Hi Berkeleygirl,
So sorry it has taken me so long to reply I missed your posting. It is really hard to talk to our healthcare providers sometimes. They are given 10-15 minutes for each appointment and for some they stick to that schedule. In my journey with pain I have found that if a health provider will not take the time to listen, to really listen and hear me then it is time to search for a new one. I know that it is really hard to find doctors who treat chronic pain but we need to find providers who do not just hear us but listen to us and try to understand what our lives detail.
The Pain Community has this document called, “Positive Patient-Provider Relationships”, it may be helpful for you. It is listed under the “education tab” at the top, under pain 101. Here is the link to it also; https://paincommunity.org/education/positive-patient-provider-relationship/
I hope some of what I have said is helpful to you. I also hope you come back and let me know how you are doing.
Take care,
Noki4