hermeand, I am so grateful for the feedback I am getting here.

Where I get my primary care put in a referral to a neurosurgeon. They're all part of the same university hospital system. Well - and this you'll appreciate - I get a phone call from a medical assistant at the Neuro's office. She say, "So would you be willing to have your problem treated surgically?" I'm thinking: What the heck kind of question is that to ask me before I even get evaluated by the neurosurgeon? But, as I'm getting a little foxier - maybe - I just say "Yeah." I don't see my condition, as it currently is, warranting any surgery . . . but I want to be seen by the neurosurgeon and learn what I can . . . and be told what options there are . . . so I figure just say "yes" to whatever (It's not like I signed consent for surgery.) to get in the door of this doc's office and then see what he has to say.

Honestly, it struck me as some kind of game playing. Combining that with what I'm seeing in your post, I'm starting to come up with a sense of how these "characters" wheel and deal with you. Thanks for the heads up. Where I go, I'm covered for most everything. They happen to be a teaching hospital/healthcare system, and I think they tend to look for people to practice stuff on. So I'll keep my "don't get hustled into anything" radar up.

What you say about the ethics of pain management is something I'll keep mindful of, also.

Thank you for being good enough to share the fruit of your experience, while you are in the midst of struggling with these problems. I hope you can get what's appropriate to manage in the best way for you. Knowledge is power. You've learned a lot. Isn't it a shame that we have to be so on the defensive?

I'll post here how I make out, as things unfold, as I keep these appointment. I so appreciate this feedback. Even though I worked as a nurse for many years (geriatrics/nursing homes,) I'm so naiive in many ways. I'ld be lost without PC.

Thanks again. (((HUGS))) May you feel better. I'm interested to know how you are doing.