Hi all, hope ya doin ok.
Im live in the South West of Victoria and am in need of a GP who understands and is able to help me. I've suffered with a bad lower back for 20yrs and have been to a pain clinic which helped, but now im fitting the bill for CFS, FM or alike and can't find any help in my home town. :-/ Im willing to travel to Warnambool, Balarat or Geelong to get help, so if anybody could suggest a GP that has helped them i would be very thankful.
Good luck all. 🙂
Hi Juggy and welcome to the forum.
It looks as though we may not have anyone living in your vicinity on here at the moment.
Does anyone live in Warrnambool, Ballarat or Geelong or nearby and happen to know of a GP or even a Pain Specialist who can help out here?
This link may be worth checking too Juggy. If you scroll down, there is a list of pain clinics in Victoria. Your GP could refer you to one if you need a referral. It is very hard to find a GP who is really well up with chronic pain, unless they have a particular interest in that area.
http://www.painaustralia.org.au/consumers/getting-help.html#NSW
Mary
Not every day is a good day, but there is good in every day.
"“It’s delightful when your imaginations come true, isn’t it?” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Mary I will ask my son, he works in management at the Warrnambool base hospital, I will try and find out from him, we do have a friend in Warrnambool who is a CPer and she has to go to Geelong or Ballarat to see specialists.
Just sent him a text and he is looking into it know, so I should have some news by tomorrow
Don
Thanks Don,
That will be a big help.
Mary
Not every day is a good day, but there is good in every day.
"“It’s delightful when your imaginations come true, isn’t it?” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
G'Day Juggy,
Welcome to the Forum!
Unfortunately, you may end up doing what most of us have had to do over the years. And that is look around till you find a good GP. I know you probably already have been doing that, but the sad fact is that there just aren't a whole lot of chronic pain friendly GPs around. Most will still try to tell you that you are depressed. This is a sad indictment on our medical profession, but we are in the education and change phase.
Since the Pain Summit in 2010 where the National Pain Strategy was established, this country's top pain specialists and other organisations embarked on a journey to educate and re-educate, the health professionals, the govt and the general public. They now know that CP is a condition in its own right and there is a lot of information and evidence associated with this fact. But, because this is a relatively new belief and knowledge, it is going to take some time to convert and re-train.
Many of us are not going to receive the help that people in the future will receive. Which is unfortunate!
But there is help out there and it is not hopeless. If you are prepared to travel, then you should find all the assistance you need to learn how to self-manage your pain condition.
Try looking into one of the pain clinics that Mary has suggested on the Painaustralia website. You may have better luck there.
Peter
I wish the ring (this Chronic Pain) had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened. (Frodo Baggins)
So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide, is what to do with the time that is given to us. (Gandalf the Grey)
Hey all. Thanks for ya help, I will have a look at link after once the kids are in bed... Bit of P&Q! LoL
I might also take a trip to the Geelong hosi and see if I can have atleast a 5min chat to somebody at their pain clinic as I was a patient their a few year ago.
Thanks again. 🙂
Ok Juggy both Ballarat and Geelong base hospitals have pain management clinics the details will be in the pian clinic thread that Mary has provided, there is a pain specialist based in Warrnambool, my son is getting all his details for me tomorrow as soon as I get them I will post it in this thread.
Don
Juggy. Hi i lived at Bacchus Marsh for a while and at the time there was a pain clinic attached to the Ballarat Base Hospital. I didn't have the time or brains to go there because it had a very good reputation. Google.. Pain Clinic Ballarat ..shows some ideas. regards Outlast.
Thanks for ya help peeps, much appreciated by me and my family. 🙂
Hi Juggy my son has got back to me there is a pain doctor operating out of St John Of God Hospital Warrnambool, his name Neil Dutoit Ph: no: 55634558 Mon- Friday
Don
Cool, thanks heaps Don & Son. 🙂 I'll get onto it 1st thing Monday and see what they say. All the help has been great. Stay strong folk. 🙂
