Dr. William Baumgartl ripoff Will Get You Strung Out On Narcotics, a scavenger, likes to set up chiropractors, hospitals, any place he can use & abuse. He's an anestheseologist, NOT a doctor. Antioch California

Dr. Baumgartl does the opposite of push narcotics. He seeks other avenues to alleviate pain and get at its cause. He treats many patients with Lupus and MS (and myself) with severe autoimmune disorders. The first thing he does is get us off of narcotics and put me on an experimental treatment that actually cured me. Now my father from another state is flying in to see him for the same thing. That is not to say he doesn't give narcotics but usually it is for the actual area and not systemically. He is amazing. The funny thing is many people complain about wait time with him but he spends his time with patients and makes sure that they are taken care of. He is amazing!

I am currently a patient of Dr. Baumgartl and he has been great. I have suffered approximately 10 years with severe migraines and I've gone through several doctors and none have been as patient and understanding of my pain.  He has taken the time to isolate what's causing my pain. When you are a patient dealing with pain on a continual basis, not many doctors will prescribe you narcotics simply because of those who abuse them make it bad for the ones who really suffer with pain.  I am SO thankful my doctor referred me to Dr. Baumgartl.  Just because he had to move his office around should not discredit him as a doctor.  Those are some of the inconveniences we go through in life....where we may have to wait to be seen longer than normal or drive further out if our doctor moved to another location... but to simply bash someone based on those things is not fair. If you are in a disagreement the way a doctor handles you as a patient, you are certainly entitled to that, but be professional when expressing it and provide valid information.

In response to Jannie's "shame on the Doc" comment, I think the Dr's rebuttal was well worded and concise. The author indeed does appear to have an addiction and my question in the first place is why would she seek out a "junkie friend" for a referral to a Doctor unless what she was really looking for was a Doctor that was an easy script? I spent 13 years in law enforcement and I was a bit suspicious right off.

Personally, I would have looked in the phone book or asked another Doctor whom they would recommend, not the skid-row, strung-out junkie friend! She started the ball rolling with this complaint so the Doctor responded. That is his right! I've lived with chronic pain for years now from bone spurs on my cspine, blown disc, a shot rotator cuff and my muscles are indeed shortening. I have to eat a handful of Advil just to get to sleep. I've been on pain meds and muscle relaxers and I can't live like a zombie all day long, drugged and lethargic and I'm from a family prone to addiction so I am very, very careful about anything addictive. But, you know, I've discovered that chronic pain becomes the norm after a while and flare ups are bad but I'm so used to being in pain now I hardly notice it anymore and I can't remember what it's like to be pain-free or to even tilt my head back without it hurting.

So, I truly understand the pain she's in. I hate to say it, but it sounds like the Doctor didn't play ball with her and she's pissed. As far as slamming the Doc for defending himself with his rebuttal, what would you have him do? He had to work hard to get where he's at and spent a good portion of his young life in school to become a Doctor and then specialized in his field which is even more training. If I were in his shoes and felt that my reputation was being damaged, I would not have been as polite as he was, to be honest. He exposed nothing but his official opinion and she opened the door with a public complaint and the Doctor simply responded. He sounds like a very caring, intelligent, competent physician. I'd go to him if I needed to.

In response to Jannie's "shame on the Doc" comment, I think the Dr's rebuttal was well worded and concise. The author indeed does appear to have an addiction and my question in the first place is why would she seek out a "junkie friend" for a referral to a Doctor unless what she was really looking for was a Doctor that was an easy script? I spent 13 years in law enforcement and I was a bit suspicious right off.

Personally, I would have looked in the phone book or asked another Doctor whom they would recommend, not the skid-row, strung-out junkie friend! She started the ball rolling with this complaint so the Doctor responded. That is his right! I've lived with chronic pain for years now from bone spurs on my cspine, blown disc, a shot rotator cuff and my muscles are indeed shortening. I have to eat a handful of Advil just to get to sleep. I've been on pain meds and muscle relaxers and I can't live like a zombie all day long, drugged and lethargic and I'm from a family prone to addiction so I am very, very careful about anything addictive. But, you know, I've discovered that chronic pain becomes the norm after a while and flare ups are bad but I'm so used to being in pain now I hardly notice it anymore and I can't remember what it's like to be pain-free or to even tilt my head back without it hurting.

So, I truly understand the pain she's in. I hate to say it, but it sounds like the Doctor didn't play ball with her and she's pissed. As far as slamming the Doc for defending himself with his rebuttal, what would you have him do? He had to work hard to get where he's at and spent a good portion of his young life in school to become a Doctor and then specialized in his field which is even more training. If I were in his shoes and felt that my reputation was being damaged, I would not have been as polite as he was, to be honest. He exposed nothing but his official opinion and she opened the door with a public complaint and the Doctor simply responded. He sounds like a very caring, intelligent, competent physician. I'd go to him if I needed to.

In response to Jannie's "shame on the Doc" comment, I think the Dr's rebuttal was well worded and concise. The author indeed does appear to have an addiction and my question in the first place is why would she seek out a "junkie friend" for a referral to a Doctor unless what she was really looking for was a Doctor that was an easy script? I spent 13 years in law enforcement and I was a bit suspicious right off.

Personally, I would have looked in the phone book or asked another Doctor whom they would recommend, not the skid-row, strung-out junkie friend! She started the ball rolling with this complaint so the Doctor responded. That is his right! I've lived with chronic pain for years now from bone spurs on my cspine, blown disc, a shot rotator cuff and my muscles are indeed shortening. I have to eat a handful of Advil just to get to sleep. I've been on pain meds and muscle relaxers and I can't live like a zombie all day long, drugged and lethargic and I'm from a family prone to addiction so I am very, very careful about anything addictive. But, you know, I've discovered that chronic pain becomes the norm after a while and flare ups are bad but I'm so used to being in pain now I hardly notice it anymore and I can't remember what it's like to be pain-free or to even tilt my head back without it hurting.

So, I truly understand the pain she's in. I hate to say it, but it sounds like the Doctor didn't play ball with her and she's pissed. As far as slamming the Doc for defending himself with his rebuttal, what would you have him do? He had to work hard to get where he's at and spent a good portion of his young life in school to become a Doctor and then specialized in his field which is even more training. If I were in his shoes and felt that my reputation was being damaged, I would not have been as polite as he was, to be honest. He exposed nothing but his official opinion and she opened the door with a public complaint and the Doctor simply responded. He sounds like a very caring, intelligent, competent physician. I'd go to him if I needed to.

You know I was all for the Dr. till I saw his rebutal.there are Hippa laws!You can not put a patients bussiness on the interenet no matter how pissed you are.You are in bussiness so you put yourself in that position, unfortunately. however they are patients.You can not disclose what medication this person was taking,etc.I hope you are not sued as this patient obviously had issues but you too Dr. should be ashamed by your response!

I work for an ophthalmogy surgery center. We have had 2 patients in the last 5 years that were addicted to pain killing drugs. Our doctors were going crazy trying to figure out why these patients weren't healing properly after surgery. It turns out that they were deliberately rubbing their eyes after surgery to keep the epithilial membranes from healing! Therefore, our docs would prescribe them narcotics for pain; while they were still trying to figure out why the patients were having such a reaction to the anti-biotics that we use on everyone else. Our docs tried everything! We finally found out what was going on when a very astute pharmacist called to let us know that these patients were not only getting narcotics from us; but from other docs on other "complaints". Our docs confronted the patients and the matter was resolved.
Don't blame a doc for stopping seeing you; they do that with valid reasons!

This patient was discharged from the practice for cocaine use, lying, and trying to coerce me to falsify work statements to allow her to illegally obtain benefits she was not entitled to receive. I refused, and discharged her because of this. We value the integrity of the practice, and will not accept or continue working with patients who are dishonest, unreliable, or are scamming the system. People like this do harm to the reputation of all patients with chronic pain. Patients, once discovered like this, are routinely referred to drug counseling for potential rehabilitation. It was unfortunate that she chose not go. Presumably, she has continued with her drug addict "friends". Pain treatment is too important to be abused by people like this, who make it difficult for all pain patients to be taken at their word, and treated. I will gladly stand by my record of over a decade of care and teaching as a leader in the field of Pain Management. I don't think the person who originally wrote this can stand nearly so proudly. Frankly, she should be ashamed of herself.

Barbara, the DEA doesn't harass doctors who prescribe opiates to their pain patients unless the doctor is over prescribing or under prescribing the meds. With valid medical records to show you have true pain issues, the DEA wouldn't say a word to your doctor.



http://www.fsmb.org/Policy%20Documents%20and%20White%20Papers/2004_model_pain_policy.asp



Go here and read the:

Model Policy for the Use of Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain

Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc.

The recommendations contained herein were adopted as policy by the House of Delegates of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc., May 2004.



I am 5' tall and was then at 73-80 pounds and I was taking 400 mg. of Morphine and 4 Vicodin ES a day. (That's equal to 96.67 mg of Vicodin a day for those who don't know the conversion rate to the 'harder' opiate drugs on the market.) I have the medical records showing I have Crohn's Disease and Fibromyalgia. I didn't go to a pain doctor though, my family doctor felt perfectly confident in prescribing me the needed meds until such a time as I had the needed surgeries to remove the source of my pain. As I said in my last rebuttal to you, that took a total of 5 years.



I asked you some specific questions in my first rebuttal and you didn't answer any of them in your update. You only said: "Perhaps he had to cut me loose because it was becoming dangerous to continue long term prescribing. Maybe he thought I was too dependent.." This is a statement of qualifications, not an answer.



Posting online with people who are pain patients and addicts I have learned some things. I also have my own personal experience with the drugs I had to take for so long. A true pain patient may get addicted/dependent to the opiates while taking them, but once off the drugs (whether by choice or in your case forced by a loss of a doctor's care)s/he won't go thru the cravings and depression an addict due to abuse will. Anyone on opiates will go thru withdrawal symptoms once the drug is stopped, how bad depends on how many mgs. you were taking daily. The fear of the withdrawal is normally a lot more scary than actually going thru it though.



If you avoided the same questions I asked of you to the doctor, I can assure you he decided your habit was more than your pain issues. Pain doctors work with pain patients, not addicts. They will send addicts down the road or to a rehab to get help if they have insurance (or the money - about 1000 bucks a day) to cover the cost. I do know they will help a patient detox off the drugs by doing a slow taper off them though, if the patient is willing, but most aren't.



Bill, I'm sorry to hear you require a pain doctor. I'm glad to hear you have found a doc to help you have some quality of life though. Thanks for posting your side of this issue.

Barbara, the DEA doesn't harass doctors who prescribe opiates to their pain patients unless the doctor is over prescribing or under prescribing the meds. With valid medical records to show you have true pain issues, the DEA wouldn't say a word to your doctor.



http://www.fsmb.org/Policy%20Documents%20and%20White%20Papers/2004_model_pain_policy.asp



Go here and read the:

Model Policy for the Use of Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain

Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc.

The recommendations contained herein were adopted as policy by the House of Delegates of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc., May 2004.



I am 5' tall and was then at 73-80 pounds and I was taking 400 mg. of Morphine and 4 Vicodin ES a day. (That's equal to 96.67 mg of Vicodin a day for those who don't know the conversion rate to the 'harder' opiate drugs on the market.) I have the medical records showing I have Crohn's Disease and Fibromyalgia. I didn't go to a pain doctor though, my family doctor felt perfectly confident in prescribing me the needed meds until such a time as I had the needed surgeries to remove the source of my pain. As I said in my last rebuttal to you, that took a total of 5 years.



I asked you some specific questions in my first rebuttal and you didn't answer any of them in your update. You only said: "Perhaps he had to cut me loose because it was becoming dangerous to continue long term prescribing. Maybe he thought I was too dependent.." This is a statement of qualifications, not an answer.



Posting online with people who are pain patients and addicts I have learned some things. I also have my own personal experience with the drugs I had to take for so long. A true pain patient may get addicted/dependent to the opiates while taking them, but once off the drugs (whether by choice or in your case forced by a loss of a doctor's care)s/he won't go thru the cravings and depression an addict due to abuse will. Anyone on opiates will go thru withdrawal symptoms once the drug is stopped, how bad depends on how many mgs. you were taking daily. The fear of the withdrawal is normally a lot more scary than actually going thru it though.



If you avoided the same questions I asked of you to the doctor, I can assure you he decided your habit was more than your pain issues. Pain doctors work with pain patients, not addicts. They will send addicts down the road or to a rehab to get help if they have insurance (or the money - about 1000 bucks a day) to cover the cost. I do know they will help a patient detox off the drugs by doing a slow taper off them though, if the patient is willing, but most aren't.



Bill, I'm sorry to hear you require a pain doctor. I'm glad to hear you have found a doc to help you have some quality of life though. Thanks for posting your side of this issue.

Barbara, the DEA doesn't harass doctors who prescribe opiates to their pain patients unless the doctor is over prescribing or under prescribing the meds. With valid medical records to show you have true pain issues, the DEA wouldn't say a word to your doctor.



http://www.fsmb.org/Policy%20Documents%20and%20White%20Papers/2004_model_pain_policy.asp



Go here and read the:

Model Policy for the Use of Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain

Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc.

The recommendations contained herein were adopted as policy by the House of Delegates of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc., May 2004.



I am 5' tall and was then at 73-80 pounds and I was taking 400 mg. of Morphine and 4 Vicodin ES a day. (That's equal to 96.67 mg of Vicodin a day for those who don't know the conversion rate to the 'harder' opiate drugs on the market.) I have the medical records showing I have Crohn's Disease and Fibromyalgia. I didn't go to a pain doctor though, my family doctor felt perfectly confident in prescribing me the needed meds until such a time as I had the needed surgeries to remove the source of my pain. As I said in my last rebuttal to you, that took a total of 5 years.



I asked you some specific questions in my first rebuttal and you didn't answer any of them in your update. You only said: "Perhaps he had to cut me loose because it was becoming dangerous to continue long term prescribing. Maybe he thought I was too dependent.." This is a statement of qualifications, not an answer.



Posting online with people who are pain patients and addicts I have learned some things. I also have my own personal experience with the drugs I had to take for so long. A true pain patient may get addicted/dependent to the opiates while taking them, but once off the drugs (whether by choice or in your case forced by a loss of a doctor's care)s/he won't go thru the cravings and depression an addict due to abuse will. Anyone on opiates will go thru withdrawal symptoms once the drug is stopped, how bad depends on how many mgs. you were taking daily. The fear of the withdrawal is normally a lot more scary than actually going thru it though.



If you avoided the same questions I asked of you to the doctor, I can assure you he decided your habit was more than your pain issues. Pain doctors work with pain patients, not addicts. They will send addicts down the road or to a rehab to get help if they have insurance (or the money - about 1000 bucks a day) to cover the cost. I do know they will help a patient detox off the drugs by doing a slow taper off them though, if the patient is willing, but most aren't.



Bill, I'm sorry to hear you require a pain doctor. I'm glad to hear you have found a doc to help you have some quality of life though. Thanks for posting your side of this issue.

I've known Dr. Baumgartl for many years and have never had a single problem. If it's true that this lady had to wait long hours, it's only because the doctor gives each of his patients all the time he thinks they need. He is a very bright and caring individual who genuinely cares about his patients and no doubt he felt the pain treatment protocol you were recieving wasn't working for you. I cannot believe he would not give you any reason for letting you go from his practice. I would send my mother, my brother, anyone in my family to see him first if they had pain issues. I feel sorry for you in your pain and addiction, but perhaps you should look into other pain prevention treatments, such as bio feedback, infrared deep muscle therapy or physical therapy. I think it's so sad you feel the way you do but there is no need to ruin a good man's reputation because you weren't happy with him. As you yourself said, perhaps you were just too addicted.

I've known Dr. Baumgartl for many years and have never had a single problem. If it's true that this lady had to wait long hours, it's only because the doctor gives each of his patients all the time he thinks they need. He is a very bright and caring individual who genuinely cares about his patients and no doubt he felt the pain treatment protocol you were recieving wasn't working for you. I cannot believe he would not give you any reason for letting you go from his practice. I would send my mother, my brother, anyone in my family to see him first if they had pain issues. I feel sorry for you in your pain and addiction, but perhaps you should look into other pain prevention treatments, such as bio feedback, infrared deep muscle therapy or physical therapy. I think it's so sad you feel the way you do but there is no need to ruin a good man's reputation because you weren't happy with him. As you yourself said, perhaps you were just too addicted.

I've known Dr. Baumgartl for many years and have never had a single problem. If it's true that this lady had to wait long hours, it's only because the doctor gives each of his patients all the time he thinks they need. He is a very bright and caring individual who genuinely cares about his patients and no doubt he felt the pain treatment protocol you were recieving wasn't working for you. I cannot believe he would not give you any reason for letting you go from his practice. I would send my mother, my brother, anyone in my family to see him first if they had pain issues. I feel sorry for you in your pain and addiction, but perhaps you should look into other pain prevention treatments, such as bio feedback, infrared deep muscle therapy or physical therapy. I think it's so sad you feel the way you do but there is no need to ruin a good man's reputation because you weren't happy with him. As you yourself said, perhaps you were just too addicted.

I've known Dr. Baumgartl for many years and have never had a single problem. If it's true that this lady had to wait long hours, it's only because the doctor gives each of his patients all the time he thinks they need. He is a very bright and caring individual who genuinely cares about his patients and no doubt he felt the pain treatment protocol you were recieving wasn't working for you. I cannot believe he would not give you any reason for letting you go from his practice. I would send my mother, my brother, anyone in my family to see him first if they had pain issues. I feel sorry for you in your pain and addiction, but perhaps you should look into other pain prevention treatments, such as bio feedback, infrared deep muscle therapy or physical therapy. I think it's so sad you feel the way you do but there is no need to ruin a good man's reputation because you weren't happy with him. As you yourself said, perhaps you were just too addicted.

The sad fact is, the DEA harrassses doctors who are taking risks by prescribing narcotics over long timr periods. Perhaps he had to cut me loose because it was becoming dangerous to continue long term prescribing. Maybe he thought I was too dependant..

The sad fact is, the DEA harrassses doctors who are taking risks by prescribing narcotics over long timr periods. Perhaps he had to cut me loose because it was becoming dangerous to continue long term prescribing. Maybe he thought I was too dependant..

The sad fact is, the DEA harrassses doctors who are taking risks by prescribing narcotics over long timr periods. Perhaps he had to cut me loose because it was becoming dangerous to continue long term prescribing. Maybe he thought I was too dependant..

The sad fact is, the DEA harrassses doctors who are taking risks by prescribing narcotics over long timr periods. Perhaps he had to cut me loose because it was becoming dangerous to continue long term prescribing. Maybe he thought I was too dependant..

Barbara, the best pain doctors are anesthesiologists. They are MD's who specialize in anesthesiology and know the drugs pain patients need the best. They also understand addiction vrs. dependance very well, so can tell if they are dealing with a true pain patient or an addict who's lying to get drugs.



I don't know the doctor in question that you went to. I was a chronic pain patient for 5 years and on massive doses of Morphine, Oxycontin, and Vicodin. Oxy worked well when I had the pain, after surgery I switched to the Morphine since it is easier to taper off of or cold turkey off of.



What pain issues do you have? Do you have something that can be corrected by surgery or will this be a lifelong problem requiring you to remain on medication to have some quality of life? You didn't say in your original report.



I'm assuming this doctor decided to not see you as a patient any longer and that is why you filed your report. Did he give you a reason for letting you go? What type of painkiller were you taking and how many mgs. a day were you on?



I hear most pain docs won't take on new patients unless they are referred via their regular GP doc. You said in your report you heard about this doctor from a junkie friend? Did your friend also go to this doctor? If so and s/he was abusing the meds and you were known as friends, then that could have set off alarms to the doctor and his staff.



I never abused my meds, but after 5 years on any type of opiate you will become addicted to it and have to either taper off slowly (the lower the mg. the slower the taper) or do a cold turkey detox either at home or in a detox facility. Unfortunately addiction is a side effect of long term opiate use, even when it's legal use of the drug for medical problems. I did my cold turkey off the 60 mg of morphine and a few Vic ES a day that I'd taped down to in Feb. of this year. I laid down, got sick for 2 weeks, then resumed life.



Please let me know if I can help you. I help people who have gotten addicted to their meds get off of them when the time comes and they no longer need to take them via an online forum. We have quite a few pain patients who post there too, who will never get off their meds, they need them to survive without pain issues.



I'm not a doctor. I'm simply an ex chronic pain patient who's been there and now tries to help others who need it.