Re: Re: FMS - doctors in Memphis area

[Guest guest]

Hey Sharon, I am amazed that in a hugh city like Memphis, we go to the same doctors and take about the same medicines. I also have found Neurontin to be really helpful. Dr Snaupp put me on Duragesic 50 about 5 months ago. It has reallly helped. I was scared that after takin hydrocodone for 2-3 years, it would'd work but it really has. I still hurt sometimes but overall it is much better. I also go to Dr. Hannisian but never thought of him as a pain doctor. Unless you consider Predisone a pain med and I know it is, a different class than opium drugs and very dangerous to take big does over a length of time. and don't mind weighing 1,000 lbs. smile.,,,,

I love Dr Snaupp but sometimes he seems to tempmental. I think it's because the feds are getting so strick on pain docs. He told me, especially since the Rush Lymbaugh thing it is hard to get med to the people who really need them..

I'm trying to sell my home and move to an apartment in Batesville to be near my daughter. You don't happen to know of anyone in that area do you?

Love, Joan

Re: FMS - doctors in Memphis area

Dear ,I know exactly where Searcy is. I even went there when we l ived inGreers Ferry in search of a decent doctor with no luck. The doctor Iuse is Dr. Cary Finn, who is an internist. He is the doctor who rx'sall of my current meds, which include:Oxycontin 40 mg. twice per dayTylenol #3 or Lortab for breakthrough painNeurontin 300 mg. four times a dayCelexa 40 mg. at bedtimeZyprexa 20 mg. at bedtimeElavil 50 mg at bedtimeLasix (for fluid retention) 40 mg. a.m.Potassium a.m.Tricor (for elevated triglyceride level)Celebrex 200 mg. twice per dayEstrace 2 mg. for hormone replacementHe is the doctor who FINALLY diagnosed my fibro, and I think he is thegreatest. I will tell you, however, that it was two years of constantlyseeing me in his office that inspired him to FINALLY place me on theOxycontin. As a new patient, he probably would want to try other meansand refer you to a pain clinic for evaluation before considering a longterm narcotic pain med.We have several excellent pain clinics here. Below are some that aregood:Dr. Abhram HannissianMays & Schnapp Pain ClinicUT Medical Group Pain Clinic(could not find a listing for them in the phone book,, but the mainnumber for UT Medical Group is I can speak from personal experience on the UT group pain clinic. I wasalready taking the Oxy by the time I was referred to them, but washoping that they could offer better pain relief such as trigger pointinjections, but my allergy to Lidocaine made that impossible. Myhusband was referred to Mays & Schnapp Paine Clinic for pain in the areaof his incision following lung cancer surgery. They did a series ofnerve blocks, the first of which worked wonders, but the next two didnothing for him. At that point, they rx'd Oxy for him, but he chose notto take it because of the cost, and he has no prescription drugcoverage, only Medicare, which does not at this point cover rx's.Instead, he takes Lortab that is rx'd by his oncologist. But I wouldencourage you to first check out one of these pain clinics to see ifthey can help you, and if not, try your luck with Dr. Finn (his # is). It may take a few trips to Memphis before you get themeds that you desperately need, but I would encourage you to be patientand do whatever is necessary. You might ask whichever doctor you seefirst to also place you on Neurontin, which really helps me a lot.Generally, you start with 300 mg. once a day the first day, 600 mg. thesecond day, and then 900 mg. thereafter. Mays and Schnapps also rx'dthis drug for my husband, but he, being the stubborn man that he is,refused to take itat that time. He does now, however, take 300 mg perday at bedtime, and it really seems to help. Don't know if the Celebrexthat I take for arthritis would help fibro pain or not... I take it forthe arthritis I have in my spine. An antidepressant such as Elavil(Amitriptyline) at bedtime would help with the restorative sleep. Onething I almost forgot to tell you about the Neurontin... when you firststart taking it, it might make you dizzy and add to any fibro fog thatyou might be experiencing right now. It was first rx'd for me while Iwas still trying to work, and I had to discontinue it after a week.After I went on disability, however, I got Dr. Finn to put me back onit, and after about 2 weeks, the dizziness went away. If you take thisor any of the opiod pain meds, be careful about driving or operatinghazardous machinery until you see how the medication is going to affectyou. I do not feel like I have a problem with any of it, but then I willread a message I have typed and wonder what planet I just dropped offfrom. Therefore, I choose to drive only when it is an absoluteemergency, since if I had an accident taking the Oxy and Lortab, I couldtechnically be charged with a DUI.Hope this info helps. If you need additional information or want togive me a call about any of the stuff in this message, my home phone is.gentle hugs,Sharon Faith...with it, miracles *CAN* and *DO* happen!

[Guest guest]

Dear Joan,

There is a fairly new pain specialist in Batesville, but I have been

trying for 2 days to remember his name with no luck. However, the

psychiatrist I saw in Batesville was Dr. Witold Czerwinski, and he is

the one who told me about the new pain doctor and asked if I wanted him

to set me up an appointment with him. We were in the process of getting

ready to move back to Memphis, so I thanked him kindly and declined.

However, you could probably call Dr. C's office (he's listed in the

Batesville phone book) and ask the secretary for the name of the pain

specialist there in Batesville. Also, the hospital in Batesville has a

little booklet available with all the Batesville doctors listed in it.

They have a real good urologist, Dr. Hunter Brown, but their only ortho

clinic is the pits. They did not have a gastroenterologist as of March

2003... if you needed a gastro, the closest one was in Mountain View.

Don't go to the ER of the hospital there with a migraine expecting a

shot for pain.... all they will give you is a combination of Benadryl

and Compazine IV, which did nothing for my migraine. I was absolutely

in tears and asked them if it was their policy to send a patient home

hurting as bad as they did when they came in, and they said all they

could do was follow the neuro guidelines in their manual. I needed a

real flesh and blood doctor, not some blasted manual, to treat me!!

When my migraine is bad enough that I need an ER, then nothing short of

Demerol will ease the pain. And if you are contemplating gastric bypass

surgery, Dr. Lambert is the man to see.

I think you will like Batesville, although it is a total change from

Memphis. They do have a Wal-Mart, a Dollar General, and a Krogers.

There is a physical therapy facility there, and the hospital is nice as

an inpatient. I was hospitalized there once as an inpatient for bladder

surgery. However, do NOT expect to get a private room at any

cost....more than 90% of their rooms are semi-private, and there is

always a long waiting list for a private room. There are several fast

food places, as well as one Chinese restaurant with an excellent buffet.

A bit of trivia.... Batesville is the SECOND oldest city in Arkansas,

and have a big billboard proclaiming the fact, for whatever that is

worth.

If you have any other questions about Batesville or the surrounding

area, just let me know.

hugs and prayers,

Sharon - Memphis, TN

Faith...with it, miracles *CAN* and *DO* happen!

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

Yes, I was talking about Batesville, AR, as Joan had said they were

getting ready to move there. Elwyn and I lived in Greers Ferry, which

is about 40-50 miles from Batesville, for 3 years. However, in Feb.

2003, Elwyn (who was fortunately visiting his son in Memphis is the

time) was hospitalized in ICU and almost died from pneumonia. They had

to give him 2 units of blood in the ER just to bring his blood pressure

up...it was only 50/32. As soon as my daughter-in-law called me, I got

my sister to drive me to Memphis so I could be here with Elwyn, who

ended up spending a total of 10 days in the hospital. His doctor said

that, had he been in Greers Ferry, which was about 40 miles from the

nearest hospital in Heber Springs (and is nothing really more than a

glorified clinic), that he would have died en route. Elwyn was dx'd

with lung cancer in 1997, although he has been in remission since his

surgery in 97, and in addition suffers from severe emphysema and COPD.

We had a lovely home there in Greers Ferry.... much nicer than anything

we could have afforded here in Memphis, but material possessions are not

everything. It didn't take a lot of talking to decide that we needed to

move back to Memphis so that Elwyn could be near medical care. We are

renting a house that is about half the size of the one we owned in

Greers Ferry, and paying more for rent than we did for a house note.

But again, there is more to life than material goods. Elwyn and I are

both a lot happier since moving back, as Memphis is where we both grew

up and lived most of our lives. In addition, Elwyn lives only half a

block from his son, so gets to see him on a regular basis. We save a

lot of money on gas since moving back, because we are less than 10 miles

from almost every shopping facility that you could name, whereas in

Arkansas, we had to drive about 35 miles into Heber Springs to even get

to Wal-Mart, and if we wanted a Sam's Club, which is where I prefer to

buy my meat for the month, we had to drive all the way into Little Rock.

Both of us are close to our own doctor and pharmacy, and this saves

quite a bit of gas as well (and considering the price of gas these days,

that really mounts up). Utilities are MUCH cheaper here... we pay less

for all utilities combined here (including garbage pick up) than we were

paying for electricity alone there in Greers Ferry. I miss the peace

and quiet of living in the country, but that is about all that I do

miss.

I told Joan most of what I knew about that area of `Arkansas, but `if

you have specific questions about it, I'll try to answer it. I will say

that the entire time we lived there (3 years), I could not find a doctor

willing to treat my fibro aggressively with the Oxycontin and Lortab

that I was taking from my internist here in Memphis. I had to get him

to mail me an rx every month for the Oxy and pray that it got there

safely.... on 2 occasions it got lost in the mail and I was without the

Oxy for several days, which just about killed me.

Take care, and God bless you.

hugs and prayers,

Sharon - Memphis, TN

Faith...with it, miracles *CAN* and *DO* happen!

By chance are you talking about Batesville, AR? I live in Searcy and am trying to find a new DR. Would love to know as much info as you have if it Arkansas.

Thanks,

Denice

Thronberry@... wrote:

Dear Joan,There is a fairly new pain specialist in Batesville, but I have beentrying for 2 days to remember his name with no luck. However, thepsychiatrist I saw in Batesville was Dr. Witold Czerwinski, and he isthe one who told me about the new pain doctor and asked if I wanted himto set me up an appointment with him. We were in the process of gettingready to move back to Memphis, so I thanked him kindly and declined.However, you could probably call Dr. C's office (he's listed in theBatesville phone book) and ask the secretary for the name of the painspecialist there in Batesville. Also, the hospital in Batesville has alittle booklet available with all the Batesville doctors listed in it.They have a real good urologist, Dr. Hunter Brown, but their only orthoclinic is the pits. They did not have a

gastroenterologist as of March2003... if you needed a gastro, the closest one was in Mountain View.Don't go to the ER of the hospital there with a migraine expecting ashot for pain.... all they will give you is a combination of Benadryland Compazine IV, which did nothing for my migraine. I was absolutelyin tears and asked them if it was their policy to send a patient homehurting as bad as they did when they came in, and they said all theycould do was follow the neuro guidelines in their manual. I needed areal flesh and blood doctor, not some blasted manual, to treat me!!When my migraine is bad enough that I need an ER, then nothing short ofDemerol will ease the pain. And if you are contemplating gastric bypasssurgery, Dr. Lambert is the man to see.I think you will like Batesville, although it is a total change fromMemphis. They do have a Wal-Mart, a Dollar General, and a Krogers.Th

ere is a

physical therapy facility there, and the hospital is nice asan inpatient. I was hospitalized there once as an inpatient for bladdersurgery. However, do NOT expect to get a private room at anycost....more than 90% of their rooms are semi-private, and there isalways a long waiting list for a private room. There are several fastfood places, as well as one Chinese restaurant with an excellent buffet.A bit of trivia.... Batesville is the SECOND oldest city in Arkansas,and have a big billboard proclaiming the fact, for whatever that isworth.If you have any other questions about Batesville or the surroundingarea, just let me know.hugs and prayers,Sharon - Memphis, TNFaith...with it, miracles *CAN* and *DO* happen!DeniceDo yo

u Yahoo!?

Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam

[Guest guest]

Dear Denice,

During the 3 years that we lived in Greers Ferry, I could not find a

single doctor who could or would treat my fibro with aggressive pain

meds. The closest I came was my psychiatrist, who did increase my

Neurontin to 2100 mg. per day, saying that it was a mood stabilizer as

well as a medication for seizures and/or chronic pain. But Dr.

Czerwinski (the psychiatrist) said that the new pain specialist they had

in Batesville was supposed to really be good with this type of

situation. However, we were already making plans to move back to

Memphis so I never went as far as seeing him. It might be worthwhile to

call Dr. Czerwinski's office and get the name and phone number for this

new pain specialist. While we lived there, I ended up making the 7 hour

roundtrip to Memphis to my internist for my pain meds. As long as he

saw me every 6 months or so, he was happy. In between, he would mail my

rx's for the Oxycontin to me. Had one incident, however, where the

script got lost in the mail, and it took a lot of talking to get him to

replace it. Like I told him, it would not go through on my insurance if

I had already gotten it that much. Finally he agreed to write it again

as long as it was picked up in person, so that month we had to make the

long trip to Memphis just to get my script. The only time I got

ANYTHING from a doctor in Arkansas for pain was when I had a severe

flare up of the tendonitis in my right knee. This happened on a Friday

morning and I could not get an appointment with my internist until the

following Tuesday. So I went to Drasco Medical Clinic in absolute

tears, telling the doctor, who had always refused to write anything

narcotic in the past, that I *HAD* to have something to get me through

the weekend and give me enough relief to make the trip to Memphis. So

he gave me methadone, which is what they give heroin addicts!! When I

saw the nurse practitioner at my internist's the following week and she

saw that I was taking Methadone, she started questioning about my heroin

addiction, how long I had been addicted, how long I had been on the

methadone, etc. I am not sure she ever did believe me when I told her

that I had *NEVER* used heroin, and that this was what the GP in

Arkansas had rx'd for pain. As if I didn't have enough problems... I

guess I need to get an updated copy of my records from Dr. Finn to make

sure it is not noted anywhere in my chart that I am a heroin addict on

top of everything else, LOL.

Well, best of luck in finding a doctor in Arkansas. If you do decide to

come to Memphis for treatment, the doctor I use is Dr. Cary Finn,

. He is an internal medicine specialist but is the most

understanding doctor I have found yet when it comes to my fibro pain.

My only complaint is that he has refused to give me any more Lortab and

did not even have the courtesy of calling me or having his nurse call

me. Instead, he had his nurse call the pharmacist and leave a message

with him regarding the Lortab. I had already cut way back on the Lortab

useage on my own, so this is not a big deal yet, as I have 2 Lortabs

tucked back for emergency use only. And if worse comes to worst, there

is always the ER.

hugs and prayers,

Sharon - Memphis, TN

Faith...with it, miracles *CAN* and *DO* happen!

[Guest guest]

Dear Star,

I have to agree that probably no doctor could function with fibro and

manage to keep his practice. But wouldn't it be nice if somehow, they

could be made to spend a week in our bodies?? Just dreaming, but they

might be a little more inclined to treat fibro aggressively. I have an

appointment with my internist on the 29th, and am going to discuss my

meds with him then. Will see how many of them I can quit before then.

There are some that I know I will NEVER be able to quit, such as my

Estrace for hormone replacement, but I can live with something like

that. It is the antidepressants and other fibro meds that I want to

quit. Still hanging onto my 2 Lortabs that I have for emergencies....

wonder how long they will last??? Maybe God will bless me with giood

pain days until then.

hugs and prayers,

Sharon - Memphis, TN

Faith...with it, miracles *CAN* and *DO* happen!