Chronic pain Management

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SmokinEdge

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Jan 18, 2020
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Just want pass along and share a treatment that can actually work for skeletal and joint pain.

Short story, my wife was an AO (ordinance man) at NAS Miramar (US Navy flight training). While there she was involved in a nasty car accident that messed her neck up pretty bad. She was young at the time and just powered through. We met and married in 1997, she was in perfect health. But now years later that injury is rearing it’s ugly head. She has terrible pain in her shoulders and neck, which in turn give her very bad migraines, the non manageable kind. She hates pain meds and mostly refuses to take prescription pain meds, just hates the side affects. By now though she is bone on bone in three of her neck vertebrae. We finally met with a spine specialist (terrible process to get referred) we talked about options. Disk replacement to spinal fusion. The Doctor looked me straight in the eye and told me that “if she were my wife, of all the options, I would do the spinal stimulator “.

This brings me to the meat of the conversation. This Specialist referred us to a Dr. Who installed the spinal stimulator. We went there and eventually did the trial stimulator. My wife walked out (out patient procedure) from that pain free for the first time in at least a decade.

For the stimulator install they surgically install leads like very small wires into your spinal column, (not touching the spinal cord) and run wires from those under the skin to just above the left hip bone in the fat pocket. There they make a small incision and instal a battery about the size of an Oreo cookie, hook it all up and you are done. The system is charged remotely and is controlled by a remote control.

With this remote control they will upload about 4-5 frequencies that can be switched between and intensity can be controlled up and down with the remote. What this does is intercept the pain signals going up the spine to the brain receptors. Basically the pain is technically still there but the brain doesn’t recognize the signal. Over time the body or brain may find a work around and receive the pain signals. We then go back in for a new program upload into the remote (done in office with a laptop computer) that changes frequency and it’s perfect again.

Now then, the frequency availability is almost unlimited and new ones created all the time. Now her’s is in the upper back to the base of skull, but they also can do lower back down to tailbone, or both.

The effectiveness is incredible. On different settings she can stimulate her neck, head, jaw, shoulders , elbows and even make her hands numb. So I would assume if installed in the lower back you possibly could stimulate the hips but not sure about knees and feet. At any rate it’s extremely effective, it’s drug free and helps huge with chronic pain. Here is a link to the Boston Scientific web page. Maybe it can help someone else live more pain free.


https://www.bostonscientific.com/en-US/patients-caregivers/device-support/scs/how-scs-works.html
 
That is freaking crazy. I go into BoSci in Maple Grove MN a ton for work. Hopefully it keeps working for her. Keep us updated please.
 
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Wow, thats incredible. I've had nerve pain since I was around 14 from football. The only thing thats ever helped me is acupuncture, when they hook the electricity to the needles. That pain isn't fun when it hits. Very glad to hear everything went well and she's feeling better.
 
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That is pretty amazing…..my wife had 4 discs in her neck replaced….it was a must to prevent cord damage…..she was very lucky….not many docs are skilled enough for 4 at once!! I can say having 4 at once isn’t for the faint of heart (7 1/2 hours, full body nerve monitoring & robotic assisted)…..she had a 18 month recovery, she was in unbearable pain prior but she is all good now with no pain….it was a very intense and $$$$$ and ordeal.
 
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They are amazing devices. I'm convinced the stimulator they install in my wife over 20 years ago probably prevented her from doing something drastic. It allows her to manage her pain at least for some time. The opioids were awful but what does one do when they are in pain? They're such a double edged sword. Since then, my wife has had 2 back surgeries and is doing well. My wife's was installed in her upper buttocks and the 2 lead were eventually ran under the skin and installed in her lower back. Even though she's had 2 surgeries & doesn't use the stimulator any more I appears they don't want to remove them unless she had issues.

She still occasionally sets off the metal detectors when entering an event or place that has them.

It was probably a life saving device for my wife. I believe Jerry Lewis had one installed as well and he also spoke about how it brought him relief. I'm happy that your wife is finding relief from this as well. Best of luck to your wife.
 
They are amazing devices. I'm convinced the stimulator they install in my wife over 20 years ago probably prevented her from doing something drastic. It allows her to manage her pain at least for some time. The opioids were awful but what does one do when they are in pain? They're such a double edged sword. Since then, my wife has had 2 back surgeries and is doing well. My wife's was installed in her upper buttocks and the 2 lead were eventually ran under the skin and installed in her lower back. Even though she's had 2 surgeries & doesn't use the stimulator any more I appears they don't want to remove them unless she had issues.

She still occasionally sets off the metal detectors when entering an event or place that has them.

It was probably a life saving device for my wife. I believe Jerry Lewis had one installed as well and he also spoke about how it brought him relief. I'm happy that your wife is finding relief from this as well. Best of luck to your wife.
Thank you. The wife has had this installed for about 3 years now. When they did it they were sure to install the newest version which is MRI compatible. I think the older version was not. She had an MRI last winter and we just had to give the radiologist the parameters to set the machine up then she switched the device to MRI mode on the remote and the imaging was done without a hitch.
 
Thank you everyone one for the kind comments and well wishes. The wife has had the stimulator installed about 3 years now and was/is a life saver. Chronic pain is very hard for people without it to understand, but there were days before the stimulator that my wife would tell me “I’m done. I can’t do this anymore (the pain)” . It’s a very difficult wall to climb, and being able to find lasting relief 24/7 without drugs is God sent. I hope this information can help some of you or your loved ones. We had no idea that this technology even existed 3 years ago. Non of the doctors we had been to over the years with various surgeries ever mentioned the stimulator. Until by a stroke of luck one finally mentioned and recommended it, funny how that works.
 
Glad your wife is better and it works for her. Wife has one and it worked well for years. She should look into the reprogramming to see if it can be helpful again.
 
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So glad your wife has found the long needed relief she has been needing.

I've spent the last 5+ years going from one doctor to another for my lower back pain to no avail. Two rounds of physical therapy about 3 months each a couple of years apart. Ten penny nails in the lower back and hooked up to a tractor battery to flop like a fish out of water. You name, I went through it. I did see one doctor to see if I was a candidate for the stimulator and was turned down. Even saw a nuerosurgeon who specized in the spine and he said there was nothing he could do.

I blame myself for my back, though. I have always been active ever since I was a wee bit of a lad. Played 8 years of football, wrestled, baseball, soccer, basketball, etc. Had a very labor intensive job the first 11 years in the Navy where I started playing golf. Been hauling deer and elk out of the woods for over 30 years. Work on every vehicle I've had, to include family and friends. Did stupid stuff in my younger years, etc. It all finally caught up to me.

I gave up on doctor's last year. I've been wearing an OTC lower back support belt when I know I need to use it. Take a couple of Tylenol and an Advil in the morning, two more Tylenol in the evening. When I get done working on whatever I'm messing with and my back huts too much, I'll take a couple more Tylenol. If that doesn't work I'll drink a coupla 4 beers. If that doesn't help, I'll sip a bit of moonshine until bedtime.

It's been working for me so far. I have to go see my PMC next month, for an annual physical that is a year or two past due. Should be a fun time for sure.
 
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Continuous chronic pain will wear a person down. So glad she got the relief she needed and it's still keeping her pain free 3 years later...
 
Continuous chronic pain will wear a person down. So glad she got the relief she needed and it's still keeping her pain free 3 years later...
Thanks Charles. She isn’t exactly pain free, but let’s just say very much more manageable drug free. She has excellent days and some tougher days but no doubt that stimulator makes it workable.

The spine specialist told us that in time the vertebrae will naturally fuse together. When that happens pain with most likely stop. Problem is she is 54 and the fusion won’t happen for maybe 10 more years naturally. So it’s maintenance for a while.
 
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Eric, I've been dealing with sciatic nerve pain for maybe 3 months now so I can't even begin to imagine having chronic pain for years and years and years. I'm just glad she's getting some relief...
 
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