Hi, Yes if you are having pain constantly for 6 months or longer and if it's not post op or acute pain expected to get better and your diagnosis is known to be a painful one you would be eligible for pain mgmt. most pain mgmt drs are anesthesiologists that became specialized in pain mgmt and also there are Physical Medicine and Rehab drs, physiatrists, who treat acute and chronic pain and try to establish the patients functioning to the highest level achievable with their disease or injury or disorder. Being in pm is a blessing but it also in my experience has its own protocol and rules unlike any other regular drs offices I have been to and pm causes me to have anxiety sometimes too. I waited, as do many, for my dr to broach the subject and refer me for pain mgmt but patients with inadequate pain relief often find a pm dr themselves. There are many modalities available that the pm dr uses to control the pain and can use one or a combo. For example, PT and trigger point injections or epidural steroid injections & meds. Each pm dr approaches the pain differently but the goal in PM generally is to try to make the pain manageable but not completely relief it. 50% reduction would be considered excellent results. Your dr will hopefully know if it's time to see a pm dr.
Post Edited (mckaren) : 2/2/2015 11:44:57 PM (GMT-7)