It’s been nearly seven years since my motorcycle accident. Since that accident there have been four surgeries (including spinal implants), eighteen spinal injections and more opiate prescriptions than I care to remember. Most important is the fact that I’ve been treated by five different pain physicians, with Dr. Shah being the fifth (and final).

I came to North Carolina 16 months ago and immediately I needed to locate a physician before my prescription for morphine ran out. For over six years morphine has been a priority for me. I started out on 200 mg’s a day and never went below 120 mg’s a day.
Without any intention of discrediting my prior physicians, only Dr. Shah addressed my most serious problem. Morphine addiction; there is no question about the fact that I still have pain. I will always have pain, but Dr. Shah decided to “treat the patient first”. Morphine, and like opiates, do much more than mask-the-pain, they cause patients to develop serious bouts of depression and other emotional problems. When your first priority is medication, everything else is second, everything.
It took Dr. Shah and I approximately 5 months to wean me from 120mg’s a day to Zero. Now it was time to treat my true level of pain. I was now at a level that could be managed with non-opiate pain relievers and NSAIDs.
As I mentioned in the beginning, I’ve had at least 18 spinal injections. Two of those were extremely painful. Excluding the last 3 injections, all of them were uncomfortable to say the least. Five physicians have injected me, and I can honestly say that Dr. Shah is absolutely the best at administering spinal injections. By the best, I mean minimal level of discomfort. The thought of having to have a needle injected in our spines raises a certain level of fear and hesitation in all of us. However, for me, those fears are no longer a concern. When and if, the time comes for me to receive another series of injections, over stressing will not be an issue.
Dr. Shah, I thank you so very much for looking deeper and treating me, not just my complaint.