I've recently had a very frustrating experience with my neurologist. The trouble is, there aren't that many good ones in my area. A friend suggested I try a pain management specialist - does anyone out there have experience or advice on this topic? Just wondering if this is an option I should consider....
Thanks,
Janet in PA
My doctors seem to have set times for returning phone calls. My psychiatrist is pretty good about calling back in an hour, but his hours are really 50 minutes, so he's got 10 minutes between patients. My neurologist usually calls back mid-afternoon, even if I've called when the office opens. I agree, it's miserable waiting. My primary's nurse calls back pretty quickly, if I can't get her the first time. She's usually available. If it's serious, the doctor calls back within 30 minutes to an hour.
Are you making progress with your neurologist? Is it worth the aggravation of waiting?
How did the steroid do with getting rid of the migraine?
A specialist is a great way to go. I started seeing one in Nashville in November. She's added two drugs and changed one, and I'm seeing improvement. I'm in central Mississippi, and I fly and spend two nights. I could spend one night, but she runs really behind schedule, and I worry that I'd miss the flight home. For a time, I saw a specialist in Chicago.
Come over to the forum. I'm sure there's someone who's been through the same thing with his/her neurologist.
Gretchen in Mississippi
Janet,
All I can say is that my experience with a pain mgmt dr was just okay. I have cervical discs problems, so he mainly treated me for that. He put me on Lyrica, which seemed to help my migraines, and all over pain for about 2 weeks. After that, the pain was back. The migraines were back, and I was going and getting injections in my neck and back and shoulders that would help for one or two days.
It never hurts to try. Good luck.
Denise
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Hi, Janet,
Here's the issue -- neither neurologists nor pain management specialists are actually Migraine and headache specialists. They treat many different conditions, making it very difficult to stay up-to-date and specialize in any one condition.
The usual function of a pain management specialist is to manage pain. With Migraine, that really isn't the best way to go. With growing evidence that Migraine is a progressive brain disease, it's important to prevent as many Migraines as possible and quickly abort those we do get. Pain management isn't usually the way to accomplish that goal.
Please don't get me wrong. Pain management can have its role in our treatment, but it's usually to "rescue" us when abortives fail.
What many of us have found is that it took getting to a true Migraine and headache specialist to make progress. Unfortunately, there aren't enough specialists out there. When I need to see my specialist, I have to either drive eight hours to Philadelphia or fly to Dallas. (With my work, I've ended up with two specialists.) That can be difficult, but SO worth it.
Have you looked at our Directory of Patient Recommended Specialists?
Teri
Thanks Teri -
Thanks for your response. I'd be in the same boat - having to go to Philadelphia. I've got a toddler, so it's not all that easy for me to do at this point.
I'm wondering if I'm being unreasonable for getting frustrated with my neuro....I'd had a headache for almost 4 days - the Maxalt & Imitrex injections hadn't worked and I'd taken all I could, so I called her office when they opened at 9:00 and they didn't get back to me until 1:00 p.m. (I checked in at 11:00, but was told the doctor was with patients and there was nothing that could be done). Then, all she did was call in a prescription for a steroid....which I thought could have been done at 9:30! That 4 hours of waiting felt like an eternity!
This happened once before with them, with a similar result. Do you think I just need to adjust my expectations - I realize if I stay with the same dr. I may just have to accept it. Thanks for your thoughts....
Janet