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20808184 tn?1517050520

I don't know what to do about my pain management doctor.

Tuesday I first went to pain management, the doctor, again, treated me like I was lying about my pain. He told me 6 times that I was "challenging him" whenever I would would ask a questions. (My RSP was with me) he then lifted my left leg above my head, making me see spots, throw up in my mouth, and almost pass out. I was unable to walk for 20 minutes, and limped for 3 hours, I'm still not walking correctly.
An hour later, I saw my surgeon, who told me there was a hardware failure, and that I needed an emergency surgery, they will be now fusing L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1. Going up one from last time. This will also be done from the front and the back, not just back, and adding a screw to each hip.
My surgeon was extremely upset with pain management, and called him to demand that I be put BACK on my usual pain medication, that he had taken me off of because of his disbelief.
I had asked the pain doctor twice to simply pull up the new x-rays and CT scan that was on my file beside him on the computer, he didn't listen.
Yesterday, pain doctor's office called me and said I could go back on my usual pain medication, but it meant I would have to see him. I told them I was not going to see him, he scared me now. They said I could get a second opinion, and would call me with a referral, they called back, told me to come pick up my new prescription, and gave me the new doctors name. It turned out to be his colleague, I'm told that is not allowed, a second opinion is to be a different office.
I'm scared, I have no idea what to do. Please help with any advice.
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Avatar universal
Find a new one ASAP and next time make sure you throw up on his shoes.
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Avatar universal
This makes me so angry.  There's an old joke "What do you call a med student who got the lowest grades in his class."  Answer: Doctor.

There are some really awful physicians out there.  My best friend's daughter wen to one who would hand out scripts for opiates like candy, then suddenly cut people off.  He ended up committing suicide after the state being investigating his prescribing habits.  Doctors aren't gods...they're regular people who went to a lot of schooling and some of them are just plain incompetent, ignorant fools.

The problem with second opinions these days is that your insurance company may not pay for it, or may limit to whom you get that second opinion from.

I dont really have any answers for you except to say, keep fighting, and be your advocate.   It's rough out there...you are in my prayers.    
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Avatar universal
Can you afford an "advocate" like, a lawyer or something? If what you described is true, I would not want that doctor within 25 miles of my body. Are you in a bigger town where there are other doctors? There ARE compassionate doctors out there.... but some doctors enslave patients with their narcotic handouts and fearing going into hellish withdrawal before the next dose leaves many not feeling they have a choice. See if you can find an advocate. When you're feeling well enough, get on the horn and start making appointments.....  you may find that you can get better treatment WITHOUT being a slave to narcs. I am so sorry about your fear. I do I do I DO understand. That's why I suggest you find an advocate -- an addiciton specialist, even.
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Avatar universal
I am so sorry you went through this with that Dr, if you can even call him a Dr. You have so much wrong with your back that he could have caused a lot more damage. No wonder you're afraid of him.
Things are changing so much with pain management. We're having a lot of Drs treat us like we're faking, when x rays, MRI's and other scans clearly show that we're not. We're also being treated like criminals because we need pain management.
This was a clinic you went to, right? I go to a clinic too for pain management. I can either see the Dr or the nurse. Unless I'm getting injections or some other kind of procedure I see the NP, who I love. I'm just wondering if you can continue to go there but ask if they have an NP because you refuse to see that Dr ever again.
I hear about stories like yours a lot and it always breaks my heart. How would this Dr feel if it was his wife, mother or another family member that was treated so badly? He would not like it one bit. And are you saying that he messed up your back even more? If so, that's just absolutely awful. I would think he could lose his license for doing something like that.
I'm recommending you call and ask if you can see another Dr in the office, if they have an NP, or talk to your primary Dr about what happened and ask if they can refer  a different clinic.
From what I read it looks like you already have a surgeon, and a very caring one. So that's a good thing. He's another person who may be able to help you find a good pain Dr.
We do have a lot of good and caring Drs in this country but we also have terrible ones like the Dr you saw. They seem to forget the oath they took, first, do no harm. They also forget that it's us that pays them to take care of us, not the other way around. You should have told him exactly those things but I do understand when you come across a Dr like this it's so shocking that you just don't know what to say at the time.
You're going to need pain management until you get your surgery, and probably for awhile after. I recommended some things. Please let me know how everything turns out.
P.S. I completely understand because my own sister just went through a very similar situation with a surgeon. Now she has to find another surgeon because she will not let this Dr operate on her after the way he treated her.
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