You Were Fired by Your Pain Management Doctor - Tips for Finding and Retaining a New Pain Doctor

You Were Fired by Your Pain Management Doctor - Tips for Finding and Retaining a New Pain Doctor

Getting fired by your pain doctor may or may not be your fault. What I mean by this is that you may have been out of town and had a car accident that required a trip to the emergency room with narcotics. It could be that your medication was stolen by a family member and you are not the type of person to call the police with the required police report as required by your pain management agreement.

Or it may be entirely your fault and you "cheated" by getting painkillers from two different doctors and got caught. Whatever the reason, you still have chronic pain now and no one to help you, right?

Here are some tips for finding and keeping a new pain doctor.

1) Obtain your complete medical records. You are entitled to it, but it may take a bit of legwork and persistence to obtain it as you will leave with bad news. You need these documents to make things easier for your new doctor. You won't exactly be in the driver's seat after being fired.

2) Try to find a pain doctor who works in a comprehensive center. That means their surgery center is on-site and they offer additional services like chiropractic and PT. The goal is to lower the dosage of your medications so these additional treatments can help.

3) Don't lie to the new doctor when you meet him. You just had a bad experience, why would you immediately start on a bad basis that is dishonest? With pain management doctors under scrutiny from state medical boards and the DEA, there is little patience for someone who lies about their medications.

4) Do not use illegal drugs. I'm not talking about medical marijuana, although that may be a factor in whether or not you're accepted by a new pain doctor (and perhaps why you were fired in the first place). I'm talking about heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, etc. Do you understand? Your new pain doctor will test you for drugs, as is common practice these days. It would be a waste of your and the doctor's time to be positive for any of these substances on the first visit.

5) If you have insurance, use it. One of the factors of distrust among pain patients comes into play when they use insurance for one doctor and cash for another. It's a red flag and is one of the most common drug-seeking behaviors.

6) Be flexible in your pain medication needs. What I mean by this is, when you see your new doctor, don't overly insist on a particular medication at a particular dose. This can be another warning sign of drug addiction. When you see a pain management specialist, do you really want to question that doctor's wisdom too much?

7) The last and most important tip is to just be very, very nice and respectful to the doctor and staff at all times. Due to the complexity of the individual condition, it can be very difficult to work with patients on pain management. It's one thing to make things complex for the doctor, that's usually what he or she likes is mental stimulation and helping people. Being downright rude will ruin trust and the relationship. You're getting fired again, and that includes being mean and disrespectful to the office staff.

8) Show up for your appointments. Too many missed appointments will result in you being fired (again). It's disrespectful, especially without warning to the office. Put yourself in their shoes, they will take the time to help. Show up for your doctor's visits, treatments and therapies and get better!

Inspired by David L Greene