I did not like the service from the nurse practitioner, rude and disrespectful, never go back there again

Go anywhere else. Duke Pain is a horrible place to be treated for Pain. I was referred here in 2011 and I should have found another Pain Clinic in 2012! I have had 5 different Doctor's and medical staff over the years. A few were good, but several were terrible. I thought that Duke only hired the best and brightest, but nothing could be further from the truth. I have had to send multiple emails to their "providers" , which are typically unanswered and ignored. I would NOT go to Duke Pain Management. read more

A doctor here shouted at me. Before that, multiple doctors left my mother running after them berating them for their actions. Finally, after multiple Duke Neurosurgeons, and three surgeries, and a non-crazy pain clinic without police guards, I am ok. But this wackadoodle place would make you think I was a hysterical woman. Please run. And shame on you google. read more

It took 2 months to receive feedback regarding that my referral was denied without providing a reason. No one answers the phone when I called the clinic. When I asked for the reason for the referral denial, the Director indicated that I was seeing 2 Duke doctors. Well, the Director does not understand that nothing helps at the present time with respect to medications, PT and epidural steroid injections which were prescribed by my Duke doctors. To make a long story short, do not waste your time dealing with Duke Pain Management. All they want to do is give you "advanced procedures" which are costly. No one wants to write a simple non-opioid prescription. Most Duke doctors do not support the quality of life for their patients. It is about money! read more

Everyone must be tapered, no matter how small the dose (literally the minimum recommended starting dose), no matter the consequences to your wellbeing and ability to work. They couldn't care less if continued tapering will leave you disabled and unable to work because of pain and limited mobility. No matter if you keep trying alternatives (medications, multiple procedures, multiple surgeries) that just aren't doing enough or have bad side effects.They tell you to see a psychologist to manage your pain if you tell them continued tapering and the resultant severe pain will make you have to apply for disability. Like you can "think" your way into walking when you are in 8/10 pain. They say you are wrong if you tell them the opioid reduces your pain by 50-75%. They treat you like a drug addict/naughty child. Most doctors are impatient, rude and dismissive. Some are downright hostile -- i.e. one of the doctors (man) verbally threatened me (I am a young woman). I have never had a doctor (except one) ask me how I was doing. Most just walk in and start instructing you on what is going on and what will happen. I have had doctors walk out of the room while I was still talking. Twice they have implied my pain is in my head, only for another doctor in another speciality to find the physical reason for it and treat it. Problem is, there is only so much relief repeated surgeries and procedures can give. Yes the surgeries have greatly reduced my pain medicine needs. No, I cannot be completely free of them. They should read the new 2022 CDC guidelines. Most people aren't drug addicts. Most people with chronic pain are reasonable and just want to work and be productive members of society and be there for our families. Unfortunately, this clinic has knee-jerk reactions and is incredibly inflexible, even if you are doing your best to optimize all other therapies. Don't come here unless some steroid injections and off-label use of anti-convulsants is all you need. God forbid you develop a second painful condition. They don't want complex patients. Also, google and/or the clinic censors bad reviews on google-reviews. So that 2.9 star rating on google? Would be lower if it weren't for censoring. I tried reporting this to Duke patient relations, but the clinic pre-emptively biased them against anything I said. Patient relations just said "we already talked to them" when I called. No apology or anything. read more

WARNING Stay away!!! Recovering from a well done cervical spine surgery from an excellent doctor from Emergeortho formally triangle orthopedic no thanks to sorry a$$ Duke pain clinic or 2 Duke orthopedic. Emergeortho jumped right on everything doing x-ray, MRI then surgery all within month. They discovered pinch nerves that was causing damage to my arm. Replacing 2 disc with Mobi-C artificial disc. Duke did absolutely nothing Except cause more harm ignoring damage from my fall January 4, 2018. Made me feel like a doctor/drug seeker without even knowing me. Ignoring my serious urgent care after a fall causing severe pain never putting me in a collar to prevent further injury. One x-ray, NO MRI. Told me to go elsewhere and i did thank God. They put my life in danger. read more

Great place. Friendly, respectful, professional staff. Fast service. Well educated doctors.

DUKE DOES WHATS BEST FOR DUKE NOT WHATS BEST FOR YOU I had to go to duke due to my other Dr not writing meds anymore. The first time i talked to them the Dr said it would be no problem to keep me up at the same dose i was on. Im on opiods and this was at the very beginning of the so called opiod epidemic that was over when the elections were over in 2016. Then i signed up with duke and they wouldnt keep me at my dose and they reduced it from 80mg to 30mg in less than 2 weeks. I told them that i coildnt due to the severe spasticity i would have but they didnt care about me or my quality of life. When youte a paraplegic the quality of life is more important than your time on this planet. I told them that i would sign a waiver that i would rather die at 50 then live how they wanted me to and live to 100. They could care less all these new laws towards opiods were for New Patients not people like me who have been on opiods for close to a decade. When they took my dose from me it was ok to go from 80 to 40 to 30mg for oral and by pump they would take 150mcg every 2 weeks. But when they were giving my dose back i had to wait the full 2 months and only go up by 50mcg for pump because they said it was way too dangerous to go up or down. I told them why then did you take 150mcg every 2 weeks and now i can only go 50mcg every 2 months they made up more lies and continued to lie about everything. Then my cather got clogged and had to replace it then they couldnt get it out and just left it in me and out a new catheter in and after 9 days my sutures opened up and i had a high fever they gave me a staph infection and they removed everything now i have no pump and my spasms are worse. If i were you id go to unc, wake med, or drive to Greensboro than go to duke. They will treat you they way THEY WANT they will not listen to you even though theyre not cripples. read more

Love my pain management doctors. Very respectful nice and understanding. I've been going for years and done mind driving the hour to Durham. And I have had or tried many. P.A Underwood and Dr. Pracken are wise and compassionate. Highly recommend read more

I have been going to this clinic for years and had been very happy. Four months ago my husband told me he was done with me. I am VERY disabled and in great pain due to multiple sclerosis and two failed spinal fusion surgeries (performed at Duke Spine Center). When my husband said he was leaving me, I saw no option to survive on my own. I attempted suicide with pain medications, clonazepam, and OTC sleeping meds. After spending 10 days in the hospital, the doctors were increasing all my medications back to the dose that I was taking at home. They knew I could not function without pain meds. The day before I was scheduled to be discharged, my Duke Pain Clinic provider finally called the hospital back and told them to STOP ALL pain meds. I had to stay longer in the hospital because I was so sick from withdrawal and in so much pain I could not walk. I have been on these medications for many years and not once did I ever take more than prescribed. I always had more left when my renewal was due. This was a situational abuse of the pain meds. My husband changed his mind and we are still together. But I am in so much pain that my life is not worth living now. If I could get back on the pain medication, I could function enough to live a life worth living. As things are now, I am not sure that I want to keep living. Actually, I am almost sure that I don't. I am going to try and see if another doctor will help me. I will be completely honest about my suicide attempt. Maybe another doctor will understand that I am not a drug abuser when taken on a daily basis. I only took too much one time during a situation where I saw no other option. That situation has changed, and if I can get my pain eased I will not want to die. read more