Pain Sufferers Unhappy with Care

(HealthScout) -- More than half of the people who suffer severe pain are unhappy with the medical care and support they receive, says a new Internet survey.

And it's not that they haven't searched for something better.

People with pain who responded to the survey at the Web site Pain.com say they've seen an average of 7.2 doctors, and 36 percent of them plan to consult with more doctors.

That's not surprising, says pain expert Dr. J. S. Hochman, executive director of the National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain, based in Monterey, Calif.

"It surprises me that there are this many patients out there pleased with their pain care," Hochman says. "I would have thought it would be about 15 percent, based on what I see."

Almost half of the people who responded to the survey say they've suffered from severe pain for five or more years, and 28 percent say they've endured it for more than 10 years. The survey included responses from 801 people -- 215 men and 462 women -- who visited the Web site, which is maintained by the Dannemiller Memorial Education Foundation, a Texas-based group that supports continuing education in medical fields.

Back pain was the most common type pain among the respondents, cited by 57 percent of them. Other areas of pain included muscle pain (named by 41 percent), headaches or migraines (33 percent), arthritis (26 percent), foot pain (21 percent), dental or mouth pain (8 percent) and cancer-related pain (2 percent).

Of those who'd sought help for their pain, 77 percent say they saw a general practitioner, 75 percent went to a specialist and 64 percent consulted a chiropractor, osteopath or physical therapist.

But Hochman says few doctors have experience with long-term, intractable pain. And, he says, many are extremely cautious about using opioids -- narcotics that include opium, morphine and codeine -- for severe pain treatment, fearing regulatory intimidation.

"There are lots of states in the union now where the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] literally will break down a doctor's doors because they think he's been giving too much opioids," Hochman says.

The drug agency has assured pain experts that that's no longer their policy, Hochman says. But in reality, he says, what's said in Washington, D.C., can take time to filter down to the agency's regional offices.

Also, he says, too many doctors brand pain sufferers as drug-seeking patients. That's an unfair label in most cases, especially because doctors actually create most of those situations, Hochman says.

"The way they do that is to give [people] just enough medication to give them a little bit of relief, not enough to give them full or continuous relief," he says. "So what happens? The patient comes back to the doctor and says, 'Look, I need some more medicine.' "

"My experience is that if you treat the patient with adequate amounts of medication…they never bother you," Hochman says.

Dr. John Dombrowski, director of pain medicine at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., says busy doctor schedules also can be a problem.

"Pain is incredibly complex," Dombrowski says. "It takes a lot of time to deal with patients."

But when doctors have only five to 10 minutes to see a patient, it's difficult to get a full understanding of the person's pain and what needs to be done to control it, he says. And, if a doctor can't appreciate the severity of someone's pain, he says, the doctor may be reluctant to be aggressive in prescribing strong pain medications.

But, he says, doctors also need to be more aware that prescribing strong pain medications such as opioids is fine as long as everything is documented properly.

And if you're a pain patient, you need to push the issue with your doctor, experts say. For example, make an appointment for the end of the day, Dombrowski suggests, so you can have time to discuss your pain issues in detail.

For more about pain, visit the National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain, the Mayo Clinic or the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Reference Source 101

For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".