Q: I am a 29 years old male suffering from upper back pain. The doctor diagnosed me with parascapular pain. He prescribed these medicines - Pregalin Plus, Microcid 75, Etrobax (90 mg), HCQS (200 mg) and IV pred (16 mg) - for 15 days. Am I on right treatment?

A:Parascapular pain is not a diagnosis but merely a description (i.e. pain around the scapula bone). Unless a firm and correct diagnosis is made, polypharmacy - giving many medicines with the hope that one will act - is not rational and scientific. Pregalin Plus is for pain due to nerves; Microcid is for musculo-skeletal pain, Etrobax is also in the same category as Microcid and is never given together with Microcid - the side effects of the two drugs when given concurrently can be very toxic, HCQS is for rheumatoid arthritis. All these drugs have side effects and hence cannot be prescribed casually.