Quality Of Life Medical Specialists

I came to Dr Lewis after suddenly being dropped by a previous pain management doctor just under a year ago. I was desperate at the time. I had been on a highly addictive pain medication for years, and when that last doctor left me to twist in the wind I didn't know what to do. Dr Lewis took me in. She swore she was different and that I'd never be treated that way by her or anyone on her staff. And for nearly a year I believed her.nnFast forward to this week and here I am, like so many others, left twisting in the wind again. This is beyond shameful. I can not put into words how betrayed I feel. I don't know how I'll ever trust another doctor again. And now, like everyone else left hanging, I have to figure out how to quit a medication with debilitating withdrawal effects... on my own.nnThis should not be legal. Doctors should not be allowed to profit from providing these types of medications without another doctor and/or practice to back them up in situations like this. This business badly needs regulation, and it needs it now! Marginalized people are being preyed upon by doctors and pharmaceutical companies. Something MUST be done!

Dr Lewis has helped in the past in so many ways. Shots , medicine , back brace, I can say that I just received the letter today stating she was closing her office as of today so absolutely no advanced warning at all. If she is ready for retirement she should at least stay until we have all had a reasonable amount of time to find a new doctor . My appt. is coming up or was coming up shortly and now I have no doctor will have no medicine and I have been on medication now since 2010. This frightens me as to what is going to happen to me having to go cold turkey on all my pain medication. I don’t know why she has done this as she has always been a God fearing decent person as I know of with a heart to really help people in pain . I’m sure with the new government laws that again are only effecting the ones that are doing things right , that is not an easy job to do anymore , but I would of never believed she would of up and done this to us her patients that as a doctor she took an oath to do no harm and this will bring harm to a lot of people . I’m not sure her reasons , maybe there is an emergency situation going on in her life and if so I pray for her and her family , if there isn’t and you happen to read this Dr Lewis please do this the right way. I’ve never known you to do something so cruel to your patients and I hope you reconsider the way I which you are doing this. We need you to help us until we have time to find a new doctor . Or you could of told us you were considering doing this on our last appointment or something but to get a letter in the mail on the same day it states your closing your doors , and my mail runs after your office closes anyway so that left me no chance to get my records or anything. Please whatever is going on don’t do this to all of us. I seriously don’t know if this may kill one of us with the sudden withdrawal of medication like this. It certainly can’t help us and really does have a true potential for some real harm here. I’m just in shock right now.

I just wanna Thank Dr Lewis for taking care of me. If it wasn't for your Medical Knowledge & you pushing me to get answers for my aches & pains I really don't know where I'd be today.nYes I was surprised by your Retirement but, I also Understand. I wish Only the Best for you.nI would also like to Thank your staff for Everything they've done for me.nFor patients left hanging, I wish the Best for you. Remember tomorrow is Never Promised. God Bless.

Its sad that after 30 plus years as a physician that Dr. Lewis decided to close her practice abruptly. The type of medications that Dr. Lewis prescribed helped people increase their quality of life and for some of them allowed them to continue to work instead of going on disability due to chronic pain. I had a one day supply of medication at my last appointment and was told to stretch it out and that no scheduled prescriptions or refills would be provided. One of her staff members had a google print out of local pain management providers and I was advised I needed to pick one and sign a medical release. It would have been one thing if her patients had been provided a couple months notice so referrals and appointments could have been lined up with other pain management physicians. I was actually handed information about a pain management clinic in NC by Dr. Lewis’s staff and that they had agreed to “kind of help out.” This will have an adverse effect on some many of Dr. Lewis’s patients health and their quality of life.

What this doctor did by offering no notice of office closing to her patients is inexcusable and could do great harm to the long term patients in her care. The law says that a doctor must provide reasonable notice to their patients in the event of discontinuation of practice so that a patient can have ample time to find another doctor. Retirement makes no difference. This should be looked into as a case for malpractice and negligence before a patient loses their life because they were senselessly left without adequate resources. What happens when a patient has been on pain medication for years and is now left with nothing at all, perhaps for weeks or months until they can obtain another appropriate doctor. The only current option for a patient in this situation would be of course an emergency room, assuming they make it there on time! Simply despicable!