Tag Archives for pain specialist

The Last Post-Surgery Check

I’ve hit the six-week mark since having surgery without any major complications: my incision is healing well and I didn’t have any infections. I had my last check yesterday with the gynecological specialist who pushed to get something done to get me better and was a part of my surgical team. From his perspective, everything looks good. He reviewed the pathology reports he requested on the growth he removed from my pelvis, my fallopian tubes, and all the adhesions that stuck that growth to my rectum and my fallopian tubes to my ovaries. All the reports came back with no sign of cancer, endometriosis, or any other diseases for concern. He also assured me that there is very little chance of the growth recurring.

However, he wasn’t happy to hear that the surgery didn’t help to reduce, or what he had hoped, end my pain; or the fact that I’m now taking three times the level of pain medication I was taking before the surgery. He examined my incision; ordered some tests, and then scheduled my next appointment for six months from now. We also discussed the pain clinic’s plan to manage my pain moving forward. In the near future, my pain specialist will attempt to manage my pain with acupuncture. The gynecological specialist assured me that my pain specialist is a very skilled acupuncturist. As much as I like her, feel comfortable with her, and trust her many years of experience; it was comforting to get that vote of confidence in my pain specialist from one of her colleagues.

I left my appointment feeling confident, which has only happened a handful of times during the past two years. Everything isn’t perfect, but now that my surgery is behind me, the growth is no longer in my pelvis, and it was clearly benign; my doctors and I can focus on my pain. We can focus on finding a solution to eliminate it because now we know that the growth may not have been the direct cause of my chronic pain, although, it might have been the catalyst that triggered it. The discovery of the growth also raised awareness about the unusual way my body processes high levels of pain. Now my doctors just have to figure out what to do to make me pain-free again.

 

The Police – King of Pain

 

Pain Clinic #2

Later today I have an appointment at the pain clinic.

The pain specialist I’ll be meeting with is the one who completed my intake last summer. I like her because she is not only thorough she is also very sympathetic. She is an anesthesiologist who specializes in pain management. What that means is that she has extensive knowledge of medications in addition to how the body responds to pain.

Before I met her the doctors treating me questioned the probability that my congenital condition was causing me the level of pain I reported. When she examined me my responses to cold, heat and and external pain stimuli were not within normal ranges – I am hypersensitive to all three. She also confirmed that my range of motion is substantially affected by my pain.

When the pain specialist delivered her report, my family doctor/general practitioner finally stopped pushing me to take antidepressants – she believed my pain was psychological. Because of that belief she had a theory that a certain brand of antidepressant would effectively treat my pain – it didn’t even make a dent. Upon receipt of the pain clinic’s report, she finally conceded that my pain is very real and started prescribing the level of pain medications I need to cope with the pain. She also stopped making me take the pain-filled trek into her office every few weeks so she could ‘assess’ me, which was a welcome outcome because traveling to see her caused me a lot of extra pain.

My reluctant surgeon’s attitude shifted too. When I first met her last summer she was almost dismissive of me and my concerns. She actually told me in that first appointment that she had not reviewed my images ahead of meeting me and needed to schedule time with her radiologist to do so before she could complete my diagnosis. That did not fill me with a lot of confidence. However, after she received the pain clinic’s report she started investigating options for dealing with my congenital condition that might not cause me incremental long-term pain or have a long list of poor outcomes.

Without the pain clinic I imagine that I would still be foundering to find doctors willing to listen to me and develop the right treatment plan(s) or give the proper level of support for me to cope with my pain. It makes me hope that others who are living with chronic pain resulting from any condition/illness are equally as fortunate to get the level of care they need from their healthcare providers.

 

Three Days Grace – Pain

Pain Clinic #1

I went to the pain clinic on Friday.

I can say that so casually now.

It has become a necessary part of my life. The pain specialists make sure I’m getting the right level of medications for pain management. They assess my condition to determine what procedures might help to reduce my pain. They are really good at communicating technical details in a way that’s easy to understand and setting my expectations. Most importantly, they quieted the doubters (the insurance company, my family doctor/primary care physician, and other specialists) who questioned, for different reasons, why and how it was possible that I could be in so much pain based on my initial misdiagnosis and even now with what my surgeon identified.

Having pain specialists as part of the team of doctors treating me has also become important to my friends and family. They are more comfortable with my treatment plan now that I have this extra level of care. When my pain spikes to unbearable levels my friends and family ask if I should call the pain specialists to have my pain medications adjusted. They ask when my next appointment at the pain clinic is scheduled if they think I need support. And they ask if the pain specialists agree with my surgeon’s opinions about how to move forward with treating my condition.

At Friday’s appointment I saw the doctor I met during my first visit last summer– I like her a lot. She adjusted my medications to help with my night time pain and the high blood pressure I now have because of my pain. Then she talked to me about the procedure I have scheduled for later this week. This procedure will help my surgeon determine if the only surgery known to be able to correct the condition I have might help or hurt me further because my illness is rare, but my case is more complicated than most documented cases.

The doctor outlined the possible outcomes for the procedure and she set my expectations. I could end up having a major pain flare up after the procedure and it may take weeks to see any positive results– if any at all. If my pain is not relieved then the surgical option will be taken off the table because the anticipated outcomes for my post-operative quality of life are very poor. The upside if this procedure fails is that the pain clinic may be able to provide some minimally invasive treatments to help me cope better long-term.

My situation may not be ideal, but I feel very fortunate to have access to this clinic and such a caring team of doctors.

Today I leave you with Joan Armatrading singing about physical pain of a very different nature than mine.

Joan Armatrading – Physical Pain