Chronic pain can be an overwhelming burden on your everyday life, interfering with even the simplest of your daily tasks. The toll can be both physical and mental, so you need an effective plan to keep pain under control.
Nurse practitioner Savitri Gopaul, FNP-BC, of Commonwealth Pain Management and Wellness, in Richmond, Virginia, understands just how frustrating dealing with pain can be. She and her team are ready to help you with a holistic approach to pain management.
It all starts with a visit to our offices. Here’s what to expect from your first pain management consultation.
Prepare some notes ahead of your first appointment. Some nerves accompany new experiences or environments, so write down your concerns and questions before you arrive to ensure that you don’t forget anything. The basics include:
Perhaps most importantly, list the questions for which you want answers. These tend to slip from our patients’ minds most easily.
We’ll likely have intake forms for you if this is your first visit, so you can describe your symptoms and overall health history. Be as thorough as possible, in case there’s an undiscovered connection between past and current conditions.
There may be some lifestyle questions designed to give us a thorough picture of your health. All your records are confidential, so it serves your treatment to be honest, even if you’re embarrassed. It’s not about judgment. We want the best outcomes for you.
We review your paperwork and clarify any uncertainty or questions we may have about your pain condition and previous treatments. We guide you through descriptive tools like pain scales to help identify your pain priorities.
A physical exam usually follows to pinpoint pain and identify movement restrictions. The exam tends to focus on your problem areas. We may palpate your body to investigate internal conditions and check reflexes as a basic check of nerve function.
It’s now the point where a potential treatment plan starts to form. You may need further testing, like imaging and lab testing, but this isn’t always the case.
We review potential treatment options and discuss these with you, working together to build your plan elements. We decide on realistic goals, being clear that you understand the level of pain reduction you can expect.
This is often the most important part of your consultation. If you don’t understand something, ask. Refer to your notes and prepared questions, and add anything that comes up during your appointment.
The more you understand your pain management program, the more likely you are to achieve effective results.
Contact us at Commonwealth Pain Management and Wellness online or by phone to schedule your first pain management consultation. The sooner you book, the faster you’ll feel the benefits, so plan your visit today.
