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PARKERSBURG -- After the closure of the Mountaineer Pain Clinic earlier this year, patients needing pain management treatment will need to seek new treatment options for their pain.
According to a press release from the Health Department, patients are recommended to visit their primary care physician for assistance.
Dr. Galal Gargodhi, pain management specialist at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center, said he believes primary care doctors won't prescribe pain pills because they know there are other treatment options available for those patients.
He said the doctors are more educated about new technologies and pain medications.
In regard to the former patients of Mountaineer Pain Clinic, Gargodhi wants them to know there's more options out there.
"I encourage them to reach out to their primary care physician (to) come up with a plan," Gargodhi said. "(We) need patients to know there's other options out there than medications."
Gargodhi's clinic focuses on pain treatment through nerve blocks, minimally invasive spine injections, spinal cord stimulation, trigger point muscle injections or referrals to other specialists if necessary.
In order to seek treatment from the clinic, "everything (comes) down to primary care," Gargodhi said.
Patients are encouraged to speak with their primary care physician to come up with a treatment plan and to find the underlying cause of the pain through MRIs or other tests, Gargodhi said.
If necessary, primary care doctors will refer the patient to the Pain Management Clinic at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. For those more severe cases, patients can get an appointment in one to two weeks, Gargodhi said.
On the other end of the spectrum, a local former patient of Mountaineer Pain Clinic is concerned about not having access to pain medicine. The patient wishes to remain anonymous due to concerns of having medications stolen.
The patient received treatment from the Mountaineer Pain Clinic for 20 years.
Their concern is for when they run out of pain medicine, which should happen within a month, the person said.
"That's when I'm going to be in a crisis," the person said.
Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.