Advanced Pain Management

Let me preface this by stating that if there were a category for «Quackery», this is where this «Business» belongs.
I understand that they are basically herding a group of pill poppers like a farm full of cattle, but I found both of my visits with two providers to be the most condescending, accusatory, unethical and unprofessional scenario one could experience. I work with doctors on a daily basis, including PM docs, and explained my experience to one of them who advised me to report them (Once I find out who that may be).
1 week after having my third reconstructive foot surgery (in the last 12 months), I scheduled an appointment with Kure and ended up being scheduled with Dr. Doris Cope. She was pretty wide open in her schedule and now I know why.
When you walk in, there is a big sign boasting Dr. Cope as «Doctor of the Year». While most would likely think of this as a comforting feeling, like she must really know what she is doing… this is a tactic. What other professional doctor office makes their own life-​sized banner to promote their providers? You shouldn’t have to advertise your services when the medical profession is primarily referral based or you go there because your insurance requires it.
My co-​worker used to work there and I asked what she knew about the doctor and she said, «All I know is she is mean to the employees, thus the turnover.» Great!
Once we meet, I explain to her the predicament. My last PM doc was supposed to manage my meds post-​op. Here I am, a week post –op from surgery that has been planned for 7 months and that doctor was now randomly on vacation– that’s why I am here.
I present to her my foot– swollen four times the norm, stapled, weepy, bloody, black, blue and purple (like the perfect Raven’s fan) plus a side of a multi-​color shin (bone graft) for her examination. She puts some device on the area (without regard of my senstitivity) and tells me it’s registering as «hot». Well, No Sh*t !
Next, I am given a short sales pitch about how I am to come in next week to be put under general anesthesia in the office, where she will stick a needle in my back to block my nerves running to that area in the event that I may or may not get a (after research, I now know) very rare, debilitating Acronym-​based, incurable condition. Then I am given half of the prescription that I have been given for the last 8 months (it ain’t broke-​why fix it?) and a slow acting Fentanyl patch. I soon ponder jumping on the train of trust of the #1 doctor banner — she must know what she is doing… «Doctor of the Year!!!» (Now, realizing she may have been voted this by a small village in Africa, where I picture she went around providing charitable anesthesia).
So, fast forward 2 weeks later. I tried the Fentanyl Patch despite reading horrific death stories of people woefully trying to get off heroin– that they have now resorted to after the patch stopped getting prescribed to them. Maybe I am a big baby, but festering blisters and the inability to breathe prompted me to remove it. I called the #1 doctor and left a message with the above information. No call back. I call back and left another message. No call back. I call my surgeon who called something in to curb my hyperventilation and pain ridden sobs.
My follow up appointment was today. I am now scheduled with thei #1 Nurse Practitioner. I wasn’t even going to go but decided otherwise for the fact that I wanted to hear what this Zit on the face of the Earth’s ass had to say to me. Instead, I saw the NP, (Zit offspring — again turnover) Deliana Flores.
She comes in very «in-​charge», asking who I saw on a certain date as my records display that I was prescribed a different medication from another doctor. She believes she has most certainly «caught» me doctor hopping. I am in the business and I know you have your claims history, Ms. Freshman. Not to mention, I wrote it down on the paperwork when I showed up this morning. I explained my story about the festering wounds and inability to breathe from the Fentanyl prescription, never getting a call back etc… AND the response was: This is my «ONLY» warning of a violation of an agreement I never signed. I advised I never heard back from Dr. Cope (ironic name). This is my fault that she only works 2 weeks in a month?
I advised I would rather not get anything from her, I don’t want this «violation» on my medical records. I would continue to take Tylenol and suck it up as I haven’t died yet and it’s been 3 weeks. I then gimped out of there as quickly as possible.
I have seen a lot of shady, unethical providers who lack knowledge when it comes to «standard of care» but not like this. I actually think more highly of the butcher who performed surgery twice, without doing labs, and could have prevented this whole debacle over this practice of Bozos. They don’t give a crotch rot in hell about anything but their bottom dollar.

I have been a patient of Advanced Pain Management for going on three years now. I started with Dr. Freas and now see Anneliese. Dr. Freas is great and the only reason I switched to Anneliese is because her schedule fits best with mine. They also have offices in Chestertown, Easton, Glen Burnie, Hyattsville, Kent Island, Lanham, Waldorf and Washington, DC.
My pain is different than the typical «ow, my back» group of people. Unfortunately, my pain is also harder to treat. I’ve had a few lifetimes worth of botched surgeries and other complications from my Crohn’s Disease. I figured I’d be relegated to a life of pain.
My former primary care physician (not a doctor with Advanced Pain Management) originallyput me on pain meds in 2006. While many primary care physician’s (PCP) are afraid of prescribing opioid’s, that doctor saw it as the proper course of treatment and helped me minimize pain. While I appreciate that, he wasn’t a pain management specialist, and was not aware of the many different drugs that can be used to treat pain. That doctor figured Oxycontin would help with everything. It did, but it also created a horrible side effect. It turns out Oxycontin was not best for me and I no longer take it.
After I moved away (I move a lot… hate staying in one place more than a year or two) and it was no longer practical to see that PCP, I again relied on other PCP’s to take care of my pain. Finally, one day a new doctor of mine said he hasn’t comfortable prescribing opioid’s and that I should get into pain management. Although he refused to prescribe until I could even get into pain management, and that made my life a living hell, at the end of the day, I am thankful he pushed me in that direction. This doctor didn’t help me find a pain management practice, so I found Advanced Pain Management on my own.
After letting Dr. Freas know of the undesirable side effect I was having taking pills, it was suggested that I try patches, which I would only have to change every few days. Plus, the medication would not be delivered through my digestive system, eliminating the horrible side effect I was dealing with. Sure enough, this is exactly what I needed, and not only is my pain now completely under control, there are zero side effects. No longer do I have to spend a day or more in bed because the pain is overwhelming, nor do I suffer from additional digestive issues.
The thing I am most impressed with is the professionalism of this practice. This is not one of those places where you walk in and see a bunch of comatose people in the waiting room. Nor will you see people without legitimate pain who are trying to beat the system. Their routine advanced drug screening that actually tests the levels of each drug, prescription auditing and other processes help weed out the people who do not have a genuine need. This is a real pain management practice where their goal is to help you live your best life. If you’re looking for a quack, this will not be the place for you.
As a patient, what you will realize is that the practitioners at Advanced Pain Management have your best interests at heart. They want to get you the best therapy, whether medication with monthly maintenance visits, or a procedure (s) that will fix you up for months on end. They don’t want to keep you around just to make money off you, but they want you to get better. That is why I am so thankful for them. We’ve tried quite a few things to optimize my treatment and as soon as I have insurance that will cover more costly procedures that may help me get off the meds, we will try that because that is my personal ultimate goal. It’d be easier for them to write me a prescription for something that sort of works, but I appreciate that they want to make things perfect, no matter how much effort it takes.
Make sure you have all of your medical records in order before going to your first appointment. Although my PCP did not help me find Advanced Pain Management, Dr. Freas did verify my medical history and actual need for such treatment before prescribing the opioid’s I had been prescribed for a few years. The whole transition to pain management will go smoother if you have all necessary images/​scans and medical records going in. This is just another part of the equation that makes them true professionals.