[lisarichards]

I had the worst, most frustrating experience, that led me to fire a pain doctor, for many reasons, including his not even trying to treat my neuropathy.
His tactics should be considered or made illegal.
I had gone to this pain doctor's office for over 4 years, and I never once even flunked a surprise drug test.
I was the perfect patient. Always paid on time, etc.
I had been going to his office because I have a serious illness that causes a great deal of physical pain.
Here is my experience from hell.
This happened after my going to his pain office for over 4 years.
In retaliation for my telling his new office manager named Danny (who I never met in person) that I was seeking a second opinion from another doctor, and that I wanted to hire a board certified neurologist to deal with my newly developed neuropathy, the doctor had his office manager threaten to label me in my medical records as a "drug shopper!!!!"
I have a MAJOR, potentially fatal chronic illness that was diagnosed a decade ago.
He had me on opiates.
But the doctor made no attempt to help with the neuropathy, which is not treated with opiates, but with other drugs.
When I went to this guy's pain office, I rarely ever got to see the pain doctor, himself---He was usually never there.
Instead, in my over 4 years of going there, at 98 percent of my monthly visits, I just got passed off onto one his seemingly endless series of ever-changing PAs. They were sometimes unknowledgeable about pain meds. I knew more about opiates than some of the PAs. Because the doctor was trying to make as much money as possible, herding patients in and out, I just mainly saw these inexperienced PA's that were a revolving group of people that would quit or get fired.
The guy just seemed like he wanted to rake in the most money possible.
So they triple booked.
That meant the usual wait to see anyone was around a 45 minute wait. That was annoying enough.
His front office staff girls were inept, and constantly screwing up my appointments. I would make an appointment for a specific date and time. i would show up at that time, and the front office girls would deny I had an appointment!
Yet, I would show them the appointment card that THEY filled out with that time and that date!
This happened on a handful of dates.
Then after a few years, I developed severe neuropathy. One of my other longtime doctors, who is my primary care doctor, mailed the pain doctor a letter, stating I now have neuropathy, and could he please treat me for it.
I then called the pain doctor's office, mentioning the letter that my other doctor said he sent to their doctor, and I then begged to see the pain doctor (not a PA) for help me with this painful neuropathy.
I showed up on the designated time and day of the appointment to see the pain doctor about it. But when I got there, they sent me to see a PA instead. I told the PA that I was there to see the real doctor, I wanted to see him about my neuropathy, I had made an appointment to see him, and I told the PA about the letter to him from my primary care doctor.
The PA left the room, and I could immediately hear the pain doctor in the hallway, going off that I did not have an appointment to see him, and why in the HELL was I there at his office?
I went out in the hallway, and I explained to the doctor that my primary care doctor had sent him a letter about my neuropathy, and that I had made an appointment to see him, and that this was the appointment's time and date.
As it turned out, the inept front staff never bothered to tell the doctor about the letter, or give it to him.
Nor did they bother to tell him I had an appointment scheduled with him.
No one there could even find the letter my primary care doctor had written to him about my neuropathy.
Frustrated, in front of the pain doctor, I grabbed my file, and I sifted through it, and I found the letter---just arbitrarily stuck in the middle of the over 4 years worth of paperwork in my file!
The pain doctor then gave me a shot for my neuropathy that was worthless, and he said for me to make an appointment to get another shot from him in 2 weeks.
He said his PA's don't give the shots. It has to be HE who gives it.
It was just some lidocaine type shot, and not an opiate, or any major drug.
So I did as the pain doctor told me to do, and I kept calling his office, begging for a follow-up appointment. The weeks and months went by, and I couldn't get an appointment with the doctor.
I was suffering, in so much pain from the neuropathy.
"He's booked up, he's booked up."
Meanwhile, I was really suffering from the pain of it.
Not only did I need to be treated for the neuropathy, but I also needed to be diagnosed for the neuropathy---meaning, I needed to find out the cause of it, why do I have it at such a young age, etc.
So after suffering for weeks of neuropathic pain, unable to get to see the pain doctor to get the follow up shot or talk to him, I finally made a consult appointment with another pain doctor/neurologist.
Then I called the old pain doctor's brand new office manager named Danny that I was going to see another doctor, just to deal with my neuropathy problem.
The office manager Danny said that if I did, I would be "violating the contract" and that I would be "doctor shopping."
I told him the whole story, that I had been trying to see the doctor for 4 months, and I had a right to treatment for my neuropathy, it had been going on long enough, I was physically suffering from it, and I had a right to a second opinion.
And I had a right to be treated.
This Danny guy then kept calling me on the phone, harassing me, saying that he talked to the doctor, and that the doctor said that if I see another doctor, he is going to put it in my medical records I am "shopping for drugs."
So not only was I being threatened for seeking a second opinion, and trying to get help for my painful neuropathy, but I was being LIABELED medically, in revenge, falsely accused of being a doctor shopper!
I said, "Look, I have a right to a second opinion."
The office manager kept threatening that he told the doctor I was doctor shopping.
I called the office repeatedly.
No one would allow me to speak to the doctor.
So when I came to my next pain appointment, they had a brand new PA for me to see (the previous one had now quit, too), so yet again I would not be seeing the doctor. So I would STILL not get help for my neuropathy.
Meanwhile, the Danny guy kept threatening me, of these dire consequences if I get a second opinion from another doctor.
Plus, he said they would cold turkey me from 4 years of opiates!!!!!
It gets worse.
The new PA, who didn't even know me, said he talked to the Danny office manager, and that he would now no longer give me my regular opiate pain pills. I asked him why he was switching my pain drug after 4 years, and he said, "These have less street value if you sell them," as if I was a dope dealer.
I was SO enraged by this, I never went back.
Pain doctors that use the tactic of labeling you as "doctor shopping," a drug dealer, and who threaten you as a patient, and that threaten to dangerously cold turkey you off your opiates if you want a second medical opinion (especially when they are not even treating you for a new condition, and they just pass you on to PA's that are inexperienced in pain management) should be investigated.
This doctor was just running a drug mill.
I took only ONE of the new pills the new clueless PA put me on, and I literally immediately blacked out for 24 hours!
I missed a day of work!
I was out cold for 24 hours! He overdosed me on that pill. And the idiot PA put on the pill bottle instructions that I was supposed to take TWO of these pills a DAY!!!!
I knew would have likely been dead if I followed his inept instructions.
I never took another one of those pills, and I never went back again.
But I am sure it is in my records, all this false accusation of doctor shopping, as revenge for going to another doctor.
I have not requested my records from that doctor, because I am afraid I would be too upset seeing the lies in them.
One day if I ever have time, I am going to report this place to the medical board.