Need a Doctor Referral for Fibromyalgia (I live in Centreville, VA) (health insurance, living)

[KatR10]

Hello!

I moved back to the area but have had nothing but negative experiences with pain management doctors. I've had Fibromyalgia for years and when I first moved back I saw a doctor who just gave me pain medication and injections that made my flareups even worse. He was completely rude (he actually said "what do you want" when I went in to see him for a follow-up) so I decided to look for another doctor. Unfortunately I made the mistake of going to a doctor in the same group. I just wanted to "be heard" but instead was accused of trying to "doctor hop" (I thought it would be easier just to switch doctors and didn't know it was wrong). They accused me of this even though I went in saying I didn't want to stay on the medication the other doc gave me and basically wanted another opinion. I was completely shocked about what that doc said to me and of course the rude demeanor. I was told that doctors don't know why people have Fibro and there's really nothing that doctors can do except recommend injections and physical therapy in their office (which from past experience is a total joke). On top of that the doctor told me that I needed to go somewhere to "detox" from the medication the first doctor gave me.

I saw my psychiatrist later that day and I was crying and very upset...and he told me that those doctors didn't know what they were talking about and that I needed to look for another doctor. He told me how to safely stop the medication and I did it on my own without any problems. My bad experiences have only increased my anxiety problem and I have been too scared to go to another doctor after my first couple of experiences.

I am so frustrated right now and have just been living and dealing with the pain, the horrible headaches, stiffness, etc. on my own but I realize that I'm not going to get better by avoiding getting help from a good doctor.

If anyone knows of a good doctor who treats Fibromyalgia please let me know. I am open to doctors of any specialty. I just want someone who respects his/her patients, who cares, will listen, and will work with me to actually reduce my pain levels. I also do not want to go to a doc who pushes drugs that will just mask the pain.

Thank you in advance for any help that you can provide! :-)

P.S. I have Cigna health insurance...I've been finding that this has made my search even more complicated.

[CAVA1990]

We had a good experience on a different issue with these folks:

Chronic and Acute Pain Relief with Non-Surgical Treatment | Capitol Spine & Pain Centers

Have you had a thorough screening for Lyme Disease? It's pretty common around here now and causes a lot of the same symptoms as people seem to experience with fibromyalgia. You may also want to have an MRI to rule out MS, which can also cause that type of pain.

[Chris1023]

Jason Brown DC Centreville, extensive knowledge of nutrition. Worth a consult with him.

[irvine]

Get tested for Lyme Disease. Many Fibromyalgia sufferers actually have Lyme. Find a doctor that specializes in infectious diseases.

[sullyguy]

Originally Posted by irvine

Get tested for Lyme Disease. Many Fibromyalgia sufferers actually have Lyme

Interestingly, many doctors do not believe either "disease" is real:

Lyme disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and

Fibromyalgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You might have to shop around quite a bit to find a believer.

[wikipedia links used since they collected the info in one place]

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by sullyguy

Interestingly, many doctors do not believe either "disease" is real:

Lyme disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and

Fibromyalgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You might have to shop around quite a bit to find a believer.

[wikipedia links used since they collected the info in one place]

That's very misleading. All doctors (as long as their brain is still working) believe Lyme Disease is a real, infectious disease. What is not recognized is "chronic" Lyme disease, as described below (from your wiki link). The 3rd category resembles fibromyalgia.

"The term "chronic" (Lyme disease) or "post-Lyme disease syndrome" is not recognized by mainstream medicine,[230] and most medical authorities advise against long-term antibiotic treatment for chronic Lyme disease.[82][231][232] The term is often applied to several different sets of patients. One usage refers to people suffering from the symptoms of untreated and disseminated late-stage Lyme disease: arthritis, peripheral neuropathy and/or encephalomyelitis. The term is also applied to people who have had the disease in the past and some symptoms remain after antibiotic treatment, which is also called post-Lyme disease syndrome. A third and controversial use of the term applies to patients with nonspecific symptoms, such as fatigue, who show no objective evidence they have been infected with Lyme disease in the past, since the standard diagnostic tests for infection are negative."

[CAVA1990]

Lyme disease is definitely real and is sometimes difficult to get rid of.

[irvine]

Most people in the DC area know at least one person who has had Lyme Disease. If you test positive for Lyme, I understand that coverage can be very tricky. Most insurance companies do not cover the necessary antibiotics. I think Anthem Blue Cross does.

Lyme Disease is a growing problem in Northern Virginia, especially in semi rural areas like Loudon County where whole families have the disease.

[sullyguy]

Originally Posted by spencgr

That's very misleading. All doctors (as long as their brain is still working) believe Lyme Disease is a real, infectious disease. What is not recognized is "chronic" Lyme disease, as described below (from your wiki link).

True.

I should have noted in my original reply that I was assuming the person suggesting "Lyme disease" check was thinking of chronic Lyme disease, about which there is significant controversy (thus my link to that subsection of the "Lyme Disease" wikipedia entry) - as with the "disease" of the Subject.

[note - the VISIBLE part of the URLs I gave was supplied by Wikipedia, not me - the URLs actually link to the "Controversy" part of each respective wikipedia entry. I'll leave the original reply as is, however here are the exact same URLs with visible parts "written" by me:

Chronic Lyme Disease Controversy

and

Fibromyalgia Controversy

]

[2dogsandme]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

We had a good experience on a different issue with these folks:

Chronic and Acute Pain Relief with Non-Surgical Treatment | Capitol Spine & Pain Centers

Have you had a thorough screening for Lyme Disease? It's pretty common around here now and causes a lot of the same symptoms as people seem to experience with fibromyalgia. You may also want to have an MRI to rule out MS, which can also cause that type of pain.

I had a bad experience with Capitol Spine and Pain Centers for the treatment of fibromyalgia. I highly recommend you stay away from them.