What to Expect During Diagnosis & Treatment of Chronic Pain Conditions
What to Expect During Diagnosis & Treatment of Pain Disorders
If you decide to see an interventional pain anesthesiologist, you should know that we cannot guarantee you a cure. But we can offer your best shot at managing your pain. It’s important to have the right expectations. Our goal is to give you a clear plan to control the pain and explain exactly what’s going on and what will happen when we try to reduce your pain via whichever procedure best fits your situation. Pain to us is a disease just as much as diabetes and arthritis, so we treat it as such.
Your First Visit
The first time you visit us, we’re going to do a lot of listening. We will collect your medical history, information about medications you take and detailed information about your pain. When did you first notice it, how often does it occur, is it worsened by any activity? We’ll ask questions like these, and we will run a pain assessment test to understand how severe your pain is. We may treat you in your first visit or we may simply run tests to best understand what is going on with your body. Be as thorough and precise as possible because every detail helps us make a better diagnosis and thus form a better treatment plan.
Bring all your recent medical records, MRIs, X-rays, CT scans, etc. You’ll also need an insurance card as well as a means of paying your insurance co-pay and deductibles if you are covered by an insurance plan. If you plan on making payments yourself, feel free to call ahead for an estimate. Wear comfortable clothing that doesn’t restrict movement; we may test your range of motion, etc.
Waiting For Your Diagnosis
Making the correct, exact diagnosis to fit your specific situation may take time. After the first consultation, we may only be able to give you potential causes for your pain. The first visit simply functions to rule out the majority of causes of your pain. If we aren’t ready to make a precise diagnosis after your first visit, please be patient. We need to form a map pinpointing the most probable sources of your pain, along with other factors we’ll need to take into consideration as we craft a plan to combat it. This may take some time, but we must have it in order to provide you with an accurate and efficient diagnosis that makes the highest quality of care possible.
It is also common for us to request further testing. We need to understand your pain and all issues relevant to treating it on a very intimate level so we can make a treatment plan that is realistic and appropriate to your needs. Once we understand exactly what’s going on, we will outline ways we could go about helping you.
Tailoring Your Treatment
This is not a one-sided process. We want to hear all of your concerns, questions, opinions and suggestions so that our plan will actually work for you. If something makes you uncomfortable, we want to know. This is about you getting your life back. Two people with the same condition may require different methods of treatment, simply because they have different concerns and different needs. Our goal is combining treatment methods to best suit your lifestyle needs. We will also take your needs into consideration when we determine how often you need treatments.
Before you undergo treatment, we will explain how your body may react and how you can adequately prepare and take care of yourself following treatment. Depending on the procedure, you may have to bring someone along to supervise you or drive you home. It’s common for patients to return to work the day following treatment. Depending on what kind of work you do, we may ask you to take additional time off for your recovery.
After Your Treatment
If you have an invasive treatment, you may experience minor pain or sensitivity at the site of the treatment. This is no cause for alarm and will resolve itself in a few days. In the meantime, you can use common pain medications such as ibuprofen until the pain dissipates. In order to secure your eventual success, we need full communication with you during your post-treatment time. If you have questions about your treatment routine or if there are any changes you want to make or causes for concern, keep us well-informed.
If you have endured chronic, debilitating pain, the most frightening thing about fighting back is hope. We understand that pain may have changed your quality of life, relationships with the people you love and the way you function, but we are here to help. We don’t just prescribe medication and leave the rest up to you. Managing your pain will be a joint effort. Our only goal is your comfort and a better life for you.
Discover specialized care for cancer pain. Call 626-345-9735 or use our convenient Request an Appointment form. We are accepting new patients, have minimal wait-times and are eager to help you overcome pain. Patients come to us from Altadena, Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Rosemead and neighboring areas.
