So, I went to the pain management doctor after my PCP refused my request to see a rheumatologist, and my neurologist dropped me as a patient bc of Medicaid. The pain doc said fibro was a sleeping problem, and there was nothing he could do for me. He said he would tell my PCP to give me Tramadol or Hydrocodone. But, I could only take it when the symptoms were really, really bad. The doc never checked me out or asked me where I hurt! He said fibro would make me feel like I could run a million miles one day and other days would be painful. Apparently, this doc has no idea about fibro at all! I hurt everyday, and have no once felt like I could run. This doc was my last hope at relief. And, now ... I feel somewhat hopeless. My state's doctors suck!!! I'm so angry!!!
Are you able to switch PCPs? I wouldn't appreciate being refused a referral to a specialist. I also wouldn't go back to that pain doctor. How can you be in pain management and be so clueless about fibro?!
Sound like that doctor saw your insurance and decided no to waste his time on you. It sucks how doctors can care more about their bottom line then their patients. I would go back to your PCP and tell him that you need help and would like to know the name of a doctor who will help you. If he refuses call you local medical association good luck.
Susan, in the USA, (unlike here in Canada) you can make your own appt. with a rheumatologist or other specialist. I must say I don't think much of a Dr. who refuses any referral. However, there might be new rules under Obamacare that you may not have been covered if you went to a rheumatologist. I hear more scary stuff every week. Next 7 million people will lose their work-supplied insurance. Yes, that pain Dr. obviously knows nothing about fibro. So Sorry, the medical world is so very frustrating, but go to someone else. I saw somewhere online a list of doctors who are good with fibro. Might have even been this website. Click on the "Doctors" tab at the top of the page to see if there are any in your area.Different Fibro sites might also have lists. Google "Fibromyalgia doctors in _______ (state or city)". Keep looking. There ARE compassionate doctors out there. If that pain specialist did tell your Dr. to give you those meds, maybe you can get that much until you find another Dr.
Hi Susan, that is just awful. I am so sorry you had that happen. He obviously doesn’t know much about fibromyalgia and its affects on our bodies. It is not right, but I do know that some docs don’t want to take Medicaid. I hope you can switch your PCP and find someone who will treat your pain accordingly.
Hugs, Leanne
Susan.
Do not give up.
Find another PCP.See if they will refer you to a Rheum.
I am on tramadol twice a day.Nener as needed.
It needs to build up in your system.
And I go to a free clinic because I have no ins.
You do have the right to switch doctors.
I will tell you nothing takes away all of your symptoms.
I was told I have a sleep problem also.I have sleep disturbances but am not convinced if I had a sleep study(not affordable)if it would solve my problems.
Take care,Joann.
I am so sorry for your treatment Susan. With our congress wanting to cut Medicaid services it is going to more difficult to find specialists to take you. I hate to make a political statement, but it seems to be coming true. Just start calling your congresspeople and speak up.
I’ve been doing it for a long time for SS, Medicare, and Medicaid.
I am not currently under the care of any doctors. I have not seen a doctor for my fibro in 2 years. I get had bad things get. If I had insurance or had a free clinic I know I would be better off. It may take you trying to do whatever you can just to get thru this very painful time. Doctor's are about to get even less happy with fibro patients. Due to Obamacare. Keep your chin up.
So sorry to hear of this awful appointment. Have you thought about speaking with a patient advocate? You might be able to find one that charges very little. They seem to be the ones who help people get the care they need going through your insurance and public programs that you might not know about.
HELLO, IF YOU ARE HONESTLY SEEKING A PAIN MGR DOCTOR.
I WOULD GET A PAIN MGR. DOCTOR THAT WOULD RECOMMEND A SPECIALIST IN PAIN (CALIFORNIA)
MY DOCTOR FOR PAIN MGR. IS THE GREATEST. HE IS FROM AUSTRAILA. MY DOCTOR AND HIS WIFE RUN THE PAIN MGR. CLINIC. I THINK YOU SHOULD NOT GIVE UP ON PAIN MGR. MANY DOCTORS ARE OUT IN THE USA BUT, THEY DO NOT MAKE IT A KNOW SUBJECT. IN FEAR OF SOMEONE BREAKING IN THINKING OH THEIR MUST BE NARCOTINS IN THEIR.
BUT, SINCERELY
THINK ABOUT CALLING MY DR. AND FIND OUT IF HE KNOWS OF ANYONE IN YOUR STATE OR CLOSE TO YOU.
LET ME KNOW, AND IF INTERESTED I WILL GIVE YOU HIS PHONE NUMBER.
HE IS THE BEST AND WITH HIS WIFE THEY MAKE A GREAT TEAM.
I have been taking Cymbalta for my Fibro for 3 months it must be working I can walk without terrible pain and I can sleep at night for the first time in yr…I used to be up all night in pain in my hips and legs it has been wonderful…I have some of my old life back. I also take MTX and predisone but I having been thinking its the Cymbalta.
Oh, man!!!!!! What is so very very WRONG with this picture! The Pain Management Doc (and I use the term loosely) just shot himself in the foot and didn't even realize it! So, he thinks it's a sleep disorder? When does a Doctor ever tell you that when you have a sleeping disorder, you'd feel like you could run a marathon one day but be in extreme PAIN the next. Pain wouldn't factor into it at all if it were a true sleep disorder. It would make sense if he at least said, "Ok, it's a sleep disorder, so sometimes you'll sleep fine and feel energetic enough to run like the wind but when you lose a night of sleep, you'll be tired." That's logical. But somehow your "sleep" disorder has the ability to cause you enough pain sometimes that narcotics are warranted. On one hand, he says he can't help you but will tell your primary to give you the pain meds. For this sleeping disorder that he really doesn't believe you have. The guy quacks louder than a duck!!!!!!! I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I would go back to your primary and try to reason with him or her and see if you can get a referral to a Rheumatologist. Many pain management Docs are jaded and they see alot of patients that make up symptoms just to get drugs so they look at everyone a little suspiciously until they get to know you and run some tests. And examine you, gee, that's always a good thing to do! If you can't get the referral to the Rheumatologist, see if there is any way you can pay for the visit without the insurance involved. Any relatives or friends you can borrow from? Then ask the Doc if you can make payments? I hope for your sake it will work out. We have a real disease with real pain so we are entitled to REAL respect. Perhaps if such unbelief persists with your primary or who he sends you to, an Attorney would be more than happy to hear your side of it. I'm wondering if you can get on disability but you'll need to be diagnosed first. But maybe it's possible that the Attorney could actually be the one to recommend who you could go see to get an accurate diagnosis. And if that were the case, you wouldn't have to pay the Attorney's fees until after you win the disability claim. I'm just half guessing it might work out that way, there are those here who know much more about it. Good luck to you, Susan!
Hi Susan - Laurie here. I get SO angry when I read about the problems that our group has in getting the adequate treatment we need. My nurse referred me to a female doctor. When the time came for me to see her - I, instead, was transferred to a male doctor. I don't have anything against male doctors.. But I am more comfortable when it comes to my Fibro - to visit a female one. He was absolutely the WORSE doctor I have ever met in my life! I am on Medicaid as well. The minute he walked into the examination room, I knew immediately I wasn't going to like him. Us, women. have GREAT intuitions, don't we? Being that this was my first visit with him, I thought the exam would last a little while - plus the questions I had written down, to ask him. He was very rude to me and rather abrupt also. At one point, he was standing behind me and he said something that I couldn't understand. I asked him to repeat it, and what does he do??? He YELLS at me to repeat what I didn't hear. OMG!! I was so angry!. He checked me over for about 10 minutes and I didn't even have the chance to ask him quesitons. I told him to get OUT of the room and let me get dressed, as I wanted the HELL outta there!! When I walked out of the exam room - he was standing there just starring at me and I said, "" You obviously are burned out and you should retire and take your miserable attitude with you!!'' Susan. he never checked me either. He just wrote out a prescription and handed it to me. I didn't even look at what he had written down. I threw it back at him. Why in the world do us Fibros have this kind of stuff happening all the time?? Every pain managements that I live close to, will NOT take me because of my Medicaid. Doctors don't care anymore, Susan. That's the problem! Oh!!!!! DON'T get me started on this!! LOL The female doctor that I will be seeing, like you, is truly my last hope. I am so sick of being misunderstood all the time. Also doctor's today, don't spend enough time with their patients. It's like they have to fill a ''quota'' for the day of how many patients they can take care of. What do they get for filling their quota?? Another notch in their belt?? Jeez! I think I better stop while I am still ahead. I just get so mad at these idiots that claim they are doctors!! Love, Laurie
I'm not sure if anyone suggested this an as option or not, but the way that I found my pain management specialist is by emailing the National Fibromyalgia Association and they will put you in contact with someone who is familiar with your states physicians. They will recommend physicians in your general area that "specialize" in the treatment of fibromyalgia. I was able to go through them as well to recommend a counselor who understood fibro. They have been wonderful. Hope this helps.
I agree red! It is getting harder an harder to find good Doctors AND nurses. My Dad was a doctor , and if he were alive today, I wouldn't be able to repeat what he has to say about the Medical field. He would be terribly disappointed! Laurie
Woooo-Hooooo, you go girlfriend. lol. Laurie, I am so sorry for your bad experience, too. "Another notch in their belt?" hahahahaha. Not only a notch but these green things that like to stick to their greedy little hands...... I believe it's called (now, let me see if I can think through the fibro fog......uhh................oh.....yeah.......I used to have some once......) MONEY. I used to be a Medical Assistant and I can tell you that almost all medical offices book every 15 minutes, but some even 10 minutes per patient. They really do actually think that 10 to 15 minutes is all they need to figure out basically what's wrong with you. There are two things to note when you see a Doctor. There are Signs, which are the physical issues they can see, such as swelling, cuts, rashes, etc..... then there are Symptoms, which is what the patient is experiencing. Good Clinicians rely on 50/50. What they can see and what you tell them. But there are those Doctors who are now working more but making less and getting burned out because they don't want to deal with Medicaid. Not all are like that, there are still good Doctors out there, it's just a little harder to find them. Word of mouth from patients is the best way in finding someone wonderful who can still remember why he or she took that Hippocratic Oath. So, back to 50/50. If you have killer private insurance and you are seeing a Doctor in Beverly Hills, of course you are going to get to ask him all the questions you can think of and he or she will schedule you for a half hour to 45 minutes. But the overworked, under paid, burned out Medicaid Doc would rather just get you in and out as fast as he can because time is money and you aren't part of his money train. Alright, well...you might be the caboose (if you're lucky). lol. So he just wants to look you up and down as he checks for Signs that something is wrong. And with fibro, unfortunately, we often don't HAVE any signs except the one we're trying to hold up (figuratively) that says, "Ok, I look normal but I'm anything BUT!" It's easier and more cost effective for them to just dismiss you with a script if you don't have any Signs THEY can see. If only they could see some bruising or swelling of a fairly serious nature then they would have to order some tests (or you could sue them later down the line if you became terminal as a result of their negligence. So the easy way out is a script and them telling you to go back to your primary. To all of you on Medicaid, I feel so sorry for you guys. I'm from California but I live in Texas now and here they have something called The Medical Access Program for low income people. Like Medicaid but better and I have a good primary with them. He's just one of those Princes that went in to Medicine because he wants to help people. And I'm blessed to have a great private Rheumatologist that I see twice a year. So for the really big costly exams and labs, I get it done free or nearly free at the clinic. But for my Lupus/Fibro, I rely on the advice of my Rheumy. He's so great that twice when I said I didn't have enough money for him to do more extensive lab work, HE PAID FOR IT. Drug companies use him to do studies and trials because he's so good. Anyway, sorry to have rambled on, just wanted to stand on my soap box and to admire all of YOURS, too! You all are so awesome and supporting......thank you!!!!!!! Gail