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Patient experience
What it is like to be our patient.
From your first phone call through long-term follow-up. Our approach is interventional — image-guided treatment aimed at the source of your pain, measured by the function and quality of life it gives back.
Our approach
We treat pain to give you your life back — not just to lower a number.
Abilene Pain is an interventional practice. We use image-guided procedures to target the specific joint, disc, or nerve generating your pain — so the goal is something you can measure: walking farther, sleeping through the night, working again, picking up a grandchild. Function and quality of life are how we judge every treatment we recommend.
Treat the source
We confirm what is generating your pain before we treat it, then deliver treatment precisely there under image guidance — rather than managing the symptom from a distance.
Restore function
Every plan starts with what you cannot do right now and want back. That goal — not a pain score alone — is what we measure at each follow-up.
Protect quality of life
Minimally invasive, same-day procedures with fewer long-term trade-offs — so relief does not come at the cost of how you feel the rest of the day.
Part one
Your first visit
Most new patients come to us by referral from their primary care provider or a specialist. Once that referral and your records arrive, we call you to schedule. Your first appointment is an evaluation, not a procedure — we listen, examine, review your imaging, and explain what we believe is causing your pain.
01
The referral
New patients are generally seen by referral. Ask your primary care provider or specialist to fax a referral with recent records and imaging to 325-378-9175. Once we have it, our team calls you to schedule.
02
Before you arrive
If you are able, complete your new patient packet online or by text ahead of time — and if that is not possible, we will have printed forms ready for you at your first visit. Our staff verifies your benefits and requests anything still missing from your records. Get the paperwork →
03
The evaluation
We take a full history of your pain, examine you, and review your imaging together — on screen, in plain language.
04
The explanation
We tell you what we believe is generating your pain, what we are not sure about yet, and how we would confirm it.
05
The plan
Options are laid out with their evidence, risks, recovery, and expected benefit. You decide what happens next.
06
Scheduling
If a procedure is appropriate, we obtain authorization and schedule it — and tell you whether you will need a driver.
What to bring
- Photo ID and your insurance card
- A current list of medications, including doses
- Recent imaging reports — MRI, CT, or X-ray — or the facility that has them
- Names of other physicians involved in your care
- If you have an implanted device — spinal cord stimulator, pain pump, pacemaker, or defibrillator — bring the card and the remote or charger
- Your new patient packet if you completed it ahead of time — and if you were not able to, that is fine; we will have printed forms for you to fill out when you arrive
Wear comfortable clothing that lets us examine the painful area. If a same-day diagnostic injection is planned, our staff tells you in advance whether you need a driver.
Four questions we will ask
Where is the pain, and where does it travel?
What makes it better, and what makes it worse?
What have you already tried — therapy, medication, injections, surgery?
What are you unable to do now that you want to do again?
That last question matters most. Function is how we measure whether treatment is working.
Part two
Ongoing care
Pain care is rarely one appointment. Here is how the rest of it works — procedure days, recovery, follow-up, and how to reach us when something changes.
Procedure day
Procedures are performed in our office or surgery center with image guidance, local anesthetic, and light sedation when appropriate. Most take 15 to 45 minutes, and you go home the same day.
Recovery and after-care
You leave with written instructions and a number to call. Soreness for a day or two is normal; most patients return to usual activity quickly. We tell you what would be unexpected and worth calling about.
Follow-up and reassessment
We see you after a procedure to measure two things: pain relief and function. If a treatment worked, we plan when to repeat it. If it did not, we say so and change direction rather than repeating it out of habit.
Call or text us
Our office number accepts both calls and text messages — for most questions, texting is faster than calling and you are not on hold. Send a scheduling request, a refill question, or a photo of your insurance card to 325-326-3433. You can also message us through the patient portal. Non-urgent messages are answered the same or next business day. For a medical emergency, call 911.
Working with your other doctors
We send notes to your primary care physician, surgeon, or oncologist after visits and procedures, so your care stays coordinated and prescribing never overlaps.
Long-term care
Chronic pain is managed, not switched off. As you improve, visits space out. If your pain changes, we re-evaluate from the beginning rather than assuming the old diagnosis still explains it.
Part three
Insurance & billing
We accept most major insurance plans, including Medicare, TRICARE, and commercial plans. We do not accept Medicaid. Many interventional procedures require prior authorization — our staff obtains it for you before your procedure is scheduled, and we tell you what your plan indicates you will owe.
- Copays and deductibles are collected at the time of service
- We verify benefits before every procedure, not only at your first visit
- Ask us about payment arrangements — we would rather plan than surprise you
Call 325-326-3433 to verify your specific plan and benefits before your visit.
What we ask of you
A two-way agreement
- Tell us the whole story, including what has not worked
- Let us know when a treatment does not help — that is information, not failure
- Give us 24 hours' notice if you cannot make an appointment
- Keep one pharmacy and one pain provider, so your care stays coordinated
- Ask questions until the plan makes sense to you
In return: honesty about what we can and cannot fix, and the time it takes to explain it.
Part four
Reducing your need for medication
Our goal is to reduce your need for pain medication. Because we treat the source of the pain directly, an interventional plan can often lower the amount of medication you need — and in some cases remove the need for it altogether. Where medication still has a role, it supports that plan rather than replacing it.
How we think about it
We are an interventional practice, so our first question is always whether a procedure can treat what is actually generating your pain. When it can, patients frequently find they need less medication than before — sometimes none — because the problem itself is being addressed rather than covered.
Medication can still have a legitimate role, and we are not going to leave you in pain out of principle. But it is a supporting measure — used deliberately, at the lowest amount that lets you function, and always alongside a plan aimed at needing less of it over time.
If you are already taking pain medication when you come to us, nothing changes abruptly. We review it together and look for interventional options that may let you reduce it — at a pace that makes sense for you, not on a schedule imposed on you.
Read: opioids and chronic pain ↓What we look at together
- The diagnosis — what is actually generating your pain
- What has been tried already, and how well it worked
- Whether a procedure could treat the source and reduce what you need to take
- Your history, other medications, and safety considerations
- The function you want back, and what actually moves you toward it
- How we will know it is helping, and when to revisit the plan
If medication is part of your plan, we will walk through the practical details — pharmacy, refills at scheduled visits, and periodic review — and revisit whether you still need it as your treatment progresses.
Common questions
Answers before you call.
Our goal is to reduce your need for it. We are an interventional practice, so we first look at whether a procedure can treat what is actually generating your pain — and when it can, patients often need less medication than before, sometimes none. Medication can still have a role, but it supports the plan rather than being the plan. If you are already taking pain medication, nothing changes abruptly: we review it together and look for options that may let you take less.
Usually not. The first visit is an evaluation — history, exam, and review of your imaging. If a procedure is appropriate, it is scheduled after we confirm the source of your pain and your insurance authorization is in place.
Generally yes. Ask your primary care provider or specialist to send a referral with your recent records and imaging to fax 325-378-9175, noting which office you prefer. Once we receive it, our team contacts you to schedule. If you are unsure whether it has been sent, text or call us at 325-326-3433 and we will check with their office.
Yes — and most patients find it easier. Our office number accepts text messages as well as calls, so you can text a scheduling question, a refill request, or a photo of your insurance card to 325-326-3433 without waiting on hold. Please keep detailed medical information in the patient portal, and call 911 for an emergency.
Plan for about an hour. Completing your paperwork before you arrive shortens the visit and gives more of that time to your evaluation. Get the paperwork →
Most are performed with local anesthetic, and with light sedation when appropriate. Most patients describe pressure rather than sharp pain, and most return to normal activity within a day or two.
We reassess after each procedure to measure both relief and function. Some patients are seen in two weeks, others at three months, and stable patients are seen less often over time.
We accept most major plans, including Medicare, TRICARE, and commercial insurance. We do not accept Medicaid. Many interventional procedures require prior authorization, which our staff obtains for you before scheduling. Call the office to verify your specific plan and benefits.
If your procedure involves sedation, you will need a driver. Procedures performed with local anesthetic alone usually do not require one — our staff tells you which applies when your procedure is scheduled.
No. Abilene Pain is an interventional practice and does not complete disability, leave, FMLA, or work-restriction paperwork of any kind. The only written excuse we provide covers the day of a visit or procedure; after a procedure, it covers return to work the next day.
Not at this time. Please check with our office before referring a work-injury claim.