Why Are Doctors Reluctant to Treat Pain?

Question by hicktowngal: why are doctors reluctant to treat pain?
why are doctors reluctant, at least in my small town, to treat pain. i’ve had a diagnose from a major university that recommend analgesics. nerve damage and degenerative bone disease. is it they are afraid of the demonized opiates and might lose their licenses. i thought doctors went to school to help not cower in fear of the FDA. if you live in eastern oregon and know of a pain specialist please tell.

Best answer:

Answer by Doctor J
Unfortunately, they do cower in fear of their licensing boards and their local district attorney.

Answer by Belldandy
Medical schools are now teaching drs more about pain treatment, like how you have to deal with pain or a patient gets sicker, but old school drs are still convinced it’s common for people to develop addictions–which of course is not true. Chronic pain patients rarely have problems with narcotics. You may need to travel several miles to a major city to find a decent pain specialist. Often ansthesologists who have pain clinics are good. They can mail you prescriptions if you can’t get to their office very often, and they have other drug ideas that can help with pain like anticonvulsants, muscle relaxants, etc. which can be used with opiods. There was a dr recently, Dr. Hurwitz, who was put in jail by treating pain patients. The DEA has scared drs into this–but at the same time the DEA is cracking down on genuinely useful drugs, hospitals are being taught that pain is also a “vital sign” and should be treated as much as any other problem. I think once the new drs now become the mainstream we’ll see better treatment, but until then you’ll need to search around til you find a brave, helpful dr.

I know what you’re going thru. I lived in the sticks of Kansas and have ankylosing spondylitits, Crohn’s, interstitial cystitis, and a bunch of others. Usually AS is the sort of disease where drs throw opiods at you, it’s so painful, but my small town drs would barely give me Ultram. I had to drive a ways to get to a good pain dr but I found one, and you will too.

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