Before pain can be appropriately treated it's essential to know about the pain. The temptation is to just ask for a prescription. This may a natural course of events. Indeed, many doctors may be willing to offer a prescription without delving further into the characteristics of the pain. For occasional pain, that may be okay.

But, for pain that occurs routinely, there must be a clearer understanding of the pain's origin, frequency, what relieves the pain (if at all), the nature of the pain (shooting, aching, etc.), where the pain is felt and any association with the time of day.

Treating routine pain without this understanding will likely lead to poor pain control, increased risk of medication abuse, and lower quality of life. To hit a target the blindfold must be removed. Not understanding these aspects of your pain effectively leaves you wearing a blindfold.

So, enough for the lecture. Now to the help. First, get a doctor who asks questions. Second, a good criterion to use for a skilled pain specialist is to see if they have you use a pain diary. If not, we'd recommend moving on to another physician. The doctor you have is more interested in pushing pills.

Good pain doctors want to know what they're dealing with. They will be interested in using every available intervention to help you get through your pain episodes. Very often, these may be behavioral interventions. The only way to decide what works for you and promotes your quality of life is to start with a pain journal.

We've worked with patients who have had their pain managed by pill pushers. It's not a pretty sight. Get the right treatment from the best doctor.

To see a pain journal, go to this link on the excellent site, PainEDU.org.