Andrea Cooper, 52, a fibromyalgia sufferer from Phoenix, Md., has benefited from a whole-patient approach to her pain. "In my opinion the most skilled pain specialist is someone who sees you as a whole person, and not just a bunch of presenting symptoms. My doctor will ask me what's going on in my life outside my medical situation—kids, marriage, diet, exercise, what's going right and wrong, me as a person, my emotional life. It's all important. You can't separate one thing from other. And as a patient being respected in that way makes me want to be a bigger player in my recovery."
How to find a pain specialist
- The American Board of Pain Medicine lists doctors who are board-certified pain specialists (click on "Diplomates").
- The American Academy of Pain Medicine lists medical doctors who regularly work with pain, and may or may not be board-certified pain specialists.
- The American Academy of Pain Management lists health-care providers who regularly treat pain, though they may not be board-certified pain specialists or medical doctors.
