From the Chronic Pain Management Program I attended in Minneapolis MN, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. It was a 3 week inpatient program, top ranked in the nation at the time, and closed due to lack of funding. I saw these doctors over the course of 8 years outpatient, and they helped set the groundwork for many of my treatments then and still today by teaching me CSS 101 and then some.

The best doctors for CSS’s are the ones who ask you what you need, who try alternatives and therapy before medications, who don’t pretend to know it all, and stop to critically think and troubleshoot with you, rather than throw out a few options and ignore anything coming out of your mouth. If you don’t have a good dialog with your doctor, you’re not getting the best care. This is especially true for medical conditions that present different patient to patient.