By Dr. Michael Cooney, Clinical Director
During the course of your life, you may experience chronic pain, which is generally described as consistent pain lasting for at least three months. The neuropathy may result from an injury; side effect from a chronic disease treatment for a condition, such as chemotherapy; or simply wear and tear on an aging body.
Choosing a pain management provider requires special preparation to find the right doctor to relieve your pain and achieve your desired outcome.
Unlike a broken arm or a case of Shingles, neuropathy can’t be observed by the naked eye.
Dr. Michael Cooney
As an ‘invisible disease,’ it is essential for the patient to be able to describe their pain and future pain management goals.
Keep in mind, you will be establishing a long-term relationship with this pain management expert and their staff. It is critical to carefully vet each potential care provider to make the best choice for you.
I’ve outlined some recommendations below to prepare for your selection process:
Clearly define your treatment outcome expectations
Dependent on how long you have lived with long-term pain, it is important to clearly delineate your treatment goals—
- Do you want to eliminate the need for prescription pain medications or invasive therapies?
- Do you want to be completely pain-free, or would you be satisfied if your pain level remained under 3/10?
- Do you want to alleviate a need for mobility devices?
- Is your goal to return to work full-time or attend school?
Once you have stated your pain therapy goals, next determine if the doctor has the expertise and previous clinical success to treat your specific medical condition.
What is your pain doctor’s medical specialty?
Doctors who treat neuropathic pain specialize in a specific sub-specialty–pediatrics, orthopedics, gastroenterology, psychiatry, neurology, geriatric care or rheumatology–for example.
I was a clinical chiropractor for 30+ years before introducing Calmare at my New Jersey clinic.
My experience working with the central nervous system served as an essential skill when administering scrambler therapy, a provider-dependent therapy.
Calmare is a Provider-Dependent Therapy – Know Your Provider!
Interview questions for your pain management provider
Start by discovering how frequently the doctor treats your specific medical condition/s and their success rate overall.
In our practice, we have a list of patient volunteers who are willing to speak with potential patients about their Calmare scrambler therapy treatment experiences.
Remember, the doctor you ultimately select works for you and is being paid to provide you with healthcare treatment that will make you feel healthier, less pain and improve your quality of life.
Note: I’d like to thank our Calmare patients and chronic pain friends on Facebook who contributed their firsthand input to these questions below:
- Do you regularly treat patients with my condition? If not, how many patients have you treated with my condition and what was the outcome for the majority?
- What is your area of medical specialty in treating nerve pain?
- Can you offer a typical outcome for patients with my condition and pain level?
- What percentage of your patients experience a significant reduction in pain within six months?
- For my condition, what are the most common treatment protocols you prescribe, starting with the least invasive?
- Do you feel pain medication is the primary treatment plan for me? Why?
- Do you support alternative pain therapies and, if so, can you describe them?
- Based upon your expertise, what do you project my ‘best-case outcome may be?
If you are interested in pursuing Calmare Therapy for neuropathy (chronic nerve pain), please reach out to schedule your no-fee phone or video consultation with Dr. Cooney by calling (201) 933-4440 or email us at info@calmaretherapynj.com.
