I just want this pain pump out of me!! I've only had it about 3 1/2 weeks and it has been a nightmare. It is pinching a nerve somewhere, and my lower back hurts now. I have a serious pain in my hip and leg on the side the pump is on when I bend over and stand back up. The pump itself is placed under the skin on my left side near the area of my kidney on my left side. I know my doctor doesn't want to, but I want it out of me!! I want to be the one in control of my body!

I am 81 yo male with spinal Stenosis. Had epidural and ablation. Both helped but only for about 2 weeks. Have tried every non opioid pain killer known and they help but side effects a real problem. Even tried CBD but no help. I use Gabapentin 300mg at night and helps but can't take during days since it makes me very dizzy

I totally agree! My back issues started in 2011 & the injections helped until they didn’t in 2019. Traditional surgery’s not an option b/c I have CP & a curvature in my spine. Had the SCS in 2021, additional lead added, several adjustments & finally had the entire thing removed Feb 2024 b/c it never helped. The spine is a tremendously complex area to work on - I feel for our doctors who try their best, but also feel for us who need relief!

I'm 10 days out from the RFA and I'm starting to feel the old pain coming back. To say the least I'm upset. I' having the right side done in 4 days. I'm trying to be optimistic. If this does not work I'm not doing anything else for a while. I'll consult with other doctors. I have sever spinal stenosis.
There are other issues, pretty much my back is a mess. Anyone having a RFA and it didn't work what was your recourse.? I'm not doing this more than once.

@marsha3121 - Sorry for all your difficulties. It sounds like you have a very reasonable medical strategy laid-out and I trust you will be much more knowledgeable after your July 24th and 25th appointments. The "pain surgeon" (do you mean physiatrist? I've not heard the term pain surgeon before and I would like to learn more about the type of doctor you're going to see) should be especially helpful.

Spinal issues are notoriously difficult to diagnose. The injections you've already received provide useful feedback to the medical professionals as they work through all the possible causes of your discomfort. But I know the process can seem extremely slow to you as you seek relief.

Please share the results of your two upcoming appointments. It's always useful to know "the rest of the story". Thanks.

I have been through this all. There isn’t anything you guys have mentioned that I haven’t been through so I hope I can offer some thing insightful. There are two kinds of RFA one is called heat and one is called pulse. The pulse never worked for me if you had the pulse you must try the heat, my first RFA in 2000 and 2001 lasted 15 years. I had spinal stenosis and every other disc vertebrae scoliosis thing you can imagine eventually I needed surgery. In the meantime I had judicious, epidural nerve blocks corticosteroids emergency trips to the emergency room, shots of Toradol in my butt sciatic and other things in 2018 orthopedic surgeons, I met the orthopedic surgeon of my dreams and let him do surgery immediately. It was a simple x-ray that he took to show me that my vertebrae had grown together. I was wondering why the pain had stopped. This is bad because when the vertebrae grow together, they squeeze the nerve route. Root. LOL
Here’s the first step diagnose where the pain is coming from. A good pain management doctor or a good orthopedic surgeon is going to isolate where the pain is coming from by doing various procedures. The second step is to see what your options are to get rid of the pain, I don’t like a lot of medication because I’m very sensitive to medication and because they’re always side effects. When I get the corticosteroids or the epidural injections, I get 25 to 50% normal dose because I always get fat around my belly and facial flushing and insomnia, you have to work closely with your doctor and you have to find a good doctor that you can develop a relationship with Before I had my surgery in 2018, I had various small things which help relieve pain. For example, one MRI showed that I had a fluid filled sack that could easily be drained by a competent pain management doctor that help put off surgery for two years. You really have to learn about your body and ask a lot of questions , finally I want to say that my facial tissue release work is amazing and unfortunately it is not covered by any medical insurance company. After having many surgeries, my SI joints caused me a lot of grief and pain. I was close to having surgery again when my orthopedic surgeon said to try deep myofascial work , but that was for my neck area. When I went to the massage therapist and told him I was having pain in my SI joint he did some work and miracle of miracle. I now have 10% of the pain in my sacral joints. I was so close to surgery. I can’t even explain it , but I probably should’ve paid along time ago for myofascial tissue release work. I was always told that massage is a luxury and I couldn’t afford it. Deep myofascial tissue release is very painful. It’s not your enjoyable massage and you have to go back regularly. I go twice a month , but I can’t tell you how much it’s improved my life without medication and without surgeries. The first two months of doing it I would feel drunk when I was finished. There was so much toxins that were being released now I’m feeling better on my third month of it and I will probably never stop because it’s taking me 67 years to get here , never give up and never stop. Also, I forgot to mention that for 25 years I’ve taken low doses of Percocet even if I have no pain I don’t take it. Addiction was not a problem for me pain as a problem and to continue working, I had to be on low-dose Percocet , that is a combination of the oxycodone and the acetaminophen. That is worked very very well for me over the years. I am sorry people miss use it abuse it it’s been stolen out of my medicine cabinet by the pet sitter and a lot of aggravation and humiliation to continually get it over the years things being what they are, but I don’t think I would have been here without it And lived a productive life so I always share that I use it. Use whatever tools you need to to get by and stay healthy.!

Yes, hold off on surgery until you have no other choice

Hello. I am new to this support group. I am in my 60's and have discovered that my L5 and S1 are joined - a congenital defect. I am experiencing lower back pain and over the years my back will completely "go out" for a few days before I am on my feet again. Now that I am on Medicare my spine surgeon is recommending "spinal ablation" on the nerves in this region. Should I have this procedure done? I've always heard to not mess with my back. My fear is that the ablation will make things worse. Help.

I've had many rfa procedures....relief doesn't last long

Dealing with spinal stenosis too. Had PT, several injections, an ablation, now scheduled to have the MILD and Disc FX procedure done in March. The other would help for sometimes a few days some a few months but now pain just getting worse on my right side. I’m hoping and praying these procedures will give me some relief. It’s been hard to get any information from people that has had them done. 🤷🏼‍♀️