Interesting week. Yesterday Amy saw her new pain management Dr for the second time. We really like this guy. Personally, I think he's brilliant and he's wonderful about talking with Amy instead of with me. She is, after all, the patient. Now that she's been on a low dose of the new pain medicine for a month and her system is used to it, he wants to double the dosage to a level that will hopefully give her relief from pain. Time will tell. But in case this doesn't work we have one more thing to try...a neurotransmitter. We can do a trial week at some point to see if it helps her at all, and if it does, one would be surgically implanted in her back near her spine. Yeah, I know...it's invasive. Think of it as a pacemaker only for her nerve endings (it's actually made by the same company that makes pacemakers!) So while it's an option, it's also a last resort. Because of the increased dosage of her medication and in order to do a trial week of the neurotransmitter, she's required to have a consultation with a psychologist before our insurance company will ok the trial. So today that's what she did. For 45 minutes she filled out a questionnaire..."do you feel like your life is worthless...does your pain/injury interfere in your relationship with your spouse or family"...etc. Stupid things which she mostly laughed about, but I guess they have their reasons. After the paperwork was completed she met with the psychologist. She was in a happy, bubbly mood when she went into his office. Fifteen minutes later when she came out she was really ticked off!!! Evidently he was saying things to provoke her...perhaps to see if he could get to her "true" feelings (as if she'd been lying about being positive and upbeat.) He told her no way could she not be depressed and irritated about what she's been thru. He insisted she come up with questions to ask him because he wasn't convinced she really had a handle on what she's gone thru for the past 2 years. He acted like she was just faking...that she had to be angry. When she insisted she just deals with things with a positive attitude he was argumentative. The one that irritated me was when he told her she has only had 3 "real" surgeries and not 8. Perhaps his definition of a surgical procedure is that she has to be cut open with a scalpel. Excuse me?!! Anytime I sign a medical release and turn over my insurance information while my daughter puts on a hospital gown, has an IV, and is wheeled into the OR and put to sleep, I consider it a surgery!!! Just think...our insurance company will have to pay this yahoo for his time today and his "expert opinion." What a rip-off. I asked Amy if she witnessed to him and explained that she has a positive attitude and hope for a bright future because of her relationship with Christ, but honestly, he would have probably argued with her about that, too. She kept her cool, and I'm proud of her. Not likely we'll be going back to this guy, thankfully. He did approve her for the neurotransmitter trial if we decide to go that route. Smart move on his part.
Posted by Patty at 5:27 PM
2 comments:
Pretty interesting and almost word for word what Amy told me. Let's just pray that the increased dosage starts working on the pain. Have a safe trip tomorrow and I pray that Laura is happy with her appointment. LY
Dear Patty, I am Lisa, Brian's cousin (Beth's sister) and I have been under pain management for 7 years for chronic pain due to hernated disc, neuropathy, and fibromyalgia. I feel your and Amy's pain. I don't know the origin of Amy's pain or any of the history but I will add you all to my prayer list and maybe we can talk sometime. The Lord is with you and as you know he will take care of you, Amy and all your family. Give Brian a hug for me. The two of us are the only vertically compromised cousin not counting Randall! Love your cousin, Lisa
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