Went to the pain management doc yesterday. Never in all my years of fighting this disease have I been treated this way!
The doc spent over thirty minutes with me! He reviewed my symptoms, my meds, and ASKED me how I'd like him to help me (instead of TELLING me what he's gonna do).
I told him I want him to help me keep going. I need my arms and shoulders to wrestle with little ones. I need my legs. I need to keep walking, because I can't do my job with a cane in one hand. And if it's not asking too much, I'd like to do it without popping pills every four hours every day, to get minimal relief.
He told me that once I have insurance we can try the scary shots (WAY too much money out of pocket), if absolutely necessary we can try the intraarticular injections and trigger points (still pricey, but who needs to eat?), but for now, let's try a stronger med that should help control things a little more, and I can take the Norco in between if I need to. Oh, and from now on I will only be charged
$25 per visit until I get on insurance!
He spent another 15 minutes explaining why Methadone (
) isn't as scary as it sounds, and actually took the time to explain which exercize, for how long, would help me, and exactly how smoking effects my efforts (*sigh*).
I think it's the first time I ever felt "listened to" at a doc's office. So glad I went. Thanks to all for your encouragement.
