[yumi]

I have been dealing with pain issues now for several months more intensely than what I am used to.
How do pain clinics help? What do they do?
Thank you for any input, I appreciate it.

My pain doctor mostly gave me pills and IV's and whatnot.

[ginaaa22]

pain clinics have lots of options available to you. depends on what kind of clinic it is. mine is a comphrensive clinic so it has PT, couseling, yoga, water aerobics, psychotherapy and dr visits. plus mine has its own surgery center where they do injects and other things.

some clinics just gives meds. they are very helpful because depending on what state you live in there are laws that prohibit non pain management dr on what they can prescribe for their patients in regards to narcotics. pain management dr's can give you whatever they want.

[(JD)]

There are NO good pain clinics in South Florida... and I fight hard to stay out of them... besides, they can't give me anything I don't already have:

they evaluate your pain... what kind, causes, and what meds are best for you and it...
they set you up with pain psychologist for therapy to learn how to better cope
they set you up with a physical therapist so you can learn how to limit or adjust your activities and exercises to help keep your pain as low as possible
they might set you up with a pain MD for that medication

IF someone has been in pain a very long time... or on pain medication for a very long time and needing more and more of it, then a pain clinic (somewhere else) is a good thing.

Pain, and/or medication for pain, can cause more pain. The medication can have a "rebound effect" where it causes the need for more pain med... a vicious cycle that unless you go off pain med and reevaluate and slowly build back up, you won't know if that's occurring.

You meet other people with the same complaints..and hear from others what they've tried that worked or did not...

It's very expensive and if your insurance company will pay, and it fits into your schedule and all that...go for it! I'll bet those in KS are not bad. They should all have a website where you can read up on their policies etc.

(Oh yeah, the one down here (the last one to survive?) won't accept service dogs... is that legal???)

Originally Posted by (JD)

There are NO good pain clinics in South Florida... and I fight hard to stay out of them... besides, they can't give me anything I don't already have:

they evaluate your pain... what kind, causes, and what meds are best for you and it...
they set you up with pain psychologist for therapy to learn how to better cope
they set you up with a physical therapist so you can learn how to limit or adjust your activities and exercises to help keep your pain as low as possible
they might set you up with a pain MD for that medication

IF someone has been in pain a very long time... or on pain medication for a very long time and needing more and more of it, then a pain clinic (somewhere else) is a good thing.

Pain, and/or medication for pain, can cause more pain. The medication can have a "rebound effect" where it causes the need for more pain med... a vicious cycle that unless you go off pain med and reevaluate and slowly build back up, you won't know if that's occurring.

You meet other people with the same complaints..and hear from others what they've tried that worked or did not...

It's very expensive and if your insurance company will pay, and it fits into your schedule and all that...go for it! I'll bet those in KS are not bad. They should all have a website where you can read up on their policies etc.

(Oh yeah, the one down here (the last one to survive?) won't accept service dogs... is that legal???)

According to http://www.jaapl.org/content/23/2/211.full.pdf , it's not. They aren't required to care for your dog in any way, but they can't deny him/her access.

But I would play it safe and not bring him at all. You want to get along with your pain doc/pain clinic because they help you improve your quality of life, and it would be a pity if they tried less hard because they think you or your dog is annoying.

[yumi]

Wow,'JD...that is terrible they won't let your service dog in I don't understand people! I'm sorry this is happening to you

Originally Posted by (JD)

(Oh yeah, the one down here (the last one to survive?) won't accept service dogs... is that legal???)

No, it's NOT LEGAL.

It's a Federal Law, and no state, nor a business operating within THAT STATE is exempt from this law for ANY reason.

Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business

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