Based on everyones experiences with doctors who would you say is more liberal as far as prescribing goes the older docs or the young ones?

In my exerience, it has to be the older docs.

Older dr's. This is my experience in being their patients and working with them.

definately older. they don't seem to be as quick to try "new" methods/treatments/medications. they seem to want to stick with what's worked in the past, for me anyway, which is a good thing.

Older. I've NEVER liked the younger ones, they always want to use the "newer" more "in style" medications and I personally hate that. It's better to get one that's been around for a while because there's a higher chance of getting stronger stuff.

I have a female MD in her forties, she prescribes what is needed, though I would not refer others to her for being liberal with script writing - though I think she is a Democrat.

IMO younger MDs often haven't seen or felt enough pain to even begin to assess and treat CPers. Book smarts... cringe.

How the [censored] do you know? That is laughable. This board has become so damm boring and sheeplike.

c'mon, that was a bit funny (i would say -- from out in LEFT field somewhere.

soooooooo, can we expect your retreat from the boring and sheeplike? wouldn't want to keep you from anything important -- like getting bold and horny -- i mean corny!

you should see some cartoons or something -- try anything as it can't make you more than the geezer you come off as. or geezerettte.......

Yea, but this conformity, just for people's approval, is funny but child like..

My pain management doctor is 72! He is awesome. He is my buddy, plus his liberal prescribing allows me to live a semi-normal life.

Along with that liberal prescribing though, comes many stipulations such as urine tests measuring the AMOUNT of the medications he prescribes being present in the sample, random pill counts, mandatory medication trials every now and then so he is not prescibing OC to every patient...ect.

Just dont get him talking about his damn horses, or you're screwed for the next hour...

Definately for me "older doctors". I had one doctor that I had seen since I was little and after my accident I would just have to call his office and he would call it over the phone. The doctor I have now is good and in his mid 40's will prescribe, but 20 at the most. He is more keen to anti-inflamatories. Older docs definately. They feel that they have been around forever and they do not take direction from up above well. They truly care about giving medications that they and the patient know that helps. No beating around bushed trying this and that.

Hiya MoodyBlue, been along time!

Yes I confess to trying to be funny. I try... oh well atleast a few guessed correctly.

This board is just as rude and sweet as I remember it to be.

Take care

My Mistake. Need to recalibrate my meds..

I think the young doctors are afraid of getting into trouble but the older ones don't seem to care. It may also depend on where they're from. I used to have a 65 year old Dr. from India who would barely prescribe an aspirin. He and other Indians I know seem like they are afraid of any kind of controversy, as if they will get in trouble and be deported or something.

Older Docs, NO DOUBT about it in my mind.

They are old school, and seem to be more happy to prescribe what works. Rather than saving their own [censored] and making sure not to prescribe a potentially mildly addictive drug. Younger docs have their whole career ahead of them, Im sure older docs dont wanna lose their jobs but they're trained that way valium was what you gave a stressed out person, d.h.codine isn't going to turn you into a junkie but new docs seem so scared of risking their own [censored], and also I think because they are newly trained and are learning the protocols of how things are done, they are more likely to stick rigidly to it.

Young docs are just pain in the [censored] when it comes to liberal thinking and risk taking. I have ADHD and as with many ADHD sufferers I have a drug problem, so my doc refuses to give me ritalin, because it can be habit forming.

Well if I have diabetes, and have to take an addictive drug for the rest of my life, to save my life and make me fuction normally. What ya gonna do ???

Why these f@&^*^& idiots sometimes.

I am for older docs too. Not because I am a Democrat (liberal med user) which I am Not. A conservative med user I am. Or an old corny horny geezer which I am NOT. I like older docs just because they seem to get it when I talk about chronic pain.

I think older doctors have seen it all, have older patients in a lot of pain, have pain themselves and know what we are going through.

My PCP seemed to be more liberal with pain medicines than the pain specialist. Plus my PCP didn't make me give back medicine that wasn't working at that time, never drug screened me or counted my pills. I'm sick to death of drug screens that aren't always accurate, of foreign doctors in the PM offices giving you enough to just barely take the edge off the pain but will not prescribe any type of benzo for spasms. Flexeril is it. I hate that stuff. Plus you get 30 days of medicine and are seen every 29 days, so if you have a bad day forget it!

So yeah, give me my PCP who has known me for more years than some of my children have been on this earth any day. We even joke about some of the pain medicines and sleeping medicines and how much they s*ck.

I agree...I have seen 2 "younger" doctors recently, a GP and a rheumatologist, and neither would prescribe anything for chronic pain other than flexeril or skelaxin...
I am considering going to a pain managment doctor, but if they are anything like these doctors in my area, I will only be wasting my time...I wish I could find a good one on the recommendation of someone..I live in NE Pa, and not far from Phila, & parts of NY & NJ as well..

Older docs for sure. If I walk into a new drs and they are young,I don't even feel like continuing with the consult.I can predict what they will say.Even with a long history,they seem to ignore that and think their NEW approach is best.
Often their NEW approach is prescribing something that I have already tried and had an allergic reation to.And by allergic,I don't just mean a headache or something.I mean a full body rash and or hives etc.

Give me an older dr anyday.
And to all the young drs reading this,you may think you are a dr,but wait for another 20 years of practice and then tell me you know everything.

There's good reason for this. Most new doctors are trained with the DEA breathing down their necks and often times become quite paranoid about losing their license. 8+ years of training and $150,000 in loans is a lot to put at stake.

I totally agree with you.
Thats why they should stop calling them drs,and start calling them DEA-Agents/Accountants.

older docs, as a rule. some of the younger ones get it; some of the older ones don't.

i've noticed in my line of work, though (medical field), the younger docs and PAs think nothing of sending someone off with the recommentation for OTC tylenol or NSAIDs who has a fresh fracture or new-onset acute back/neck ruptured disks.

yes, OTC meds have their place, but PLEASE..! if i had a bad fracture (as in needing surgery) or a fresh HNP and i was given an RX for tylenol or aleve, i'd throw it in the prescriber's face.

older docs.... not "croakers" who'll write ANYTHING but experienced enough to see REAL pain (or other) patients and write reasonable scripts as needed... instead of the "we don't write any schedule prescriptions at this clinic"

OLDER, the younger ones don't get it or are scared to prescribe..

You gotta be dying to get decent pain relief!!!

Another vote for Older Dr's, as a general rule.

I never try to tell an MD. what to do. Just give them my history and tell them what has worked in the past.
I've noticed that Dr's are like cats and will do the opposite of anything I try to tell them.
Can you say "God Complex" ?

On a funny note, I always carry along my old records, in a folder, to prove I'm telling the truth.
Not one Dr. has ever opened the folder to look at the old records.

Just a theory here; The "Latest-Greatest" drugs tend to be patented and are pushed by sales reps.
The more scripts Dr's write for newer drugs, the more free lunches and all expense paid trips to "siminars" in exotic locals the Dr's get. (at least in the US)

The benzos and opiate type drugs tend to be long out of patent. No incentive there?

I'm in full agreement with the majority here. Older docs are much more relaxed about prescribing the stuff that works. And I have a little something to add to the mix: I recently saw an older P.A. - he seemed to be even more liberal than most M.D.'s in his age range. Nice guy!

Most young ones in my state are very against narcotics, of course that could be because the official line of the state medical school is that narcotic dependance is only acceptable if you have less than 6 months to live.

I agree Bluefairy, it is that way here too! The younger, the more conservative they are. Some of you know my Jack of All Trades background, which includes growing up in my dad's pharmacy and working there every day for many years. Well, in the 60's and 70's they prescribed very liberally and I don't know how many here would remember, but the big thing back then was adding a touch of amphetamine to EVERYTHING. I had pain pills for my period with Dexederine in them. There were COLD pills with DEXEDRINE in them. It was pretty much a candy store atmosphere. Doctors prescribed Valium, Librium, etc. etc. by the boatloads.
The drug of abuse then was the Amphetamine as well as tranquilizers and sleeping pills. It was very liberal. In the 80's things were pretty liberal still, and I think it was Reagan that started to turn the tide into a more conservative anti-drug culture. I find that now, many doctors coming out of medical school have been taught that the alternatives to narcotics are just as effective, and that narcotics are too addictive. I also have heard the six month rule. If an illness is terminal, then docs are much more liberal in prescribing. So much for quality of life issues for others. I, for example, can't take NSAIDS, so my choices are very limited. I know that I have heard of very few docs who are comfortable of prescribing narcotics on a regular basis to a patient. Short term injuries and illnesses or terminal illnesses seem to be the exception, and then only when nothing else works. But yup, the younger are very much more against prescribing. Interesting.

BF...?

i may have missed it, but what state is that? that has the 6 month "policy" for narcotic dependence?

thats the determination of some uneducated-over confident self absorbed state appointed director of health or whatever they call the high-health office there.

it amazes me that educated people are that ignorant of suffering.

I have had it go both ways but I prefer young female docs. My PCP is maybe 30, and so gentle and kind. I adore her - it is like going to a therapist instead of a physician. I actually search out young female docs by going on AMA website and looking the year they graduated. I did have a neg experience prior to this doc but she just said this is the last time I am prescribing your meds so I decided that would be the last time I saw her. My newer doc I explained I have been on my meds 1o years and I'm not changing. She does always say are you sure you don't want to wean off and I say no and she said ok. She has even prescribed me antidepressants during rough times. She of course referred me to a shrink and I explained I am really uncomfortable with speaking to someone and she said ok. She did have me visit every 3 months when I had insurance but just to check in - nothing crazy. Now that I am uninsured she gives me refills including pain meds by phone and I just come in once a year. The nurses have given me issues but I called her direct and last time she said to call the nurse. She put a note in my file. I actually have my appt tomorrow. Hopefully all goes as smooth as usual.

Eluded: Mississippi

They make it such an issue there that the message trickles down to all people there, not just the medical students. My then 19 year old niece did a summer internship at the medical school a couple of years ago. She still talks about how they really drilled in the message that narcotic pain meds were for serious acute situations of less than one week duration or when someone had less than 6 months to live.

I know two people who had terminal cancer and less than one year to live who were put in rehab for narcotic addiction. That is stupid. Less than a year we should not only give them what they need, we should legalize a few extra things for them, or at least decriminalize it.

Older, live and let live attitude typically. Younger docs are like younger anything..they know it all

Older Docs for sure. These young docs are all for the new drugs that dont work near as effectivly IMO. From the comment from earlier about putting amphetamines in every thing back in the 60's, my mothers doc had her on speed when she was pregnant with my sister [1966] and me [1969]. She was not over weight at all either but he believed that is was good not to gain a lot of weight during pregnancy. BTW, my sister turned out fine, hehe.

I have a younger pm doc and he is really cool. He has really worked with me to find the right meds.

My other pm doc was a little older and a complete jerk. No narcotics at all.

My new doc and I have had to try a couple of different things to find the right fit. He says that it takes a few adjustments to find the right med. I just take in what has not worked and I guess they throw them away.

So, younger in my opinion. Also, my surgeon is younger and he is all about finding the right med.

Off topic, if I have female problems, I go to a female doc. Makes me feel more comfortable.

Older with the exception of my OB/GYN she is young but when I needed serious pain meds she was great.

older

Older doctors for family practice(male or female) been around and have saw a lot....they don't seem to have that cockiness of knowing it all and seem more empathetic...when I say older I mean older than 50.

Females for OB/GYN, they seem to know more of what is going on and what you are feeling due to being a female.

I loved my OB docs...well, the two females. There were 2 females and 2 males in the practice and after seeing them all I requested to only see the females. They were always awesome and explained things to me in detail, instead of here take this and run me off LOL

I told them to never ever make an appointment for me with this one doctor, he hit on me...besides that when I was pregnant with my second child I thought I was having a heart attack, it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest, so went to the ER got sent to the women's pavilion and then he came in and said take some zantac you have heartburn and said not to use the ER for things like that....I was pissed!

I've moved since, and it's about time for that annual pap...UGHH I have to find a new GYN, hopefully I will find a good one.

Ah, you have been doing your research! Yes what you say about the drug reps are true....the more prescriptions they write from recommendations from these drug reps the more incentives they offer them.....sad but true. I did a research paper on it while in nursing school. I was surprised at how this operation worked. I think it is messed up, but that is just my opinion.

the 800 mg ibuprofen script always makes me laugh! when i have a 500 two hundred mg bottle in my med cabinet.

and yes older...for christ sakes my dr. when i was a kid pretty much killed his wife with prescribing diet pills for her...in fact thats what she did die of.

I have to agree, about the older docs, but I just switched Primary care physicians and my new one is in her 30's and she is up on the newer treatments and I think in a way that could be good.!!
Have a great evening all!

I had some dealings with pancreatitis and I went into an ER I hadnt been in for some time. The young female (in mid 20's) doctor was the rudest, most judgemental doctor Ive ever met. Pancreatitis is SO painful and she wouldnt treat me (adequately) so I went home and the next day, my lipase levels had spiked from 800-2000 so I went to a diff. hospital where they admitted me on the spot. Ive found it difficult to deal with (some) young docs and a lot of female docs as well.

They're all legends in their own minds, but the old ones are better. But then they retire! So it would be cool if you could get a young one and train it.

I would choose an older doctor (50+) over a younger doctor (under35), any day of the week, for any condition from A to Z. He knows more. Has experienced more. Understands more. Learned more. Seen more. Heard more. Done more. And is much more likely to be empathetic towards your condition because of his track record.

A younger doctor (under 35) hasnt the experience yet. Just let him in time contract cancer, HBP, hip replacement, etc., only then will he be willing to give his patients the benefit of the doubt.

Let me be quick to say, however, if I had an operation, I would prefer the steady hand of a younger doctor, overseen by an elder physician, of course. But thats just me.

I think it's all just a roll of the dice, personally. The one doctor I had years ago that would give me pain meds as needed was probably in his early to mid 40's. I also had a similar aged nurse practioner who was willing to treat me with opiods - until she gave in to pressure from the doctor community where she practices and then would only RX methadone for CP (a road I didn't want to go down).

I saw a 60-soemthing Ortho doc who wouldn't prescribe opioids because "they are addicting".

I guess right now I don't have much faith in any doctor. I'm actually kind of envious of those of you who have found a doctor willing to treat you appropriately for your medical conditions.

I have seen others contribute the same opinion as yours regarding the use of methadone to treat chronic pain conditions. But, I'm still not sure I fully understand the reasons for this.
Can you share why methadone was not a road you wanted to go down as a prescription pain treatment?
Thanks

The reason I've heard for not wanting to go the methadone route for pain management is;
they feel it's the 'last stop', nowhere to go after methadone.

I have a fairly young doctor, in his early 50's. He isn't against pain meds, but doesn't 'over prescribe'.
His partner is a younger woman and won't give pain meds.

When we first moved to the area, we had a old doctor, who was practicing past his retirement. He had no problem giving any pain med you asked for or needed. Needless to say, he was a very busy doctor.

I have a question that fits in with this discussion - Do you think it also makes a difference if the doctor has his/her own practice VS being part of a medical clinic and/or hospital?

Where I live, a lot of the docs are actually employed by the hospital.

Gene, thats the reason why you shop around for a doctor. Don't just accept the first one you come across.

My back pain is the only medical condition I have ever suffered from; I do my homework before I go to the doctor. By the time I get to him, I know whats wrong; I can name the muscles, the supporting bones and ligaments, as well as the arteries surrounding them. In other words, I know what my problem is before I get there, so, I have a somewhat informed idea of what I want done; although Im open for advice.

If he wont treat my pain--which is why Im there--then Im out the door. I dont have time. Theres too many fish in the sea.

You have to be proactive in your medical treatment. Our options are growing and this gives us patients a lot more power.

I have never just "accepted" a doctor. However, where I live now, access to doctors is limited (many of them aren't accepting new patients) and we don't really have any specialists. I actually have an excellent PCP now - but she is just very cautious and conservative in her approach to treatment.

You must live in a large city to be able to jump around. If I was to jump from doctor to doctor here (that is, if I could even get an appointment), I would quickly become "known" to the medical community and risk that none of them would see me.

wow, I didnt know that could be a problem. I wonder why. Seems like they would encourage you to find whats best for you. And, yes, I live in one of the most populated regions in the country, southern California.

Yes, in the rural area I live in that would get you labeled a doctor shopper pretty quick, and no one would accept you as a patient.

I'm beginning to think that I just need to be patient and work with my PCP. When I saw her last week, she was very receptive to what I had to say (I wrote it all down and let her read it). She actually spent about 30-35 minutes with me. She totally gets that I am in pain. She also said I should try to accept the fact that I do have fibromyalgia.

I am going to follow her recommendations and see what happens. I have been in a lot of pain lately so it's been difficult to have patience. I am fortunate in that I don't work outside the home and I have a very understanding husband so I just do what I can and rest when I need to.

The doctor did mention having me try Ultram ER and also trying Lyrica. I'm pretty sure I won't try the Lyrica and I'm willing to try the Ultram ER as long as it isn't too expensive (I have a feeling my insurance won't cover it).

Anyone have any experience with the Tramadol ER?

The Dr can be younger or older. Age doesn't really matter much. It seem the LE would go after younger Dr more readliy. Hence the majority of younger docs tend to under prescribe IMO.

all the older dr's are gone. I had one that retired 2 years ago at 85. The other one around same time at 68. The only one left is around 72. He is fixing to retire probably in next year or so. These are all promient DRs.

Old Docs vs. Young Docs. Good question because there are pros and cons about each one. Older doctors are more experienced yet younger doctors are more in the know and willing to try, reasearch and look at other plans, paths, courses of treatment. The pharmaceutical companies do a wonderful job with trying to educate all doctors, no matter the age, on new prescriptive options. However, I find the younger doctors to explore those avenues more so then the older doctors. Just my thought!

I personally have had different experiences with older versus younger doctors, kind of a hit or a miss. I regards to seeing a surgeon though defiently...Younger all the way. I work for 5 surgeons and the 3 older ones (over 65) use older techiniques and are set in their ways and they have more cases of "possible complications" such as nerve damage resulting in parathesia (tingling and numbness due to damage of the nerve near the incision site) then the 2 younger ones. The 2 younger ones (while ofcourse they have a few cases of this a year as sometimes a difficult case is a difficult case and it's unavoidable to miss a nerve to get to where you need to go) have a much, much, much less lower rate of post-op complications then the the older doctors. They also use newer surgical instruments and do a lot more then they actually need too in regards to continuing education courses and seminars for techinques to stay cutting edge (no pun intended!).

Younger docs IME.

Older docs (not to stereotype or group them as some kind of subspecies or anything) although can be more "jolly" or friendlier they have always had this condescending way about them for the most part.

The three younger docs that I've seen have been exceptionally attentive and despite what I've read here the least bit concerned about how liberal they are with prescribing controlled meds so long as it seemed beneficial. My current doc (young 30s perhaps) even prescribed quite a bit more of a US schedule II medicine fully knowing that it was above the FDA's max daily dose. He just said something to the effect of "Yeah well this dose certainly isnt going to kill ya and if it gives you an ounce more acceptable relief from your condition in a trade off with side effects then it's as ethical and right as anything in my book". IMO the kinda doctors who are neglectful or drug-nazis afraid that that the DEA will come hunting for them are just straight BAD doctors regardless of age and they are the epitome of cowardly if you ask me.

For me older doctors,

for me, it's always been older MALE doctors. even for "women's problems", they were faster to Rx than women that theoretically understood what i was going through.

Older doctors are more understanding about pain and will prescibe more openly than younger doctors.

I prefer a woman though.

Women have been pretty rude in the past to me. The only one I like was my OB when I had my youngest child. I am a ER nurse and the older ones are much better. They are to tired to fight the fight. So often if a patient does not get what they think they should pt will do a formal complaint and this requires the MD to write the reason for doing what they did. The older ones get burnt out on trying to justify why they have done something. It is just easier to do it. Also the older doctor is more than likely to have experienced pain and chronic problems and will be more understanding. So many young doctors complain about giving pain med even when so obvious that they need it. Age is a big factor but a doctor that is nice is more likely be nice and want to make you happy. So an old doctor that has experienced pain and is nice I think are going to be the best to have.

I'm a female, and I prefer male physicians for primary care as well, except for ob/gyn issues. It seems like they are more willing to at least try some course of treatment after a patient presents.

After a long time (20 years) without any insurance and almost no preventive care, I finally broke down and went to a primary care doc with a meticulously charted a 6-month long "pain diary" chronicling the progression of pelvic pain and other symptoms that had worsened over the past 5 or 6 years.

She didn't even look at the information I had written down. She didn't prescribe any pain meds, she wouldn't even prescribe me the birth control pills I was already on. She could have at least started the process of figuring out what was going on...blood tests...ultrasounds...etc.

All she did was write me a script for some anti-depressants refer me to an OB/gyn (with whom I couldn't get an appointment for about three months) and charge me $150.

Needless to say, I was pissed. So I scheduled an appointment with another physician on the recommendation of an acquaintance three days later and got in the same day. He took action immediately and ordered all the appropriate tests, which helped the specialist immensely and gave me the piece of mind that what I was experiencing wasn't all in my mind...if that makes sense. And he did script me some mild narcotics, which helped me function and not be disabled for 2 weeks out of every month.

young docs that I've seen (the fresh out out med school type) seem afraid to prescribe anything stronger than advil, older docs are more understanding, from my experience. Too old, though, and then you start have other probs (such as homophobia, senility, etc). True, prejudice comes in all ages, but seems to be more prevalent in older docs, from my experience).



another young, fresh out of med school doc, had a hissy fit when he found out my 93 yr old grandmother was still driving herself to the grocery store. She drove just fine and was fully there upstairs. He then got social services involved and then got her put in a nursing home that nearly killed her (they withheld food and water, for one - by putting it across room despite the fact that she had become bedfast).

She was not on any medications, except for vitamins, and then got a bladder infection and didnt take the complete round of meds (she was always bad about that, even when in her 20s and 30s). So, it got worse and she collapsed and ended up in hospital. She had always had low blood pressure, and infection made it worse, so they put her on uppers and after keeping her awake for 3 days she started hallucinating (well, duh! that'd happen to anyone). And that was the excuse for the nursing home. When got her out of nursing home, the doc had another hissy fit and wrote a bunch of scripts that when we looked them over, some were deadly when combined.

I'll avoid a young doc any time I can. Give me one that's at least in their 40s, if not 50s.

Yeah. I just got assigned a new doctor because my case was changed to workman's comp, so while a work comp case I've got this new doctor. I think it's his first real position. Young guy and not too bright. Not only is he afraid to prescribe anything, he gets the names and mg qtys wrong. He gets them mixed up. I don't know how you make these kind of mistakes after med school on two of the most commonly prescribed meds. I would be more specific, but who knows who surfs these boards. I know a lot of folks in med field are addicts and use sites like this. So answer, stick with older experienced doctors if you can. Bottom line I have MRI showing clearly with 3 specialists I have severe issues that are obviously causing extreme pain. This kid doesn't get it. Karma will get him. Maybe he'll have a skiing accident and he'll get a oc who says take two aspirin. I know that's mean, but this guys driving me crazy.

Zoomster, he/that would drive me crazy too.

Are you just gonna take a deep breath and try to work him a bit? You know, listen to what he says, look impressed, and then give him a leading question so he will mention the drug in question.

Make him think it is his idea. Reminds me of a work term I used to use, call managing UP.

Wish you the best, and yes I agree w/your mean thought about the ski accident. Too bad there is not some virtual experience where doctors can feel the pain so many CPers feel every day.

Older docs imo. I don't need pain killers but for anxiety. Too bad my "compassionate" doc was BUSTED for being just that. But he was young and Vietnamese. The DEA even called me wanting for information. The hardest med I got from him was hydro cough syrup when I had bronchitis.