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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> ? Pain Management Centers ?
        
(Message started by: katrollins on Apr 7^th, 2003, 12:23pm)

Title: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by katrollins on Apr 7^th, 2003, 12:23pm

Hello fellow Clusterheads :)

I am a chronic sufferer w/o remission for 6 & 1/2 years. Like the rest of us, I have been to many doctors, tried most of the preventive meds and combinations of meds, tried accupuncture and still the only relief I get is from the abortives Imitrex and Maxalt. Oxygen worked about 75% of the time for awhile but even that became uneffective. :'(

My current physician has referred me to a Pain Management Center. As experience has taught me, I called them in an attempt to find out if they actually treat Clusters (if they even know what clusters are!!!) and, of course, I didn't get much information...

Have any of you been to a Pain Mgmt. Center and, if so, was it helpful in any way ??? :-/

I can't afford to waste the money if this is going to be another dead end fiasco and, to be totally truthful, I don't know how much more I can take emotionally.
I have been unemployed due to CH for a year as of the first of this month and I am feeling quite financially and emotionally raped by the medical field and insurance companies. The very first neurologist I went to (for 2 years) after my initial CH experience refused to diagnose me with Clusters because I am female. After months of searching for something that explained the symptoms I have, I found this site, promptly printed out the medical info, so ecstatic that YES, I am NOT crazy!... only to be the recepient of my doc's anger that I would be so rude to imply that he was wrong!!! Most of my experiences since then have been somewhat similar. ...and the question that I am crazy, well, it still haunts me!

Thanks for letting me vent! and thanks in advance for any experiences shared! :)

Wishing us all PFDAN

Katy

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by amber on Apr 7^th, 2003, 5:00pm

Katy, check your e-mail :)
amber

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by drwilson176 on Apr 9^th, 2003, 7:50am

I have went the pain mgmt route and after dealing with many different med's and doctors and finally the pain center i went to put me on a maint dose of oxycontin. and after 10 years of being a hermit i am able to live a more normalized life. I still get the rough ones but not nearly as bad to get through.

Good Luck

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by forgetfulnot on Apr 9^th, 2003, 12:07pm

I went to a PMC a couple of years ago, they couldn't do anything for me. Probably thought I was seeking narcotics. Not so as narcs don't get much of a mark with C/H.

Lee

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by katrollins on Apr 10^th, 2003, 10:42am

Thanks for your input. I'll let ya'll know how it went if I decide to go! :-/

The frequency and intensity of my attacks have been steadily increasing over the past few weeks...
and to top things off, I was diagnosed with glucoma yesterday... the fun just never stops :'(

I'm sooo glad you are getting relief, drwilson176... I've become a hermit so I know what you mean. The only real relief I've gotten during the past 6 and a half years was the 3 months I was on Morphine 15mg capsules twice a day last summer. I was almost feeling like a normal person there for awhile!!! I'm rapidly escalating to the really intense state of desperation again...

Yeah, Lee, I hear what you're saying, too. The last PMC I went to, the jacka$$ told me (in his ignorant tone of voice) I was "just going to have to face the fact that I'm always going to have 'headaches'"... okay, it took me about 2 seconds to realize this guy didn't have a clue that clusters AREN'T migraines, either! duh!

Take care,
Katy

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by drwilson176 on Apr 11^th, 2003, 8:32pm

I hope that you will at least keep trying... Pain Center has helped me and refered me to a family Dr. that has been great.. it took a long while to get too where i am.. so keep your head up... it will get better .. keep a positive attitude i know how hard it is...

drwilson176 (willy)

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by Karla on Apr 11^th, 2003, 10:00pm

After 5 years of chronic ch getting hit 8x every day I finally got sent to a pain management center. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. They had a couple of medicines for me to try to take as a preventative. They both failed. The pain dr. who was also a neurologist was then convinced that I had tried everything possible plus more and had had no luck. He recomended methadone. 10mg in am and 10mg in pm. This is the lowest possible dose. I have been ha free for 6 months now. It has been the best 6 months of my life. I also get migraines. The migraines are the only things breaking threw on occassion of 1 or 2 a month. This I can live with.

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by BILLY on Apr 11^th, 2003, 11:02pm

That's great news Karla, has your doctor considered publishing your case? Also curious when you say you tried everything+ does that include cocaine nasal drops?

Posted Aug 1999 but does discuss cocaine & mentions opioids:

http://www.headachedrugs.com/archives/preventivemeds.html

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by Karla on Apr 12^th, 2003, 7:27am

I meant I had tried all the non narcotic preventatives out there. No cocaine nose drops for me. I wouldn't try them if offered. I am a recovering cocaine addict and don't want that back in my life.

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by BILLY on Apr 12^th, 2003, 11:12am

I hear you Karla. That would likely be a contraindication.

Cocaine would be utilized for its anesthetic properties however & the literature describes remarkable efficacy so I'm always curious to hear reality compared to the literature.

In any case, I am glad you finally found relief.

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by katrollins on Apr 13^th, 2003, 6:27am

on 04/11/03 at 20:32:45, drwilson176 wrote:

Thanks SOOOO much, Willy, for the encouragement... and you too, Karla :) I am so happy that you guys are getting relief.

I try to hang in there....

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by Karla on Apr 13^th, 2003, 8:19am

Just a word of warning. Some pain centers are surgery pain centers. I don't know if that is the type you are being sent to or not. If they start recomending surgery and cutting into your face. Run for the door. People have tried this method and there is only one person I know of that has had relief. The rest have had no luck at all with it except being left with a numb face for life. I can't think of anyone on the board that would recomend surgery. The drs quote good statistics but we just are not seeing those stats here on the board. Be very very careful. Hopefully you are being sent to a medication pain center. You will find out soon enough. The first pain center I was sent to was a surgery center. I refused to go to that one so my insurance company sent me to another one that was closer and more into medicine than surgery. The second one is the one that saved me and found me relief. Good luck to you. Let us know your results and keep us posted.

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by katrollins on Apr 13^th, 2003, 9:08am

Thanks for the word of caution, Karla ;)

With my ever-present and increasing lack of confidence in drs. NO one is touching me with a knife!!! I am going to call this PMC again tomorrow and attempt to get some more information from them.

Hope you have a good day today ;D

hugs,
Katy

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by Ueli on Apr 13^th, 2003, 12:09pm

In addition to what Karla said:

There are some pain centers that follow the psycho line: It's all in your head. They take 20 grand for a treatment of knitting and silk painting and meditation and water treading, and after your mind has calmed down you CH is supposed to be gone. No sort of mind bending or head shrinking will touch CH.

Beware of this sort of pain clinics too.

PFNADs
Ueli

Title: Re: ? Pain Management Centers ?
Post by Charlie on Apr 14^th, 2003, 5:37am

Listen to Ueli.

My late friend, who taught psychiatric nursing, once said that true psychosomatic pain is rare, no matter what you want to believe. I know it's a staple of movies and TV but, I'm with him. When you are in pain, there is a reason for it, like it or not.

Charlie