I go to a pain clinic. I started out in hospice and pallantive care. They had me on way too much pain meds. The pain clinic has been awesome. And now with the CDC guidelines for narcotics I think you will find that a lot of dr's will stop prescribing them. Do you know where they want to refer you to??

I have taken a more holistic route that works for me. Each week during the month I do something different. Week 1 of the month I see my chiropractor, week 2 acupuncture, week 3 massage therapist or cupping, week 4 mineral baths at a local hot spring. During the week I try once a day to either swim, yoga, walking and meditation. I started taking herbal supplements (about I think now) 7 or 8 years ago, changed my eating habits to no grains and I try to grow as much as I can of my own veggies. I also stopped eating pork, no coffee and no alcohol. I try to buy as much organic beef and fish as I can afford. On a good night I dance Salsa at a local club and close the place down. I hike and I cycle when I can, with my dogs. Even though I hurt, being out in the open air with my rescue babies keeps me going and sane.

My primary doctor does my pain management as their office regulations are that if they prescribe one controlled substance, you can't have controlled substances from other offices (I also have ADHD). I am currently taking tramadol and lyrica and find that this helps control my pain fairly well. I know when I am having a flare because this isn't enough to control my pain. Also, my joint pain used to be almost unbearable, which I later figured out was a sign that my condition wasn't well-controlled. I had to be switched to methotrexate after being on high dose steroids for quite some time. So if you are finding you are having severe joint pain, your rheumatologist should consider more aggressive treatment to prevent long-term damage!

My rheumy handles my pain meds,he feels its easier since I see him every 4 to 6 weeks. I know here in Jersey and most states they watch how many different meds you take,I'm taking Vicodin,Lyrica,a muscle relaxer and other meds for anxiety and ptsd. It depends on your level of pain and what's causing your pain,with degenerative joint and disc disease with herniated disc,bulging disc and never damage you need something a little stronger then OTC meds. Not to mention the other auto-immune issues and arthritis.Hugs&Blessings.

I'll be honest I'm afraid of them and my doctor is against them. My mother's office was next door to a rather sketchy one (yes I know this is a bad generalization) they just handed out pills. I want my doctor hands on in all my buissness not just for my well being but also because I have weird reactions to things. I only used my rheumatologist as my pcp for over 13 years with one year exception while she was out with cancer. That one year I almost died on a table. So I'm very scared to try new people in my health care circle. I've started reaching out but I only use ochsner doctors because they can all see what the other has done. My advice is keep communication between whomever you choose and anyone else you see for your health care providers