Dr Douglas Natusch 2016-06-17 Person 5 5 0

I am so happy that Dr Douglas Natusch is my Pain Management Consultant. He is by far the best doctor I have ever met, and I've met quite a few with my mum also in long term pain management and in and out of hospital every couple of months for the past 10 years, my troubles starting at 16, trying medication after medication which wouldn't work, would for a while but then need to increase the dose, or would make me worse..to ending up on, I think I counted 29 tablets a day, at the age of 28. I was at my lowest point when I first met him and I spent most of the time crying, but by the end of it I was smiling. When I could see no way out, and didn't want to deal with the pain and all the stuff that came with it, depression etc, I felt instantly more positive just from the way he is, as a Dr, a gentleman, with genuine concern and compassion for the fact that, not only are you in pain (which is what the other doctors see), but also how it affects your life on a daily basis. The feeling that he just 'understands' was a welcome breath of fresh air. He gets the things that no one else does, unless they are experiencing a similar problem themselves, like the smallest activity (whether mental or physical) can take a big toll, and most people, including doctors, don't seem to understand. He doesn't judge, with me he gives his opinion, we discuss it and agree what the next plan of action will be. I know my problems (severe migraines plus all the side effects from my many medications, and depression) are nothing compared to some of the patients Dr Natusch see's, but that does not come across from him at all, he sits and listens, to everything, not just the pain part, but the rest of your life and how it affects your life, your mood, and he's very good at reading people although I made it a little difficult by keeping my sunglasses on (light sensitivity most of the time), but he made completely sure I was happy and everything was covered. At the end he asked me to listen while he recorded the notes for his secretary, incase he missed anything, but no, all on point. I'm sure he didn't make any notes once we started talking so just shows that he was actually listening, and there was a lot to take in, several referrals etc, and he got it all, no corrections needed. It was just under a year ago that I had my first appointment, and although right now I'm not great, I'm on the right path, thanks to Dr Natusch. He was the first doctor to stop and say 'hang on, you're on how much medication?' and took instant action to start coming off the ones that clearly were not helping, if anything were making things worse. We have almost halfed my medication and I'm just coming out of the withdrawal from anti-depressants, and continuing to reduce medications 1 by 1, it's a long process and this year has been hell but it can only get better. Sorry, this was a long review, but have to give credit where credit is due. 5* on everything! Thank you Dr Douglas Natusch. You saved me. Miss K M