ask: Need help finding Doctor who specializes in paraplegic pain issue.
Hi I am writing to you to beg for some help. I have met someone at the college I am attending who was there as a motivational speaker. He is in a wheelchair due to a gunshot wound 19 years ago, he is now 45 years old. He and I really connected on a spiritual level and he helped me through a terrible time in my life. I have since come to realize that he is on the verge of taking his own life due to these pains that he gets, sometimes in excess of 15 hours a day, screaming, yelling, crying, begging god to make it stop. I am terrified that he will commit suicide and therefore I have been trying to find a specialist that would maybe listen to him and understand what he is experiencing. So far from what I can tell his doctors simply want to prescribe pain meds that do little if anything at all for him. Please help me to find someone who can possibly direct me in the right direction towards finding a specialist. Insurance is not an issue fortunately he has very good insurance its just finding someone to go to. He lives in Wilmington NC and though it would be nice to find a local doctor or one in state at least, travel is not a problem. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my message.
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Hi Karen
I'm glad you found our site. Congrats on the new friend although I'm sorry to hear he is in so much pain.
My first thought is that you should find a large teaching hospital near you, one that is connected with a medical university, and talk to their pain management department. These types of facilities usually get referrals from all over the regional area, so they see more cases and more unusual cases, making them more familiar with treating someone who isn't just a typical everyday patient with common issues.
For instance, in my area I could go to Loyola or the University of Chicago or University of Illinois at Chicago. They have large teaching departments for each type of medicine. If you don't have good luck with the pain management department you could try neurology or neurosurgery, but I think pain management is going to give the most help. They usually have ideas that involve medications, interventions such as injections, and holistic things like massage, acupuncture, therapy, meditation, and low tech things as well. A good pain therapy clinic will combine all of these types of things together to help a person get the best outcome possible for their type of pain.
We also have a section on pain management that may give you some ideas: http://www.empowher.com/media/reference/pain-management-center
I hope this helps you and your friend. Please let us know how you do.
May 20, 2010 - 7:03amThis Comment
Hi Karen - I've spent several years working with patients who have paraplegia and quadriplegia. Cary is right in saying your friend needs to work with specialists who understand how best to treat his entire situation. The type of specialist who can best help him is a Physiatrist - you can learn more about these doctors here: http://www.aapmr.org/condtreat/what.htm
You can find a North Carolina specialist here: http://www.e-aapmr.org/imis/imisonline/findphys/result.cfm?State=NC
You can also look for an outpatient program provided by a hospital or center that specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation. There are many outstanding national programs, but for his convenience you may want to first determine if such programs are available in North Carolina.
Hope this helps you and your friend, Pat
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September 24, 2011 - 8:19am