About Dr. Peter Abaci

I don’t think anybody grows up saying ‘I want to be a pain doctor.’ I doubt many go to medical school with the goal of spending their careers sitting in front of people each day who suffer from chronic pain. Yet, somehow, I wandered upon that journey, presumably willfully. Why would I do that? Sometimes I wonder that myself.

—Peter Abaci, MD

P eter Abaci, MD, is certified in anesthesia and pain management by the American Board of Anesthesiology. He serves as the Medical Director of the nationally recognized Bay Area Pain and Wellness Center, located in Los Gatos, California, which he cofounded with Dr. John Massey. Dr. Abaci received his bachelor’s degree and graduated magna cum laude from UC San Diego, attended medical school at the University of Southern California, and performed his specialty training in pain management at UC San Francisco. A widely respected expert on chronic pain management and a highly successful chronic pain sufferer, he is the author of Take Charge of Your Chronic Pain: The Latest Research, Cutting-Edge Tools, and Alternative Treatments for Feeling Better. Dr. Abaci also serves as an expert and weekly contributor for the Chronic Pain Community on WebMD.

Dr. Abaci began his quest to radically change conventional chronic pain thinking and treatment after dealing with the agony of his second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear. His mission is to help transform the way medicine treats pain and to restore hope for healing and optimum long-term health. Dr. Abaci focuses on developing alternative solutions to treating chronic pain by drawing on neuroscience research, evidence-based medicine, ancient healing remedies, stress management techniques, nutrition principles, exercise programs, art therapy, and real-life lessons.

See Dr. Abaci’s Approach to Fighting Chronic Pain: VIEW VIDEOS

Get Your Own Copy of Take Charge of Your Chronic Pain: BUY BOOK

Visit the Bay Area Pain and Wellness Center: VISIT SITE

Blog & Tips

Regulating Pain Pills: How Do We Decide Who Gets What?

"A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels." -- Albert Einstein, 1946

The other day I received a call from a doctor in Maine asking to talk to me about the comprehensive pain management programs that I help run here in California. He informed me that he was working with a local hospital to try to set up something comparable, and he wanted to ask me a few questions. It turns out that Maine has recently adopted legislation to slash the use of opioid-based pain medications for recipients of MaineCare, its state-run health care system. In fact, the bill puts a cap on the use of opioids like Oxycontin and Vicodin to only 45 days unless you have cancer or AIDS. What prompted this roguish proclamation on chronic pain treatment was the governor's need to address Maine's budget woes. The Portland Press Herald reported that in 2010 almost one-third of MaineCare's patients received at least one prescription for a narcotic painkiller at a total cost of $7 million, and that addiction treatment costs the state about $100 million annually. That same day that I got the call from Maine,....... Read More