I wrote you back in June 2007 with some of my experience in dealing with my intractable pain which you posted on your site. I also asked you if you knew of anyone in New Mexico who might be able to help me & you referred me to Dr Joan Lewis in Albuquerque. I can not thank you enough for referring me to her. Over the past 10 months she has turned my life around. She ‘gets’ it & has been wonderful. Your name has come up a couple of times & each time Dr Lewis has called you a ‘sweetie’.
       But when I went to see her for my June visit she informed me that the NM Board of Medical Examiners has come after her again & she has to quit treating pain patients or lose her medical license to practice in NM. Her last day in treating pain patients is August 29, 2008 & doesn’t sound like she is interested in fighting it this time & is changing her practice. A few days later my wife & I went to a meeting at her practice with maybe 30 other patients & we decided to put together a support & advocacy group with my wife as the leader to see if there isn’t something we can all do about finding other treatment & hopefully even changing the way the state of New Mexico views treating intractable pain with opioids. But as you well know that is a very difficult task. But at this point we want to try. This just isn’t right. In the past Dr Lewis fought to keep treating IP patients but this time we the patients want to fight for adequate pain relief. I see
that a group of patients in Washington state are suing for the new limits just put on them.
       Dr Lewis has 400 patients & I guess we’re all in a bit of a sticky situation & going to have to find some way to get adequate pain treatment in a very short period of time. I don’t know what the others know but I know that’s almost impossible. We’re all going to be lucky to get in & see a new doctor & get any pain meds in 3 months let alone get adequate pain treatment. And even if there was 1 or 2 doctors out there willing to treat IP adequately, there are 400 of us. It seems to me that the board could somehow be liable forcing 400 patients out of adequate critical health care but that’s what they’re doing. But it does seem that 400 patients could have some power & have an effect if handled right.
        Hopefully most of us will be writing our congressmen & the governor & we plan on contacting the newspaper to see if they’re interested in the story. What this whole country needs is national television coverage of the subject. Real coverage, over & over. We’re just getting started & not well organized yet but another meeting at Dr Lewis’s on 7/11. Plus some of us already have each other’s phone # & email. We also need a lawyer but maybe with a newspaper article a lawyer(s) may get in touch with us or someone in the group knows a lawyer willing to help. My wife Maureen has also just had contact with Siobhan Reynolds of the Pain Relief Network in Santa Fe & she’s willing to help the best she can but it’s bad timing as they are also working with the Washington State issue & somewhere else.
       Do you have any ideas or suggestions of what we as a group of 400 can do at this beginning stage? Or maybe certain things to do before others. Dr Lewis sounded like she’s not even allowed to assist us. Hopefully we’ll learn more 7/11.
       Do you know how we can get a hold of recent medical research, studies that we can use to support IP patients rights or use of opioids? Something that any doctor or people in health authority should have respect for, backed up by medical studies that we can approach the board or state with?
        We’ve gotten some ideas from your site but do you know of any other sites or areas to help us get started in what to do that can be most effective in changing pain treatment on the state level. Of course people in the group will be reading & searching for whatever we can find over the next weeks. But we would appreciate any ideas or suggestions you may have at this time.

       I asked before & you came through but somehow I don’t think there’s anyone, but do you happen to know of anyone else anywhere in NM or even in El Paso if it is possible for me to have a doctor from out-of-state?

        My wife is so angry but optimistic we can make a difference & I vary from angry to despondent. I see a monumental task in changing anything.
        All of the doctors I’ve seen in Albuquerque at 2 hospital clinics are opiophobic & view us IP patients as just wanting drugs for the sake of drugs. My last doctor before Dr Lewis even came right out & said as my wife & I were leaving his office that there are honest pain patients but only until they find out what the drugs are worth then they sell them. How insulting. How degrading. How medically unethical. Where do they get this from. Where’s the evidence. I’m standing right there next to him & have never given or diverted even 1 pill or even lost a pill that I know of. And I’ve read what the stuff is supposed to be worth. But if I can’t find any better doctor I may have to go back to him & be insulted some more on top of what’s coming. But at least I did get some pain meds from him.
        Sorry to vent a bit as I know you’ve certainly had more than your share of insults & being treated unethically & heard many many stories. I can only hope it has stopped for you & you can do what doctors are supposed to be doing, helping people in need of medical care, especially in chronic pain.

Thank you for listening Dr Hochman.

Bob
NM
@yayoo.com
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Mr.Bob:
I wrote Dr. Lewis a letter which you may use in whatever way you wish. I strongly suggest that you arrange a meeting with Governor Richardson and ask him to bring Dr. Paul Kaufman to it. (he is the chairman of the Board and I have known him since 1975.) I believe the board is being misled by G.T.S. Khalsa, who is a member of the 3HO cult and is simply stated an opiophobic fanatic. He is the reason I left New Mexico in 1997 after practicing there for 22 years. I would mobilize the newspapers in Albuquerque and Santa Fe to attend the meeting. I would also ask your state senators to attend.

The situation in New Mexico is outrageous. The ACLU may have an interest in the situation. The New Mexico Pain Treatment Act has been mocked by Khalsa and other lawers at the Board and your legislators need to be made aware of the situation. It will not get better until something is done to change the medical environment there. If I can help in any way let me know. The NFTP has a panel of 18 nationally known experts who would be glad to provide testimony in support of the treatment of intractable pain.
Keep me posted.
Dr. Hochman