I’ve become seriously ill
Unfortunately I’ve had to close my practice
Welcome to Jim Gagné, M.D.’s website
I’m board certified in internal medicine, addiction medicine, and pain medicine. I’m a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. I have specialized in treating patients with chronic pain and addiction. As of 1 November 2020 I closed my office due to illness. I will not respond to requests for care. But please feel free to peruse the information on this site.
Important Announcement: I’ve become seriously ill and can no longer practice medicine. I’ve completely stopped seeing patients or refilling prescriptions.
Please fax any medical records requests to (818) 790-4301. Please note that requests for medical records must be legible and signed by the patient. Include where you’d like records sent. The first copy is free; additional copies are $75 each.
Expertise
Learn more about my private practice in addiction medicine.
Patients with chronic pain get no respect.
I’m not a psychiatrist but have always been interested in helping people with emotional healing.
Though I’ve closed my internal medicine practice, you’ll find some useful health tips here: caring for a cold, all about hypertension, preventing heart disease, and more.
However we express it, the potential for spiritual experience lies within each of us. It can be more than a helpful adjunct to healing, at times essential. Click for more…
I’ve long wanted to be able to take note of interesting medical news and updates. Here’s my blog.
Awards
Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine
In recognition of my training and experience in addiction medicine, I was named a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (FASAM) in 2015.
Pasadena Magazine's Top Doctors, 2013
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America's Top Physicians, 2013
In 2013, I was also selected as one of America’s Top Physicians.
Recent posts
Opioids after surgery PROLONG pain in rats
Opioids after surgery can, paradoxically, prolong pain Giving opioids to animals to quell pain after surgery prolongs pain for more than three weeks and primes specialized immune cells in the spinal cord to be more reactive to pain, according to [...]
Updates from the American Society of Addiction Medicine conference
I attended the American Society of Medicine Annual Conference in San Diego the weekend of April 13, 2018. Much of the focus of the conference was on new information about addiction and its treatment. Here are some tidbits: Drug dealers and addicts [...]
More than one drink/day risks premenstrual syndrome
Heavy drinking linked to worse PMS (Reuters Health) - Women who are heavy drinkers are at increased risk of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), new research shows. “Together with other researchers, we believe that alcohol increases PMS risk by altering the level [...]
Dying To Be Free is a powerful indictment of brain-dead addiction treatment
A long-form article in the huffingtonpost.com website, "Dying To Be Free" details the brain-dead treatment given to heroin addicts in state-sponsored programs in Kentucky: humiliation, "tear you down so we can build you up," and an exclusive focus on abstinence. People [...]
Wired laments the poor state of addiction rehabilitation
In the 4/1/2018 Wired Magazine article "Addiction Rehab Is Broken. Can Technology Fix It?," author Zachary Siegal complains that the humiliation-based treatment he received is unscientific and ineffective. You bet! He suggests using iPhone apps to resolve this problem. I [...]
Do you need a primary physician? Why?
A gathering storm I've been seeing more stories in the news about problems with primary care. For example, since the new universal health insurance law took effect in Massachusetts, so many new patients are looking for doctors that primary physician [...]