text: Chronic pain goes back to the dawn of time, and the causes remain much the same as they have ever been. Some sufferers drank a lot; some committed suicide; some became insane, some used opium or laudanum; in the parts of the world where it was available, some used cannabis.. It is only fairly recently that the medical profession has accepted that it has a responsibility to relieve pain rather than just to treat disease; doctors used to view pain relief as peripheral to their "real" job. It is only recently, for instance, that medical schools have begun teaching pain management. 
  
  Doctors would obviously prefer to cure causes of pain where that is possible; unfortunately, it is not always possible. Pain management is needed. 
  
  I think if I were Lisa, I would both look for another family doctor and report the present incompetent to his professional governing body.