Stanford Pain Center

The results are not as good as the results. After years of chronic pain we have finally made some progress. If possib le try to see Dr. Singh. She is very smart and very nice.

The worst. Avoid this place. Had high hopes, especially for a «Stanford» facility but was let down.

I just wanted to write a quick review about the Stanford Pain Management Center (as this is a personal issue, I choose not to get too detailed about it). I have suffered from chronic migraine since my 20s, and the intensity and frequency of said migraines was increasing, so it was time to explore other means of care.
I had found some relief through treatment at Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s Neurology Dept. I’m still a fan of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s doctors that I’ve received care from for the most part, just so you know. Anyhow, I asked for a recommendation to Stanford Pain Center from my primary care physician, because I wanted to explore other ways to come to a solution to deal with this ongoing genetic issue that I’ve been gifted with in life.
My visit was really great. It seemed very long. Two doctors were there: one asked most of the questions –the other was Dr. Robert Cowan, the clinical specialist and he was really wonderful, v. funny with a warm personality and a slightly quirky sense of humor. My husband came with me and they answered his questions too. They answered every single question thoroughly and without judgment. They kept asking me if I had any more questions. I never felt rushed.
Just so you know, I had been given paperwork and an online survey to fill out beforehand, which I did (I was always a pretty good student). The paperwork and the survey took well over an hour to complete, so they wanted to know a LOT of information, which is wonderful, IMO. Then while I was there, they wanted to know MORE, which is even better! I found their questions really quite validating and they made me feel less like a number and more like a human being, if you know what I mean. I’m just so very glad that I have the option of coming here for specialized care.
Stanford Pain Center also has a Pain Psychologist, which is really amazing, because they realize that pain not only affects a person’s physical well-​being, but their mental state as well. Now that seems obvious maybe to you and me, but for westernized medicine to recognize it –well, that can only mean that we’re on the right track.
Am I feeling better? So far, yes. It’s a process…
Good parking, industrial neighborhood, bad traffic in the mornings if you have an appt. then. Nice office interior.

The coffee is good and the waiters are super sweet. Pain management? Not so much. The doctors (fellows and their supervisors) are so nice and clearly explain everything about my pain. There is s good deal of empathy and shuffling and apologizing for my condition. None of which I current need a prescription for. It was recommended that I revisit having debilitating back surgery before I try any steroid injections bc the steroids can make me manic. So I’m really excited now that I attended their catastrophic thinking seminar. (Which by the way involved a lot of driving and some three hours of sitting in an office chair watching other patients popping pills so they could sit up for that long) Cause that was the worst advise I’ve ever been given. Surgery is for structure not pain.

I have had a few spinal injections here and they do a great job with this service.

I’m so glad my doctor referred me here! Last year after a nerve injury following a cortisone shot at a different facility, I was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD /​CRPS). My rheumatologist referred me to the Stanford Pain Center, and Dr. Leong and Dr. Dezzutti have worked wonders on my pain. If you are looking for true experts in the field, this is the place to go. Many amazing experimental treatments on the cutting edge of research are available here — one of them was recommended by my doctor and has made a huge difference for me. They also conduct many studies which can enable you to experience cutting edge treatment before it is widely available. The one drawback is that fellows stay here for a year, so if you have a truly amazing doctor (as I do — thanks, Dr. Dezzutti!), s/​he may leave after a year. But everyone here is talented and intelligent. The nurses are great too — you barely feel it when they draw your blood and they are compassionate and wonderful. If you have the chance to go here, don’t hesitate.