Wellness

[sophiamarie]

halfpint: Claudication is a blockage in the arteries. The only reason I asked is because your symptoms are a lot like what happened to me when I was 45. I couldn't walk more than 2 steps at a time. It was just my left leg. I would walk 2 steps, stop and then walk another 2 steps. The minute I stopped, the pain went away. I go to a Cardiologist/Internal Medicine doctor, so I went to him and he sent me to a Vascular Surgeon. I had a blockage in my left leg.

Keep in mind, I was a very heavy smoker at that time. Two packs a day, sometimes even more. Anyway, I went to the hospital and they did a procedure that opened up the blockage. They inserted a balloon and opened the artery. It never came back and never went to the other leg. After the procedure, I stayed overnight, and the next morning, the doctor came to get me and walked me down the hallway. No pain at all. I was able to walk again. It was like a miracle. LOL They told me that this condition is almost "always" caused by smoking, that's why I asked you.

In any event, I urge you to see either a Cardiologist or a Vascular Surgeon to find the cause of your problem. It could be any number of things, but taking pain meds. isn't the cure. Please, do yourself a favor and take care of this.

I'm not one to talk about my medical issues, but your symptoms sound so much like what I went through, I felt that I had to explain. Your PCP should be able to tell if your artery is blocked, by taking the pressure in your leg and/or feeling for your pulses in your lower legs.

Hope I answered your question. Please take care of yourself. If you do have a blockage, it's better to walk the few steps you can, stop and then walk again. That's what they told me to do until I was able to have it fixed. I think I had it done a week after I saw the Vascular Surgeon...... It was a very long time ago and there may be other "fixes' but this is what they did for me. It won't go away, so better to get it taken care of.......

Please keep us informed as to your progress. I hope things are better for you at home. I know you have other issues too......

ETA: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/claudication/basics/definition/con-20033581

[lizzief]

As someone who has struggled with chronic, debilitating neck pain for 10 years and sees a pain management doctor regularly, I can tell you that any reputable doctor will NOT dispense pain meds without a diagnosis. But they WILL try to find the diagnosis, even if that means a full history, an MRI, blood work or other tests, and even a referral to another specialist to get to the source of the problem if necessary. I suggest you keep that appointment as a starting point, and let the doctor direct who you should see, if they can't help you. Many pain management doctors, like mine, are also anesthesiologists and are trained in other procedures, such as epidurals and nerve blocks. They have a wide array of tools to diagnose and treat pain, they don't just write prescriptions. All you said was that you had leg pain when you walk, which could be for any number of reasons, and certainly not to be diagnosed here.

[151949]

It sounds as though your PCP did the right thing and sent you to a vascular surgeon to have the problem treated - pain clinics are for people who have incurable chronic and severe pain. They are not for people who have treatable conditions.

[hckynut]

On 4/18/2014 happy housewife said:

It sounds as though your PCP did the right thing and sent you to a vascular surgeon to have the problem treated - pain clinics are for people who have incurable chronic and severe pain. They are not for people who have treatable conditions.

Pain Clinics can be for anyone not just those with chronic pain. As I've said here numerous times my nephew is an Anesthesiologist and he owns 5 Pain Clinics. He owns 2 in our city/one in a city about 30 miles from my home/1 in California and 1 in South Korea.

He went to Cardiology school for 3 years and decided to change his specialty practice. He knows the all the types of pain I have dealt with over the years and we have hand many long winded conversations about my pain, and just pain in general.

If he treated only the ones you mention, there would be no reason for him to keep expanding the number of Clinics he owns. He is looking at opening 1 on the East Coast now and if so, that will make 6 locations for him. Why? Because a good percentage of his patients are no ones with chronic pain and do have "treatable conditions".

And many of his patients are not always classified correctly as having "chronic pain". They just haven't gotten the right kind of treatment that works for them to live relatively pain free.

[halfpint1]

Thanks for more information. My doctor never did things like taking pressure or pulse. Was it because I asked for pain medicine? or was he not educated? Also asked for pain management for I was not educated.

[sophiamarie]

On 4/18/2014 happy housewife said:

It sounds as though your PCP did the right thing and sent you to a vascular surgeon to have the problem treated - pain clinics are for people who have incurable chronic and severe pain. They are not for people who have treatable conditions.

happy housewife:I agree 100%. People with treatable conditions go to doctors who "treat" the problem. Pain Management clinics are places where pain is "treated" with narcotics.

One of my sons goes to a Pain Clinic. The doctor is an Anesthesiologist and a DO..... Yes, the doctor does send him for MRI's and goes over every inch of the test with him and explains what can be done and what can't be done. In my son's case (spinal stenosis and multiple disc problems) there is no cure except spinal surgery, which he won't have. So, he opted for pain pills and epidurals every so often. He just had his second one between the shoulder blades. The first one was in his lower back. Neither of them worked.

The doctor will try "again", meanwhile prescribing pain pills. This is how they make their money. They can't just keep giving out pills without doing other tests. This is how they justify writing out the Rx...... If the pills work, then the patient feels better. My son is almost 100% better when he takes his pills. He is not zoned out and can move much better than he ever was able to. Before he went to the "Clinic" he was miserable and always in a bad mood, so this was a good thing for him. He's a pleasure to be around, can think clearly and is a different person IMO......

I am certainly not against pain clinics, but to say they treat conditions besides giving out pills, is not true.

[sophiamarie]

halfpint:

If you are going to a Vascular Surgeon, please keep the appointment. If he's not the right doctor for you, then he'll refer you to someone else. Just don't start off by asking for pain pills and telling them where you want to go. Let them make the decision and hopefully, they will be the right ones. You'll know soon enough.

Wishing you nothing but the best and keep us informed as to your progress.

[TootyJane]

On 4/18/2014 lizzief said: As someone who has struggled with chronic, debilitating neck pain for 10 years and sees a pain management doctor regularly, I can tell you that any reputable doctor will NOT dispense pain meds without a diagnosis. But they WILL try to find the diagnosis, even if that means a full history, an MRI, blood work or other tests, and even a referral to another specialist to get to the source of the problem if necessary. I suggest you keep that appointment as a starting point, and let the doctor direct who you should see, if they can't help you. Many pain management doctors, like mine, are also anesthesiologists and are trained in other procedures, such as epidurals and nerve blocks. They have a wide array of tools to diagnose and treat pain, they don't just write prescriptions. All you said was that you had leg pain when you walk, which could be for any number of reasons, and certainly not to be diagnosed here.

Lizzief - Your post offers great advice! I, too, have suffered with chronic pain in my back and neck due to arthritis and DDD. I went through three years of testing, CT and MRI scans, physical therapy, etc. before I finally got a diagnosis. You most certainly are correct. No reputable pain management doctor will write a prescription without first knowing what your diagnosis is.

[willdob3]

Get a diagnosis first! I hope you are feeling better soon.

I have not gone to anyone for pain management. I have always looked to discover the cause of the problem & correct it. Drugs should be a last alternative.

I used to have bad pain in my legs and feet when I walked. Then, after I had a blood clot in my legs, I decided to try Procaps Labs Circulation & Vein support supplement. I was pleasantly surprised when it caused my pain to disappear on the first day I took it. I took it for a few years and when I ran out I discovered that the pain did not return. I thought my doctor was correct & that the pain was because I was overweight but I had not lost any weight when I took the C&VS supplement so I guess my doctor was wrong, as he often is.

[151949]

So John- this doctor feels that instead of treating people's treatable acute illnesses they should be sent to pain clinics and put on strong narcotic drugs instead? hummm. and for how long before they instead start to treat them and cure them ? or , if they are treating them why couldn't the doctor who is treating them order them the needed pain meds over the short term while they are caring for them?