You perhaps need to find a physician who has experienced pain! While we don't like to see people taking pain medication all day long - it makes it more likely for you to build up a tolerance - it sometimes is necessary. On the other hand, I have patients who average 3 Vicodin daily, and that means some days are two and some are four. Obviously you have chronic pain - you have had surgery, epidural injections, etc., and have tried non-narcotic pain medication. You sound like a pretty reliable patient to me, and you are not on a lot of medication. You certainly can - and should seek care elsewhere. Is there a pain specialist that you can see? I personally would recommend that you stay away from Fentanyl patches - it is too challenging for patient and doctor when you have them falling off and need early refills, etc. And again - I think that unless you develop severe unremitting pain and need constant opiate medication, you should vary your medication based on need. I am probably too easy a prescriber for some patients - but I have experienced the horrific pain of a ruptured disc that required emergency surgery - and at that time experienced the fact that none of my physicians seemed to understand how severe the pain really was. Good luck with this.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply ! How does a patient start searching for a pain specialist without appearing to be " DR shopping " ?