Monday, September 12, 2011

ByeBye Lyrica!

The pain doc has dismissed me from his care! This is a very, very good thing. The nerve block shots have been successful and tonight I pop my final capsule of Lyrica! Then we see how it goes. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome can be treated. It can be managed. But alas, it cannot be cured. I have been virtually pain free for a month, and I believe I have already stated that this is a very, very good thing. My hands still don't function normally but being free from pain feels like a miracle. After being referred from one ortho doc to another, for a grand total of four of them, each time with a different diagnosis and varying degrees of relief for two years, I am here. To sum this up I would have to say that being dismissed from one doctor's care after successful treatment beats the crap out of three dismissive ones. The second ortho doc was actually concerned about me and did his best to treat me. While I was under his care, a number of maladies were ruled out. Doc #1 was a MCP and kind of a pain in the ass, but at least he could admit that he had reached the end of his ability to diagnose me when he referred me on. Three and four should go have a drink together, maybe start a club. I think they might enjoy each others' company. They were both miserable, arrogant jackasses who weren't able to say these simple words; I'm sorry, but I believe your problem isn't orthopedic in nature, and I am therefore not able to correctly diagnose and treat you. Since this is outside my area of expertise, let me refer you to a neurologist or perhaps a pain management specialist. Caring comes before curing, and not just alphabetically.

1 comment:

colleen said...

Love it! You gave credit where credit was due, and also posed a reasonable solution to the problems you faced.

Why is this such a hard thing??

Maybe we should just send you to Washington. I'm pretty sure that "fine motor skills" aren't a prerequisite there and, God knows, I'm pretty sure that your brains work better than most who are calling the shots these days! (only half joking)

colleen