Neurostimulation
- Sunny Boy
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Both Melissa and my sister-in-law have gone through the "pain clinic" routes now being forced on people with chronic pain by the government's crack-down on pain med use.
Both had the nerve-blocking spinal injections recommended as one of the first steps.
Both felt relief and went out and did gardening and hurt their backs even worse than before.
These pain clinics that are popping up the past few years are not cures for what is causing the pain. They can only treat symptoms. Pain is your body's way of warning you that you should not be doing whatever it is that is causing the pain.
Paul
Both had the nerve-blocking spinal injections recommended as one of the first steps.
Both felt relief and went out and did gardening and hurt their backs even worse than before.
These pain clinics that are popping up the past few years are not cures for what is causing the pain. They can only treat symptoms. Pain is your body's way of warning you that you should not be doing whatever it is that is causing the pain.
Paul
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As usual Sunny is right.
- Sunny Boy
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Melissa's older brother bought one of the inversion boots/frame. Helped him for a while, but he eventually had to go the surgery route because the inversion only gave him temporary relief.SWPaDon wrote:Several people I know have mentioned inversion therapy.
Not sure I could go that route - might give me flash-backs to my divorce !
Paul
- SWPaDon
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That was my opinion when it was first mention a year ago.Sunny Boy wrote:Melissa's older brother bought one of the inversion boots/frame. Helped him for a while, but he eventually had to go the surgery route because the inversion only gave him temporary relief.SWPaDon wrote:Several people I know have mentioned inversion therapy.
Paul
And nerve blocking was mentioned. I figured that blocking the pain in that fashion might do more harm than good. Just these drugs alone have decreased the pain to where I've hurt myself doing things I shouldn't be.
- Sunny Boy
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If you look at the nerve blocking as only that and not a cure that allows you to go back to your old life style, then it can help.SWPaDon wrote:That was my opinion when it was first mention a year ago.Sunny Boy wrote:
Melissa's older brother bought one of the inversion boots/frame. Helped him for a while, but he eventually had to go the surgery route because the inversion only gave him temporary relief.
Paul
And nerve blocking was mentioned. I figured that blocking the pain in that fashion might do more harm than good. Just these drugs alone have decreased the pain to where I've hurt myself doing things I shouldn't be.
For over 30 years, Melissa has been a nursing home RN with decades of having to deal with her own degenerative disc disease (lower back). None of the pain clinics Melissa contacted ever told her about being careful after the injections. Their attitude was more like, this will be wonderful, so go do what you want.
Paul
- SWPaDon
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I had three steroid injections in my lower back, they helped a little for about three months, that's all. I had 2 injections im my upper back, right about c7 then one in my lower neck, I've experience zero relief from that round of shots.
Hot showers, or ice packs give me about 15 to 20 minutes of relief in my lower back. There is no helpful effect on my neck and it may even get a little worse.
Hot showers, or ice packs give me about 15 to 20 minutes of relief in my lower back. There is no helpful effect on my neck and it may even get a little worse.
- freetown fred
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Sounds like an awful lot to put yourself through for a MAYBE solution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Just throwing this out there SWP, my wife takes Neurotin for her numbness & tingling from the chemo, you might want to throw that out to a doc & ask if it may help with you. With hers if she touches or swallowed something cold it would feel like she was burnt or shocked from electricity, it's an old drug & may not help for your problem but then again it may.
- SWPaDon
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Thanks, Sam. I was on neurontin for a while, it didn't help at all.
FF, your right. A lot for a 'maybe' solution. I saw my PCP a little while ago. She said that the neurostimulator has helped 'most' of her patients that have them, varying degrees. I told her that they wanted to put 2 of them in me, and she wasn't keen on that idea.
FF, your right. A lot for a 'maybe' solution. I saw my PCP a little while ago. She said that the neurostimulator has helped 'most' of her patients that have them, varying degrees. I told her that they wanted to put 2 of them in me, and she wasn't keen on that idea.
- freetown fred
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Good for her Don, that MAYBE & MOST don't quite get it in my world.
- SWPaDon
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I agree. The possible problems with those units kinda scared me also. It says that the probes that are inserted could rupture and cause severe pain, along with burns in area where the leads were placed. EMI (electro magnetic Interference) can cause it to stop working, and could even cause death. A sonogram can kill a person with this device implanted.freetown fred wrote:Good for her Don, that MAYBE & MOST don't quite get it in my world.
Scary stuff.
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Ditto the earlier advice to try a TENS unit before the implanted electrodes. I have known a couple people helped by them.
And those doctors who refuse to operate because they can't be sure where the problem is -- STAY WITH THEM, it sounds like they are being careful and responsible. My wife injured her back seriously a few years ago, hurt it again two months ago. She's nowhere near as bad off as you, but she has been researching treatments. She read a study in the NYTimes a week or two ago saying back surgery was WAY over-used, a large percentage of surgeries were just trying to fix problems caused by previous surgeries, lots of people got no benefit. When it works it's a miracle cure, but often it doesn't work.
My sympathies are with you. My wife is very distrustful of doctors, but even with her far-lesser problems compared to you, she is seriously wondering whether surgery might help.
Here's one article from the archives; Google can probably find more. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/upshot/the-right-to-know-that-an-operation-is-next-to-useless.html
And those doctors who refuse to operate because they can't be sure where the problem is -- STAY WITH THEM, it sounds like they are being careful and responsible. My wife injured her back seriously a few years ago, hurt it again two months ago. She's nowhere near as bad off as you, but she has been researching treatments. She read a study in the NYTimes a week or two ago saying back surgery was WAY over-used, a large percentage of surgeries were just trying to fix problems caused by previous surgeries, lots of people got no benefit. When it works it's a miracle cure, but often it doesn't work.
My sympathies are with you. My wife is very distrustful of doctors, but even with her far-lesser problems compared to you, she is seriously wondering whether surgery might help.
Here's one article from the archives; Google can probably find more. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/upshot/the-right-to-know-that-an-operation-is-next-to-useless.html
- SWPaDon
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Thanks for the link and the advice. I'm not crazy about the idea of surgery, but I know in my heart that is the only thing going to help in the long term. The last count was 4 herniated discs, along with the degenerative disc disease and arthritus. Eventually, something should get bad enough to where it shows up on the MRI's.rberq wrote:Ditto the earlier advice to try a TENS unit before the implanted electrodes. I have known a couple people helped by them.
And those doctors who refuse to operate because they can't be sure where the problem is -- STAY WITH THEM, it sounds like they are being careful and responsible. My wife injured her back seriously a few years ago, hurt it again two months ago. She's nowhere near as bad off as you, but she has been researching treatments. She read a study in the NYTimes a week or two ago saying back surgery was WAY over-used, a large percentage of surgeries were just trying to fix problems caused by previous surgeries, lots of people got no benefit. When it works it's a miracle cure, but often it doesn't work.
My sympathies are with you. My wife is very distrustful of doctors, but even with her far-lesser problems compared to you, she is seriously wondering whether surgery might help.
Here's one article from the archives; Google can probably find more. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/upshot/the-right-to-know-that-an-operation-is-next-to-useless.html
I'm still going to try a tens unit, along with what was in the PM I received. Nothing beats a try but a failure.