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Article by a doctor with chronic pain, interesting!

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Posted 1/11/2014 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2013/09/18/a-physicians-personal-odyssey-with-chronic-pain/

I think what strikes me the most about this article is that he only obtained a diagnosis by way of a very unusual test. Had he not been a doctor, would that test ever have been performed?

Interesting that even though he's a doctor, when initial tests showed nothing, he also had doctors suggest that it was psychological pain… and he struggled with sensitivity to medications!
Posted 1/12/2014 2:57 AM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry but what was the test that he had??? I read the article and I'm left to wondering...why can't they ever publish what the test and diagnosis was???
Sorry if I missed something...if I did miss it please let me know...and I'll correct all this.
Posted 1/12/2014 3:05 AM (GMT 0)
I know… they just said "an imaging study that tracked the path of the sciatic nerve". If we all go ask our doctors for this test, then come here and post their individual responses, it could be humorous!
Posted 1/12/2014 6:37 AM (GMT 0)
diagnosis: "a congenital condition involving compression of the nerve."

I don't know if this is the test, but here's an article on magnetic resonance neurography: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050201192443.htm
Posted 1/12/2014 9:12 AM (GMT 0)
Alcie has the test right or the only one i can think of that tracks the sciatic nerve path but it would be mega in cost and i can't find a lot that says its actually that reliable . Insurance companies aren't going to pay for an unreliable expensive test to diagnose sciatic nerve problem Good. As for a genetic issue that? Can't imagine what so it would have been nice to have had them say ..
Posted 1/12/2014 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
Kinda OT, but I wonder if this Dr could have taken opiates if he would have had the same problems others do in trying to obtain treatment. Something tells me he would not.
Posted 1/12/2014 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
He did try opiates, but proved to be sensitive to them:


After the surgery, Pizzo learned another valuable lesson for physicians - that not all patients respond well to opioids, typically the drugs of choice for control of severe pain. He proved highly sensitive to the medications and landed in intensive care.
Posted 1/12/2014 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
It is shameful, he says right in the article that the only reason they listened to him and kept looking is because he's a doctor - even so, at least one doctor thought it might be psychological! And those who mentioned the cost and obscurity of the test - absolutely! Those of us without friends in high places and cash to burn don't have access to all the same testing.
Posted 1/12/2014 6:45 PM (GMT 0)
I know he couldn't take opiates. I was just wondering if he could have. I don't see drs suffering and going through all the things most pain patients do if they need opiates for chronic severe pain. But, that's just my opinion.
Posted 1/12/2014 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
I'm confused… he could have and DID take opiates. He had a bad reaction and ended up in intensive care because of taking opiates. From what the article said he was willing to take them and would have continued if it were possible physically. If they had worked for him, I'm sure that he would not have been denied pain medication by his peers, though anything is possible, I suppose!

That was the part I quoted in my previous post:

"After the surgery, Pizzo learned another valuable lesson for physicians - that not all patients respond well to opioids, typically the drugs of choice for control of severe pain. He proved highly sensitive to the medications and landed in intensive care."
Posted 1/12/2014 8:09 PM (GMT 0)
My point is that those that make us jump through hoops and often suffer regarding meds, do not have to go through the same thing themselves if/when they need the same meds. A drs chronic severe pain is no worse that others just because he has a medical degree.
Posted 1/12/2014 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
Maybe that was the point of his article: to share the discrepancy in care based on his profession. *shrug*
Posted 1/13/2014 11:48 PM (GMT 0)
Ha-Ha! I see what you were trying to say as pertains to the opioids - that if they had worked for him, he would have had no trouble continuing to obtain them, and wouldn't have been treated as a drug seeker! It's so funny that just small changes in punctuation or the way things are phrased can make the written word say different things entirely!

Glad I finally got it!
Posted 1/14/2014 12:04 AM (GMT 0)
Trix007, sometimes I have to read something several times and sometimes on different days before it clicks. You aren't alone Sweetie.
Posted 1/14/2014 12:08 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks! That's exactly what happened to me - I read the posts several times on the days where I posted, and only got the different meaning when I went back and re-read today! Maybe it's the fibro fog lol.
Posted 1/14/2014 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
I'm a healthcare professional (not a Doctor) and unfortunately doctors have that 'professional courtesy' thing going on. When management tells me "dr so and so is coming in" my reply is "I treat everyone the same". I have never heard of this test and I have been in the imaging profession for over 10 years. I gotta do some research now.
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