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Episode 150

The 2 Questions You Need to Ask Your Doctor If You Have Chronic Pain with Dr. Kim Fischer

November 10, 2026 · 39 min · Guest Conversations

Show notes

If you're in the middle of chronic pain recovery and a doctor just offered you surgery, there's one question to ask before you say yes. Most of us were never taught to ask it.

Dr. Kim Fischer is a board-certified anesthesiologist. For years she's cared for patients coming in for their second or third spine surgery, and she kept wondering → if we fixed the structural problem, why is the pain still here? Then she developed pelvic pain herself. She saw all the doctors, did all the tests, and collected a lot of labels. A pelvic PT finally introduced her to mind-body medicine, and it clicked.

In this conversation, Kim shares the moment she poked her head over the blue curtain mid-surgery and a surgeon she deeply respects told her he didn't really know if the procedure would help the patient's pain. The patient on the table didn't know that. That gap is what she's working to close. Her question for you: "What is the likelihood that this procedure is going to make my pain go away?" Then listen for words like might, should, and I hope so.

We also get into the difference between managing pain and recovering. Managing is forever, and it's all about the symptom. Recovery is about your life → the concert, the road trip, the van trip one of her patients has been on for five months. Still some pain, BUT no more fear spiral. Kim walks through provocative testing, why fear (and sometimes frustration) shows up before the symptom does, and why "what else could be true?" might be one of the most important questions in medicine.

This is NOT an anti-surgery episode. Surgery has its place. This is about getting your agency back so you can make the choice that's right for you.

And if you heard about this work years ago and weren't ready yet, that's okay. Kim was told about her PT a full year before she went.

Connect with Dr. Kim Fischer

Beckon Health: https://beckon.health/ (sees patients in Colorado, Oregon, and a few other states)

How to work with Grace:

Connect with Grace