patients that were terminal.

What does all this have to do with a television show? Pain has been ignored and abused for too long. We certainly don’t need television shows making it a bigger joke. Instead, without losing its edge, a show like House could give a realistic representation of a professional living with pain, and bring attention to the issues around appropriate pain management, similar to how West Wing portrayed President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) as having MS without making him have to leave office or representing the disease in its most severe form.

Next to useless.

Best?

One statement has nothing to do with the other.

Patients usually wait about 20 minutes to see me.

As an example, I usually wait significantly longer to see my family doctor (i.e. approximately 60 minutes). As a person who understands the inner workings of a doctor's office, I don't mind waiting. Unexpected issues occur.

The most likely explanation for the difference in wait times between myself and the "average" family doctor is that I see fewer patients (i.e. 10 - 15 patients / day).

Funny I am a mechanic, and when I need mechanical repairs done I do them myself, it would be foolish for me to pay someone to do what I can do for myself.

"Physician heal thy self"

But back to pain,
As for the faces of pain, not really the case in most of the cpp, in fact my face sets in stone at high pain levels, if I looked like anything I look Mad.

So if the charts above are what the doc is looking for, my frown, that is not what he will see as I climb the pain scale, my mind will be slowed and conversation will be short and foggy, as I am distracted completely.

Acute pain is where you will see all the anguish and facial expressions of pain and sound effects.

As a CPP I try to spare my fellow man the suffering of knowing I'm suffering, set the face
restrict the noises.

Very tired and in 8/10 now and no meds, so this is not up to my usual type post.
Pain fogs, everything.

That's what Jane did, and it didn't work for her. Being ever stoic isn't always the answer. Sometimes, Blake, ya gotta share, like you just did. Try not to control it, and breath...slowly.

Blake, After you've ridden this latest wave, investigate Lamaze Childbirth Technique. I think some of the breathing instruction might be of benefit.

I'm almost there with you today, Blake. I'm not in pain if I sit still, but who wants to just sit there all the time? I don't know the answer either.

Yo to you both,

Thanks for the input, I do currently use a breathing technique, I take in a long slow breath, and then swear it out, it helps, but shocks the squirrels.

As for being stoic, when Cindy stopped, and screamed and threw things.
Did it help?

Dear blake2go

You certanly have knowledge about what is pain or living with pain I have my share I can't say that is comparable to you but since I was 16 years old I been living with migraines, managebles until in the year 1998 cancer hit me in my thyroid they hat to removed complety my thyroid had to do some quemo, radiation in the same year two months after my cirgury I had an accident a car hit me very bad in my hip felt on top of the car bending my hips my back complety my neck well since then I knew what pain was my migraines got really bad and the accident cost my body to create fybromyalgia now my life is chronic pain to the point that my body cant handle and shut down I faint and have convultions I have avery single test to check if my heart if my brain if Im epyleptic well they look everything when the things I have are chronic low and apper back pain, migraines that according to the neurologist are the worst is no day that I can say I dont have one and fybromyalgia and like you said is so difficult to ask for somthing for the pain my family doctor send me to the specialist the specilist send me back to the family doctor then they send me to the pain clinic they treat me with anhestetic injections once a week that takes away the pain for 5 hours after the pain of the injections goes away and that means if they put the injections today ill be sore until tomorrow then ill have 5 to 6 hours with no pain then I will have to go to the hospital with convultions or faint and then the doctors will give me 30 pills for the one month I live with pain every day of my life if you can call life to that but every day I open my eyes and I have to smile so my daugther can go to school with out worry, and my husband can work when they go I curled in my bed and I cry for so much pain, so if you know if anything that can help me please help me I dont know where u are Im in Toronto Canada.

Thank You

Im sorry If I bother You.

Patientpain,

Whoa, I'm sitting here hurting for you! You have certainly earned your Ph.D from the school of hard knocks...

Know, that we here in pain will understand your suffering, and sometimes it does help to rage against it.

Sadly, I can not recommend a pain doctor in your area.

blake2go,

Thank You

I'm sorry for the pain and the fact that you cannot find any relief. We're here to listen, and if the odd person doesn't, please don't let that cause you any more pain. Mic is a chronic pain patient too; he is often in chat, and he might be able to give you some advice; it's worth a try. Just click on chat to the left and register, and see if "Mic" is there. Mic likes to help when he can, because he knows what it's like to suffer.

PatientPain,

You are most welcome.

I have gone and looked around in your area, on the web, what I see a lot of, is smoke and mirrors.

Have you called all of the pain clinics in your area? What was the outcome?

One of our board members, Miconthenorthshore, is a crackerjack at pointing the way to those in chronic pain.

If you will google chronic pain groups, you will find them at google, yahoo.
They will give a larger base for info.

Sometimes, we believe that being stoic is being brave.

Being brave is being scared out of your mind and still pressing on.
Being stoic is being unmoved by what goes on, in and around you.

As things stand doctors are unmoved, by those in pain, therefore stoic?

If the person in front of you does not care, crying, not crying, screaming, not screaming means nothing.

She was kind and intelligent, a person in the age of reason, a person I would have loved to call, friend.

Cindy was brave and silent for much of her descent, and when she did raise hell, she was kicked to the curb by a cop with a doctors blessing.

What she got was apathy, ignorance, cruelty, an agonizing death, from those who are sworn to "do no harm"

If it had not been for hcm mare, she might have died alone, without any support.

I can't even begin to express how her story, has moved and effected me.
I knew her so briefly, but she will travel with me for the rest of my days.

OMG .......well played Blake.

said the stoic doctor...
with the new tiles on his floor, and the grout well sealed.

You can't "play the sympathy card" unless you've been dealt that sympathy card, and when you've been dealt it by a doctor who is supposed to "do no harm", well - that gets my sympathy. Obviously, not yours Harley.

Back to the pain scale.
Lets see some better offerings.
How do you communicate, you're intense pain level, to one who knows no suffering.
Short of grabbing them by the ears and shrieking "I'M IN PAIN"!

You honestly believe that doctors are impervious to pain or suffering??...
my former doctor worked every single day thru his chemotherapy treatments for lymphoma... you think he didnt have pain and suffering.(by the way he died from a seizure on vacation in front of his children)., worked for a doctor who was involved in accident.. C1 fracture... paralyzed .. he still does consults.. you think he doesnt know pain and suffering.
another doctor here hit by a tree.. paralyzed from waist down.. he wont be dancing at his daughters wedding, or walking her down the aisle.. think he dont know..

In school, we were taught that pain is what the patient says it is. In practice, I have learned that it is a lot closer to whatever the nurse says it is. Having looked after spinal cord injured patients, I can tell you that their ability to manage pain is a very significant factor in their recovery. And, it's not just the physical pain that I'm talking about. Pain, and not just physical pain, needs to be managed in a professional manner.

no arguement wisher.. pain is subjective..wether it be physical, psychological, or emotional. and its all perception.. pain meds dont "take the pain away".. they alter perception of the pain. however.. blake continues to make statements that indicate that providers "know no suffering"... just isnt true...

Yes, it's a logical fallacy. But, in Blake's perception, he feels that doctors (the one that he has seen), cannot understand his suffering because they have not suffered.
Although I have never had a spinal cord injury, I remember breaking my leg, and when somebody tried to touch my leg, - well - I think my blood pressure just rose just thinking about it!!!!! So - although my physical pain was very remote (except for childbirth - and really the second one has only been a pain since he hit age 13...LOL), well, - where was I???
I think when a patient perceives that you have not "heard" their cry for help, then that is physically, mentally, emotioanally, and spiritually painful, and I think that the doctors that Blake has encountered may have made him feel that way. That's my take on it.

And trust me, when a doctor says that you can see, and you have been terrified for years because you can't see a little piece of vision, and he tells you that - then that is beyond painful.

And then, for him to completely deny to the College that you had a vision problem...and for his buddies to support him - well - that only serves to make the pain worse.

Oops, I did it again...

Apologies in advance to harley.

Thats very sad Special.

Welcome to the forum Scoliosis,I wish you the very best. P.S. NOW, I see this is an older thread. I hope you found a doctor.

My personal feeling is that they "agreed" to it before coming here, so - since they agreed to it, they can only make the best of it.
That doctor doing the consults - kudos to him.
And to the other doctor paralyzed from the waist down - the chair means that his dance has changed, and the chair means that he will not stand to give his daughter away, but the chair does NOT make him any less of a man, unless he allows it to make him less of a man, in my opinion.

who agreed?.. huh...

Don't people become tolerant of opiates over time?

It seems there should be other things done in addition to the opiates.

Just my opinion.

Yup tolerance and effectiveness wears off etc.
yup.. other methods that are not narcotic/addictive to manage and control pain..
people want to be pain free, that is not always possible.. goal with pain management is to be functional..

Nursing patients with spinal cord injuries is heartbreaking; and can be very emotionally painful at times. If you can tell yourself that perhaps this person agreed to allow this to happen to them, for their spiritual growth, then it makes it easier to carry on.

This can be comforting to a patient if it gives them a sense of control, and a sense of purpose, but, off the top of my head, I can only remember sharing this concept once, and that was in desperation.

I gave up expecting pain free years ago. I now opt for "pain functional". Some days it is a "you know what". The days that are not a "you know what" empower me.

"perhaps this person agreed to allow this to happen to them, for their spiritual growth"

Perhaps they did not agree as their God is a loving God and would not want them to suffer or the circumstances were created by the actions of another person who did not appreciate life or people.

I will never understand the concept of allowing oneself to experience the murder of a child or parent or a loved one or humanity killing pain, etc. in order to grow spiritually.

However, that is me. You do what suits you. We are all individuals.

Well, can you understand the concept of Jesus?

Not worth responding to.....

But, hopefully, something to think about?

God loves us.
Jesus loves us.
That is the reality.
It helps if you believe.
And so, I'll believe with all my heart.

Noonespecial, ya know the average doctor, has not known, real long term chronic pain.
If they had been badly injured and had great pain........... hey! they are doctors, pain meds will not be a problem!

Chris, has become my poster child for how a doctor is going to hear your pain, and what tricks he'd like to play with it.

So pain management can range from:

A couple of aspirin.

To a bullet in the head.

The one is useless, and the other way to effective.
Looking for that middle ground, and how to communicate that need.

have you interviewed "the average doctor". ? have you compiled data.. they are just as prone to pain, chronic or acute like everyone else.. and pain management does range from aspirin to oxycotin to exercise and yoga, stretching etc.. narcotics dont cure anything, they mask the symptoms.. the cause is what needs to be addressed.

So, why bother?

Back at 'ya.

I'd love for you to come stand next to me, while I do yoga, but then again you may need those eardrums for later.

So, like any chance you'd like to put up something useful on pain communication from your lofty position as a docs wife?
Or would you like to offer some more..... doctor good, patient bad, fluff?

Where do i state good doctor bad patient??????.
Lofty position?? huh.. thats your view not mine.. my view im in the trenches. every day working with patients to help them thru their medical issues and supporting them and listening to them and well just doing my job.
Pain communication.. ok. again.. verbalize it with levels of comparison.. does it feel like a sharp pain, bruise, stubbed toe, tooth ache.. describe it as best you can. .. based on your previous experience with pain, how would you rate this pain, with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain in your life... gauge it for us.. what have you tried to alleviate this pain, did it help, did it minimize the pain, did it eliminate the pain, or was there no effect. How long have you had the pain. is it constant, is it intermittent, have you noticed it worsening with activity etc etc etc....

I have been working with, caring for patient with pain more than half my life... i understand pain.
Yoga next to you.. it would hurt so bad you would scream to the point of rupturing my ear drums,.. is that what you are stating..Really now blake.. yoga would hurt you.. but tossing bowling pins into the air and catching them , keeping them moving doesnt hurt..
i have point blank asked you on more than one thread.. what is your disability blake. you can clown, you can walk you can juggle (about the same amount of muscle strength and control that it takes to swing a hammer)... you dont answer you skirt that issue and boohoo or become angry and threatening..

other options for pain management.. diversion technique, biofeedback, muscle stim.. EXERCISE, STRETCHING. but those techniques dont get high do they. body in motion stays in motion.. stagnation is death.

i have chronic pain,.. i have since i was 16.. my mother had acute pain... 4 collapsed vertebrae in her spine.. she took 1/2 percocet at bedtime... that was it 1/2 a pill.

i have patients with chronic pain.. caused by ALS, severe osteo arthritis., chonic headaches etc.. most of them take darvocet .. we have two patients on oxycontin at present... THEY HAVE METASTATIC CANCER.... so again poor poor blake... what is the cause of your pain.. dont give the bs of body wrecked by construction yada yada... be specific. what is your diagnosis. where is your pain, what have YOU tried other than narcotics to alleviate or control your pain.

I have to laugh Special. When I was sent to a Pain Management Dr., only a Ph.D. within that hospital. He asked about my pain. I said it is constant. It NEVER EVER goes away. He proceeded tell me that is not how pain works. AH!!!! I left after knowing he was an AH and cost me another couple bucks. What a loser.

No1

"Pain communication.. ok. again.. verbalize it with levels of comparison.. does it feel like a sharp pain, bruise, stubbed toe, tooth ache.. describe it as best you can. .. based on your previous experience with pain, how would you rate this pain, with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain in your life... gauge it for us.. what have you tried to alleviate this pain, did it help, did it minimize the pain, did it eliminate the pain, or was there no effect. How long have you had the pain. is it constant, is it intermittent, have you noticed it worsening with activity etc etc etc...."

....Oh this is brilliant, here let me tell you exactly what lobster tastes like.

....I have an idea for you, act dismissively of the persons pain, note exactly, how tightly the hands clench into fists, how firmly the jaw is set, how the eyes are now boring holes through you. Now laugh gaily, and turn you back. you let me know how that works out for you.

"Yoga next to you.. it would hurt so bad you would scream to the point of rupturing my ear drums,.. is that what you are stating..Really now blake.. yoga would hurt you.. but tossing bowling pins into the air and catching them , keeping them moving doesnt hurt..
i have point blank asked you on more than one thread.. what is your disability blake".

....I suffer from SAQS, stupid azz'd question syndrome.

"but those techniques dont get high do they. body in motion stays in motion.. stagnation is death".

....Yep, that what I wants, ta get high. In motion.... must be why I clown.

"dont give the bs of body wrecked by construction yada yada... be specific. what is your diagnosis. where is your pain, what have YOU tried other than narcotics to alleviate or control your pain".

....Ah, I see you know as much about construction as you do about juggling pins.

....FYI I've not had the chance to try the opiates, though doctor Ray Ray, says he has some shyte, that will make an Oxycontin, look like an aspirin.

i am willing to bet blake that i know more about juggling, construction and hell cars than you do about office admin., nursing, medical assisting, medical billing
disability approval that you do

simple question.. when ya filled out your disability application what is the diagnosis on the form.. why cant you work.. you can put it in layman term, medical term or icd format...

Boy can I relate to what you're going through!!!! Four yrs ago I fell down a flight of stairs at work landing on my head. I now suffer from a double lumbar scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, vertigo, nerve damage, and now fibromyalgia. I now use a walker and a wheelchair and spend most of my days in extreme pain flat on my back with my knees raised. I've been taking between 6-8 percs a day, flexoral at night, and pantoloc for my stomache issues. I've tried the Lyrica and Cymbalta but had such severe reactions I had to discontinue, I'm waiting for my rhuemy to get me into pain clinic and hopefully nerve block injections. It's hard enough to accept all the changes to my life, all I want is to find a doctor who cares and will actually work with me to get the help and answers I need in order to go forward. My gp helps as much as he can, if I find any doc that I'm interested in seeing he tries to get me a referal. I live west of Toronto, any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for letting me vent.

im not in canada, but i do wish you well.. 4 yrs without relief.. that is rough.. i am assuming not a surgical candidate.. i dont understand the delays in the canadian system for certain care.. shame you have to wait so long for nerve block.. hang in
good luck and good health.

Damn! you have had it rough, I feel for you, and I hear the double nightmare you are living, the disability,the pain, and the playing of the pain game with the doctors holding all the cards.
Perhaps Mic will pop in here and show you the way, great fellow!
You hang in there and we will pull for you!

Dr. Chris Aldridge is a Pain Management Specialist in Ontario, Canada, am I correct?

Although I am of relatively good health, and have been saved the unfortunate battle that chronic pain sufferers must wage against the system, I have many friends who are chronic pain patients. I've observed, from my conversations with them, that pain management clinics and pain management specialists in Canada do nothing more than write pain patients a ticket to grow more pot than the patient could ever hope to ingest personally and that this occurs EVEN if the patient does not consider marijuana to be an effective course of treatment. I find it interesting that the medical profession in Canada is quick to prescribe pot, a decriminalized substance though still not LEGAL, in amounts that would keep the sufferer, their entire extended family and even their dog high for more than the allotted month, yet consider anyone who does not like the side effects of marijuana and would prefer some sort of LEGAL opiate pain management to be committing "drug seeking behaviour". It's time for the medical community to realize that while they, themselves, have some of the HIGHEST numbers of prescription medication abuse, by profession, and although THEY abuse something so easily at their disposal doesn't mean that an individual that genuinely needs said medication is going to do the same when, and if, it's prescribed.

My prayers and best wishes are with all of the posters in this forum. Thank you for your stories. Your shared experiences go a long way in proving that we desperately need medical reform in North America. Special thanks to Dr. Chris Aldridge for sharing the par for the course medical community reaction to those suffering chronic pain. Perhaps it's time for MD's to realize that patients come to you "seeking" drugs BECAUSE YOU ARE THE PERSON AUTHORIZED TO ADMINISTER THEM and that the only "problem" the patient has is your unwillingness to treat their concerns.

At least Dr. Ray-Ray will take care of the patients needs.

The above poster's information is incorrect. The world health organization (WHO) analgesic ladder is followed when treating chronic pain. Opioid medication is not immediately prescribed, nor is that of marijuana. Indeed, these classes of medication are used later in the treatment process , and used with caution.

I do not prescribe medical marijuana. I fail to see the necessity of doing so when the oral equivalent of this chemical is available in the form of cesamet (and I rarely prescribe this medication).

To my knowledge, few pain clinics prescribe medical marijuana.

Dr. Chris Aldridge needs to stop posting ratings and comments about himself on his feedback page. It's hard to get "concise" information about a Dr/DR/Doctor/doc when his own input is biasing the available info.

Chris to do miss the point, your customer has hired you, not the who.
No one is interested in what your who is telling you to do, only in what they are telling you to do.
You do spook me, your cold calculated apathy, coupled with your prejudice and ego makes you dangerous.

I don't believe that ut all. Maybe sharpen the blade Blake.

Blake, this person isn't a customer, nor are they a patient of this doctor. He has no relationship with them whatsoever, and by their own admission, they are not sick or in pain. Dr Aldridge clarified the prescribed marijuana issue with yes, just the facts.

Let's be fair.

There are many things wrong with this post:

Doctor's do not provide patients with a license to grow marijuana. They are part of the application process to posess marijuana, giving reason as to why it is to be used and in what dosage, usually from 1 to 3 grams daily, which is Definitely NOT the excessive amaount of which you claim. The doctor is also required to give a list of other drugs prescribed and the reasons why they were ineffective.

The license to posess, as well as the license to grow or have grown for you, are all filed seperately by the patient. It is Health Canada that approves or denies this application. Some patients may abuse this system and grow or posess more than they are allowed, but it is no different than the patient who gets more than they need of any other prescription and gives or sells away their excess.

Marijuana is not decriminalized, nor is it any more or less legal than opiates. Marijuana, as well as other prescriptions, are considered controlled substances, but you'll never hear of anyone getting charged with posession of prescription drugs that don't belong to them. However, someone can be charged with trafficking if they are caught selling prescription medication, just the same as marijuana.

As I've said a point has been missed, now twice.

Thanks all for your support. I saw my rheumy this week and will be finally getting the nerve block injections, while I'm a little nervous I'm so excited and hopeful that they will help alleviate some of the neck and back pain!!!! I'm also getting the x-rays for my chest and rib area, which will hopefully lead to help for the rib hump that is progressing and causing so much pain. Fingers crossed. Thanks again all, Patty

On the other hand, "The doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient"

A staph infection, couldn't Rx himself some antibiotics?
Needing a couple of sutures in your leg?
You need an appendectomy, well you might call one of your doc pals.

I know what meds I've taken, what worked and what did not, what I need now, and of the 3 meds for it, which one I want and can afford.
If I could just cut out the middleman, I'd be a lot healthier.

So in my case the lack of money, coupled with useless doctors, condemns me to poor health.

To do no harm, means by commission, as well as omission.

Dr. Ray Ray looks better everyday...

Good luck to you.. after the injections. you may still have pain..but hopefully it will be effective in decreasing the pain.. i can understand the nervous.. try not to let it overtake you..
good luck and good health.

Doing harm by omission is the standard of care here in Ontario, Canada.

Does he do eye surgery?

The people of Hamilton, Ontario need a good eye doctor.

On the chance of sounding naive, who is this Dr. Ray Ray?

Twain, Good Dr. Ray Ray is a part of the freelance medical community, providing medications to those patients denied care by the traditional medical community.

Drawbacks to being a patient of Dr. Ray Ray, are his limited pharmacy, cash only policy, inability to accept insurance, and lack of free samples.

On the bright side, walk ins are seen immediately, he makes house calls, has a no humiliation/ degradation policy, and is available 24/7 for a telephone consult.

http://www.ratemds.com/social/?q=node/38759

Blake, after reading the link, I'm still not sure if he's a fictional (composite) character or a real individual.

That would be both, he is fictional to those being properly treated by the traditional medical community, and very real to those who aren't.

Twain,

Blake likes to play word games. Dr. Ray Ray is any street corner drug pusher.

Blake;
you've chronicled many different medications on this and other pain med forums you've declined to try, that have been recommended by those with much, much more experience and educational background then you. You say useless doctors....I say ignored doctors.

It's entirely possible that you'd be a lot healther in spite of them as well had you heeded their advice. You are, where you are (at least in part) because of the contribution you've made by believing your experience and background to override theirs. Perhaps you're life would have turned out different..And we'd not need this incessant kvetching from you. You've condemed yourself.

That's Blake for ya. One of his resume powerpoints is "creator" He makes something......out of nothing

Hey harley - don't knock "Creator".
That's on God's resume too.
But - don't be confused.
I'm not saying that Blake is God-like,
But - I think that he knows that,
Unlike some doctors.

Dr. Ray Ray is a busnessman who couldn't care less about you.
He's just in it for the money.
He will lie to you, deceive you, and harm you.
He's wants you to call him "Dr."
And for you to think that he is there to help you,
Too many people have trusted him, and their lives have been forever changed.

Now Harley is going to get his knickers in a knot just because I like to vent.
To clarify:

I do NOT hate all doctors.
I think that the vast majority of doctors are the opposite of Dr. Ray Ray.
And we couldn't do without them,
No patient should have to turn to Dr. Ray Ray for help.
And no doctor should be confused with Dr. Ray Ray.
Dr. Ray Ray should not be calling himself "Doctor"
Because that word, in my opinion, should be used to show respect.

Word games?
Word games!
Yes! That's what the College and HPARB does.
They play word games too!
Only they play for the doctor to win!
I wonder if they would give Blake a job.
Then there could actually be some "natural justice".

Blake could lead an organization called the "CMPO"

Thanks,
I know people like that; a few are MDs.

AHH Heart, you say that like it's a bad thing. Drs. Ray Ray are badly misunderstood and under appreciated.

It's 12pm you are a CPP in agony, who ya gonna call.
Dr. Ray Ray!

He's also easy with the with lollipops!

LOL ...........My neighbor across the street has a crushed spine from falling from a scaffold. Many unsuccessful surgeries etc. He has an pain med dispenser device in his abdomen, and he also gets those Fentanyl lollipops for 'break through' pain. He's always got this sucker stick hanging out his mouth.

Oh, I feel very sorry for him. He's a real train wreck.

Several years ago I asked a pharmacist, to run me thru all of the various pain meds.
She started to make lists for me starting with opium the plant, to the various pills and the dosages, when she got to fetanyl, she described it as a lozenge, I said like a cough drop, she said no it has a stick, I said oh like a lollipop!
She then gave me a dim look, and said WE prefer to call it a lozenge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yR7ONpWlIE

Ya know, I always thought there was something wrong with that kid, now I know what!