Chronic Pain

Hi, this is my first post to this group. I live in Austin, Texas, and I've been going to a great pain management doctor/group for four years. I'm about to move to a house close to Perryville, Maryland (close to Baltimore - kind of)and I've heard that Maryland and surrounding states (Delaware, Pennsylvania) don't prescribe pain meds like they do in Austin - MD is more strict in handing them out. I've got a great combination going now: Kadian (morphine) and hydrocodone for my pain, and I also receive Adderall to keep me awake (weird sleeping disease no doctor has been able to figure out yet - after 3 years!), and Cymbalta for depression due to pain/sleeping disease.

Is this true???

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for Pain Mgmt drs/spine drs/general prac. drs?

THANKS!

jane

Hello Jane

It's very nice to meet you and Welcome to the Chronic Pain Connection forums.

I cannot really comment on your information on the Maryland area docs prescribing methods, but I do know that it's really hard to tell and I would only take that info with a grain of salt and just begin getting your paperword, records, RX info all in order, talk to your pain doc and see how long they can help you with your meds, till you find a doctor willing to help you.
I probably would ask my current doc to write me up a short letter explaining what kind of patient I was and I guess a letter of recomendation of sorts with his telephone # incase the new doc would like to talk to him. I also would search at the American Pain foundations physician search page and find some docs in the area you are moving to. You may even want to make apts inadvance if you know exactly when your arriving, so you don't have to wait or find out that the doc is not taking any new patients and you've wasted valuable time.

I'm sure you've already asked your current doc if he/she can refere you to anyone on the east coast, but just incase, I wanted to mention it.

I find that many pain patients call ahead of time and tell the nurse/receptionist that they are pain patients and want to know about doctors prescribing opiate pain med. I can almost guarantee that the majority of receptionist & nurses are told to never tell anyone on the phone if they prescibe opiate pain relievers and I also think this question can put a red flag on your name to begin with. It's unfortunate, but our country has a great deal of people seeking drugs through any possible route they can and they ruine it & make it difficult for the rest of us.
I would tell the receptionist that you have a preexisting condition and you have all your records, past test, etc and you would like a consult with the doctor, your new to the area and your looking for a new doctor. That way you can come in & meet the physician, talk about your condition, what has worked and see if this doc is even willing to work with you.

There is no hard or fast rule to finding a new doc, what works for one, may not the next, and so on. I personally would make about 3 apts with primary care docs in the vicinity of your moving location and then go in and see each doctor or maybe you could get lucky and hit it off with the first one. I know it would be much easier to just call & ask your questions, but I really think it's important for a pain patient to sit down and talk with the doctor before choosing one.

You can also just do a Google search on primary care, pain clinics and I would also look into any near by University pain clinics too.

I really hope your transition to another city & new doctors goes smooth. It would be really hard to leave an already established pain doc relationship and have to start all over. I'll be thinking of you.

Take Care
Betty

Although I know nothing of pain mgmt on the east coast, I did have the same experience here in Kansas. My doctor of over 10 years told me it was time to give up, that I'd fought long enough. I didn't want to quit work before 50, so he suggested moving to a more arid state. I found my apartment on the internet, gave me notice, got a UHaul and my son to drive it, and off I went to New Mexico. I knew no one, no friends, no relatives. The doctor I saw first easily accepted the pain meds I was on at that time - Duragesic patches, 100 mg and Hydrocodone for breakthrough pain. The problem was, when it stopped working he told me to change the patch every 2 days instead of every 3. Needless to say, the insurance had a fit. It would take a couple of weeks for approval each time.

Finally a lady I worked with took me to her doctor. She was a great doctor, very down to earth and with medical problems herself, so she understood the meaning of pain. Once she told me my legs were more swollen than any she had ever seen - except for her own. I made it for 3 years trying to work in a retail store. My car got repossed so my hopes of teaching on the reservation were crushed. So I came back to Kansas.

Like was said in previous posts, I called my old doc 3 times to make certain my insurance, everything was a go. When I got to the doctor's office, I couldn't believe the change. The office staff refused to let me even see the doctor or his nurse, both of whom had hugged me and cried when I left. Then they said they weren't accepting new patients. Because I was gone 3 years I was now a "new" patient. I was told that he could not prescribe any meds without full blood work, and asked me how much money I had brought. I told them $100 and they said to come back when I had "lots" of money.]

I was amazed, crying, shaking, not knowing where I could get my pain meds. So I went to the emergency room, showed them my medication bottles (the doctor in New Mexico switched me to methadone). I don't know if he called the doctor or not, but in a few minutes I had my refills. The ER doc just said he could only do this one time, but it gave me a month to find someone who cared about peoples pain.

I found a wonderful one. He gave me a 2 week supply of my methadone so I could have blood work done, had me sign a paper about using one pharmacy, one doctor, etc. I eventually started seeing his PA,a one of a kind woman who individually was responsible for getting my disability for me. She also told the staff that I took a LOT of narcotics because I was in a LOT of pain and not to give me any trouble.

So they are out there. And I'm on the same 4 methadone a day as I was 9 years ago, except now I take morphine, 15 mg, for break-through pain. And sadly to say, the only time I have problems getting my pain meds are when I am in the hospital. The nurses once just plain lied about the demerol IV push I knew was on my orders, my AM meds would come at 8:30 AM, over 12 hrs since my last. Then when I complained and got switched to a PIC morphine machine, they failed to take my damaged liver and kidneys into account and had to give me Narcan when my respiration went down to 3 per minute and pulse was 30.

But never give up. My PA told me that it was my body and I made the decisions about meds & tests, not the doctor. And when I refused a procedure from a doctor who was awful some
20 years ago, I felt just great!!

Best of luck,Char

Hello Char

I wanted to thank you for adding to this topic and also sharing more about your own life with pain. Your many years of experience is very helpful to so many of us that have not had to live with pain as long.

Thank you again, it's nice to get more acquainted with you too.
Take care and I hope to see you around more or as much as your able and want too.
Hugs
Betty

Hi Jane,

If you're willing to go to Baltimore, there are lots of options for pain management. Here are some places to check out:

1. There's a Web site called DoctorsForPain.com that lists 128 pain specialists in Maryland – a large number of them in Baltimore. They don't appear to be listed in any particular order, so you'll have to just click through the pages to see them all. There also doesn't appear to be any way to tell which are the best, but at least there are a lot to choose from. You may also find one or more in a town that is closer to you than Baltimore.

2. On another site, spine-health.com you can search for doctors who specialize in spinal problems. I found nine in Maryland, three of whom were in Baltimore.

3. The American Pain Foundation is located in Baltimore and should be able to tell you more about pain specialists in the area.

4. Johns Hopkins Medical Center is located in Baltimore and they are supposed to have an excellent Pain Treatment Center. In fact, they were listed as one of the top 35 pain centers in the country in a 2003 Good Housekeeping article. The "Top Doc" they listed was Peter Staats, MD. Their phone number is 410-955-7246.

I hope at least one of these resources will help you find a good pain specialist who will be willing to work with you.

Good luck to you.
Karen

Get an appointment at the Johns Hopkins Blaustein Pain Treatment Center. They provide world-class care.

There has been a major administrative shake-up at the American Pain Foundation. Management has not been careful with who they've hired and management has antagonized many of the knowledgeable volunteers and lower level staffers. The American Pain Foundation is also promoting questionable medical practices for pain management.

I agree with Karen, her points are very helpful and you should be able to find some use in them.

Good luck

good morning teresa morancie here. i am also on morphine. i live in bangor maine on the east coast very east Ha Ha. i am on Kadian 100mg BID but this month will be changed due to my medicare part D Prescription coverage will now only pay for Morphine Sulfate Extended Release i will get 100mg BID and i also take Morphine Sulfate Instant Release 15mg six every day. my base line pain is 5 (was 9 and 10) and my breakthrough pain is controlled better. need advice feel free to write me so good luck and if the methadone is not cutting it try the mser

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Karen Lee Richards,

Who to you see for PM in Austin, TX?