qualified MB BS; GMC Registration number 3165869*
Pre-registration houseman posts: first in general surgery: 6 months at Chelmsford Hospital (Essex)then 6 months in Ipswich (Suffolk) : 3 months general medicine, followed by 3 months endocrinology and haematology.

Locum SHO post in Neurology at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge August 1987

SHO Accident and Emergency, Chelmsford (5 months)
SHO Psychogeriatrics Goodmayes Hospital, London 4 months
SHO Acute Psychiatry 9 months St. Lawrence's Hospital, Bodmin

December 2003

My current post is as Clinical Assistant at the Eric Angel Pain Management Unit of Derriford Hospital, Plymouth.

I see patients with various types of chronic pain in a multidisciplinary clinic setting and liaise with specialists in Palliative care, Neurology, Rheumatology etc.

I became a patron of the UK charity, the Arachnoiditis Trust in early 1998, and worked as the principal member of their medical working party until March 2003.I also joined the US based online group, COFWA at around the same time (1998) and have had daily contact with many arachnoiditis sufferers since then. I also work with the New Zealand-based group ASAMS and some of my articles have been published in their newsletter. I have also been involved with smaller support groups, including the Cauda Equina Syndrome Support Group (CESSG) for whom I wrote a piece on the cauda equina syndrome; CIAASA, a group in Australia, and more recently, a new group for arachnoiditis sufferers, based in Liverpool, UK. (I am currently patron of COFWA, ASAMS and The Arachnoiditis Support Group, Knowsley.)

I have given talks to the Trust at Arachnoiditis Trust AGMs, as well as to a more local sub-group. I have also spoken at a conference of the Environmental Assistance in London("Toxic Aspects of Arachnoiditis" 1999) and the British Chiropractic Association in October 1999.("The role of the Chiropractor in recognising the Arachnoiditis Syndrome"); “Iophendylate-induced Adhesive Arachnoiditis”, Derriford Hospital February 2003. “Assessment of Chronic Pain, Derriford Hospital” March 2004.

Articles I write tend to be overviews of topics presented to aid sufferers of arachnoiditis and their doctors in their understanding of this complex condition. As a rule, I restrict my personal opinion to comments that are clearly indicated as purely my own view. In general, I aim to provide a balanced overview with fully referenced information.

I have published numerous articles on Arachnoiditis including a handbook for GPs, and article for the alternative health magazine In Balance: entitled "Spiders in Your Spine?"), Stenosis, Central Pain, Headaches in Arachnoiditis, Neurological Symptoms in Arachnoiditis etc.

Other articles include "The Scourge of Unrelieved Chronic Pain" and a series on various palliative treatments including narcotics and adjunctive medication. I also wrote a series about the psychological aspects of arachnoiditis, with specific articles on insomnia, depression etc.

I have also written commentaries on other papers such as the 2001 New Zealand report on Arachnoiditis by Peter Day. My commentary was published by Dr. Burton on his website, www.burtonreport.com
In 2001, I took part in a video on arachnoiditis called “Arachnoiditis: Fighting Back” which also featured interviews with experts such as Dr. Burton and Dr. Antonio Aldrete.

I wrote a detailed review of the history of Iophendylate myelograms in 2002, with an accompanying presentation on Iophendylate-induced adhesive arachnoiditis. I have also written about other iatrogenic causes of the condition.

My 1999 survey of 317 people with arachnoiditis was published on the Internet by Dr. Charles Burton, of the Institute of Low Back and Neck Care, Minnesota, an expert neurosurgeon who has wide clinical experience of treating patients with arachnoiditis with whom I have regularly corresponded for a number of years. I have also run a small survey of treatments being used for various conditions that cause chronic pain and the results have been passed on to the groups who participated, and surveys on headaches and thyroid disorders in arachnoiditis.

I have also had an article published in The Western Morning News, (a newspaper distributed in South-West UK) in September 2002, on Holistic medicine.

I have just completed an extensive overview on Adhesive Arachnoiditis which is published online on websites of arachnoiditis support groups. (Finished October 2003).

I have also given radio interviews in UK( for You and Yours Radio 4) and Australia.

I liaise frequently with other doctors who may be neurologists, GPs or pain specialists, both in the UK and abroad.

I regularly contact members of the UK government concerning issues to do with arachnoiditis.(e. g. Memorandum to the Health Select Committee re: Adverse Clinical Incidents June 1999; meeting with Lord Hunt of the Department of Health April 2000; further meeting with DOH representative December 2000) Proposal for Community Pain Treatment Teams sent to NSF Long Term Conditions December 2002.

I attend conferences on pain management issues in order to keep up to date with developments. I attended the Royal Society of Medicine’s Pain Symposium in 2000, the Pain Society’s Pain Awareness week in November 2002 and Pain Seminars at St. Thomas’ Hospital, London, on November 2002 and Spring 2003. The latter two pertained to pain management programmes and Primary care issues.

I receive mail from around the world every day and do what little I can to pass on balanced information and support. I do not, however, ever offer individual advice as this would be highly unethical. I always strive to make this point entirely clear to those I write to.

As regards my personal experience as a patient: I have suffered chronic pain for over 20 years, since my mid-teens. I feel that this is of great help in furthering my understanding of the suffering of others in chronic pain and this can hopefully impact positively on any help I may offer.