I am thinking of seeing a pain specialist...Am I wasting my time?

[Jnowhere]

I am a retired bodybuilder but still train hard 5-6 days a week. I have arthritis in my hips, no cartilage in my left shoulder, and many other injuries....but the pain from those injuries is manageable. What really hurts are my feet, I have plantar fasciitis. About twice a week I am on my feet (training people or coaching my wrestlers) for so long the pain is extremely bad. On those 2 days I will take a little Kratom (maybe 5 grams) if I am at a tournament or 1-2 Tramadol at night. Tramadol works great, I don't need anything stronger. I take 3-4 pills a week, no more

However, my Mexican supplier seems to have gone out of business, so I am contemplating going to a doctor, a pain specialist. Unfortunately, it seems that in todays world, doctors will just let you suffer in fear of politicians.

Am I wasting my time?

Not if you are asking for Tramadol. If you have a bad back, start with that then work your way around and say the pain is too much and NSAIDs (OTC) aren't helping. I would leave out the illegal tramadol and kratom(I know it is legal, but the less of a partier you appear the better)
Do not go to a female or an Asian doctor.
Middle Eastern is your best bet. The older the better.

 

[Psynaught]

Not if you are asking for Tramadol. If you have a bad back, start with that then work your way around and say the pain is too much and NSAIDs (OTC) aren't helping. I would leave out the illegal tramadol and kratom(I know it is legal, but the less of a partier you appear the better)
Do not go to a female or an Asian doctor.
Middle Eastern is your best bet. The older the better.

I am not training anyone right now so I don't need any Tramadol, so I am good. I only needed it if I was on my feet for extended periods. I swap out my cardio work so I am only on the treadmill about 8=9 minutes. If I really need it I have some Kratom which works great for me but I don't take it very often. I just don't have any addiction issues w/ opioids...although I am always scared of the potential.

The only problem is I am not making any money, LOL. I will be 62 soon and qualify for Soc Security so that will help. I agree that older more established docs are less hung up. See my post on my Dermatologist, getting meds for my skin problems have been extremely difficult from him.

Crazy thing, I do have insomnia issues. I have been telling my Psychiatrist about this for years and finally asked about Ambien and was shocked when she wrote me a script. I use it about 3 times a week and it works great and has not been a problem.

But overall, getting the meds you need can be a nightmare in modern medicine. They really need to reassess what they are doing.