Visit with the Pain Management doc today....

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Warning, it's long.... It took TWO hours before I was in an examining room. The office was packed! As some of you are aware, I've had issues with trying to get proper help for a bony spur on my sacrum. My Primary Doc told me that when docs in my area hear 'back pain' a red flag goes up and they think the person may be after drugs (there is a lot of Rx abuse in my area). She referred me to a local Ortho Surgeon and I'm STILL waiting to hear whether he'll even give me an appt. Anyway, the new Pain Management doc was younger (probably 30's). He has done Pudendal Nerve blocks before, but not many. He thinks we should do a Caudal block and an Impar block first, spaced about a week apart. He'll continue to do some trigger point injections, though he said they don't seem to last long. is gonna do some

PT on those triggers when I get the next injections. I wonder how much those might be contributing to my sit pain. He wants to hit the nerve branches up higher than the PN, because he thinks those areas could definitely be related to the bladder and vulvar pain and hopefully the sit pain too. He said I could go to the Cleveland Clinic (Ohio - five hr. drive) to get the bone spur checked out. He doubts it is the issue, though. But made it sound as if I should rule it out....that is exactly what I'd like to do. What do I know at this point, though? He prescribed Neurontin, but the starting dose is 600 mg's (1 pill - 3x's a day, go slowly). What do you all think - is it too high to start with? I expressed to him the lack of treatment in our area for the conditions that I have: (IC,

Vulvodynia, Pudendal Neuralgia). He said there isn't really a 'market' for these conditions...not enough patients to keep places in business. Gheez, I guess next time I get a chronic condition, I'll be sure to get something that generates a high volume of patients. (oozing with sarcasm, can you tell?) He wasn't a smart-aleck...just stating his opinion. Overall he was decent, not condescending, so that is a plus. If I could afford it, I'd stick with Dr. Quesada, and I will for sure return to him if I feel I need too. It's just so expensive flying to NH and back. So sad when the actual visit to Dr. Quesada costs me a $20 co-pay, that's it! Hugs, Chelle P.S. - I gave the doctor a copy of the NY Times article by Jane Brody!