Integrity

Welcome to the current newsletter issue of
Advances in Medicine (AIM) - Take AIM against pain.

Feel free to send me an e-mail with your own thoughts
and experiences. Email: timsams@mypainreliefdoc.com.

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                        INTEGRITY

For several months, I have been providing free, 15-minute phone
consultations to any person in pain who requests a consult at
www.MyPainReliefdoc.com. I provide this service to a couple
dozen patients per week, in my free time, when I have office
cancellations, or am commuting, because of the immensely poor
quality of pain treatment people around the country and the
world are receiving-my way of reaching out and trying to make a
small difference in the world.

I call 100% of the people who request a consult and complete the
intake form. (Real world patients of mine, or Orange County
residents, not included). I call each and every one, 100% of the
time, as promised. No tricks, gimmicks, or hidden agendas. If you
request a consult, you will get a call back. All I ask is that
you give me a phone number where I can reach you over the next
24 hours from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., your time. On the web
site, I note that you will not be able to call me back. You need
to answer the phone. I have read your intake, prepared questions
and feedback, and carved out time to talk to you. You need to
answer the phone.

Less than one-third of the people in pain who request a consult
answer the phone when I call them-almost always on the same day
the request comes in. They don't answer the phone the second
time I call (which I don't promise will happen). They don't
answer the phone the third time I call. What's going on here?

Maybe they don't believe I'll actually call. If that were the
case, you'd think they wouldn't spend the time to fill out the
intake form. Maybe they don't think it will be that helpful.
Again, why fill out the form? Maybe they're too depressed, or
too something, to answer the phone. One person answered the
phone and asked if I would call back at a more convenient time.

Many of the requests I get are from desperate people who talk
about how desperate they are-how depressed, angry, scared, sad,
and confused they are-how badly the doctors have treated
them-horror story after horror story of bad care, misdiagnosis,
under-treatment, etc. So far, about a third have mentioned
feeling at least passively suicidal. And still they don't answer
the phone. In so doing, they don't get the help they say they
desperately want, and no one will give them. They waste a
half-hour of my time-time that someone else could have used to
get the help they wanted.

Pain doesn't care that you are a nice person, or a good mother,
a loving husband, or a hard worker. It doesn't care if the time
is inconvenient. Pain doesn't care that you've gotten bad
treatment and don't deserve to hurt. It won't let up because you
are a victim-vulnerable and fragile. Pain is brutal, cruel, and
merciless. It cares not what your intentions are. It is your
sworn enemy, locked in rage, and it doesn't care what you intend
to do-only what you actually do. If you cower in your foxhole,
pain will run through you with a bayonet.

The longer you have hurt and the worse you hurt, the more likely
it is that what you do to help yourself decrease your pain is
more important than what your doctors do. It takes me 300 pages
in the ABC's of Pain Relief and Treatment: Advances,
Breakthroughs, and Choices to explain why this is true and what
you can do about it. There is comfort in being a victim, comfort
in blaming others, comfort in not having to take responsibility
for yourself. And pain laughs at you when you do this, and
sharpens its blade.

In my Southern California offices, I see heroes every day who
battle against the ravages of pain with everything they have.
And day after day, I see others surrendering, and refusing to
change simple behaviors they know would make them feel better.
They refuse to exercise, pace themselves, take antidepressants,
or read a pain book. They refuse to attend pain class or
biofeedback. They refuse to do the smallest things to help
themselves, and then complain bitterly that no one is doing
anything to help them. I truly believe that if I offered to come
into your living room for free, that would help you get over the
hump and make a difference. I am disappointed beyond my capacity
to express. However, there is nothing that defines my life more
than perseverance, so I have no intention of giving up.

I am available to help you. I want to help you. I absolutely,
positively will call you. My integrity demands it. But, please
don't request a consult if you won't or can't have access to a
phone, during regular hours, through the day after your request
(8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.). Please don't waste my time. As far as
I know, I am the only pain doctor offering this service.

Victory over pain requires honesty, courage, independence,
creativity, planning, initiative, and perseverance. It requires
integrity, i.e., the courage to defend an idea or goal. You must
step up and meet your enemy. You risk nothing more than failure;
you will achieve self-respect, diminished pain, and an improved
quality of life. I would be honored to be a part of that. A
healthier future is calling. Will you pick up the phone?

Comments?

Good light,

Dr. Tim Sams
My Pain Relief Doc
www.mypainreliefdoc.com

Copyright 2007. Dr. Tim Sams and My Pain Relief Doc.
All rights reserved. www.mypainreliefdoc.com

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You may freely distribute a copy of this newsletter or
use it on your web site or RSS feed, as long as you
include the entire article, along with the web links
and copyright information. Thanks, Dr. Tim
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