12 yrs of chronic pain, 14 lumbar procedures, new Rx bad!

I had a double spinal fusion in 2021. I have chronic back pain. I saw the pain intervention doctor on Friday. He told me I was not a candidate for the nerve stimulator implant because of the fusion. I'm scheduled for a steroid injection on the 15th. If it doesn't work does anyone know what my next step would be? Pain relievers don't help at all.

I am uncertain if you would be a candidate but both my husband and I use ablations (burning nerves) for back pain about every 8mt to a year.

Thank you for your advice. I go Thursday for my injection and was planning on asking him about ablation. I hope it can be an option.

Praying right now he will be able to help you. Keep me posted.

🙏🙏 may God's your body and heal it and take away the pain in Jesus name

deankay, God Bless You. You didn't mention if you go to a pain clinic or not....if not, that may be your best route to go.

I'm so sorry you are going through this. They have gone overboard with the denial of pain meds to the people that need them due to others that abuse them. I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this.

Blessings & Prayers right now for you.

So far, I'm mostly combatting severe, chronic pain with generic Norco, thanks to a good pain specialist. Opioids definitely have a place in the pharmaceutical treatment of severe, chronic pain. My only hope is that my doctor does not retire or die before I do. It seems that such brave pain specialists are rare. I offer my devout hopes for better days for everyone who's being denied opioids just because *some other people NOT under a doctor's care* are abusing them! It's completely unfair to punish those of us with legitimate pain treatment needs; it's throwing out the baby with the bath water. It's also picking the low-hanging fruit: i.e., those of us who abide by the rules and do not exceed our dosage or "doctor shop" to obtain more medication. We should not be punished for the criminal doings of of some addicted people. It takes courage for a doctor to prescribe opioids in this climate of lazy law enforcement. Punish the addicted who are committing crimes, for God's sake! Leave the rest of us ALONE.

If you are having a radio frequency ablation, discuss it with the doctor to see if you are a good candidate. Those who served in the military and lost limb, can have ghost pain. RFA will help them 90% of the time but may need repeated every 2-3 years. I think it’s typically a bi-lateral procedure done left and right. It is done 2 or 3 times with a couple of weeks between each session. Do yourself a favor a document the times, level of discomfort and level of pain hourly. Memory is tricky but on paper, this helps the Dr know if it is worth pursuing. I hate to say this but if a Dr. doesn’t do anything, they don’t get paid. So, they have an incentive to become excited if you report, “I felt less pain for an hour, then the pain came back!” Now they feel validated to proceed but remember, an hour is not much for pain relief. Lumbar pain that I still have was gone 100%, after an epidural. But only lasted a day and 1/2. This information is better used by a surgeon who specializes in spinal cord stimulators. There job is like a RFA or an Epidural but harder. They place electrodes in the epidural space next to the many nerves that run sideways and down to group with others. Like a plate of noodles, location is crucial. 1/4” (7mm) higher or lower placement of electrodes, it either is right on, or miss.
But an RFA, keep accurate notes on pain level and time after the procedure. Once a little discomfort is over (Not Much) keep notes every hour. After it feels better, move. Walk to bedroom, go to the mail box. Watch the time and pain level, write it down. If all prior pain returns after an hour or two, tell the Dr. no. It’s a waist to time and more to go thru. Best of luck!

So far, I'm mostly combatting severe, chronic pain with generic Norco, thanks to a good pain specialist. Opioids definitely have a place in the pharmaceutical treatment of severe, chronic pain. My only hope is that my doctor does not retire or die before I do. It seems that such brave pain specialists are rare. I offer my devout hopes for better days for everyone who's being denied opioids just because *some other people NOT under a doctor's care* are abusing them! It's completely unfair to punish those of us with legitimate pain treatment needs; it's throwing out the baby with the bath water. It's also picking the low-hanging fruit: i.e., those of us who abide by the rules and do not exceed our dosage or "doctor shop" to obtain more medication. We should not be punished for the criminal doings of of some addicted people. It takes courage for a doctor to prescribe opioids in this climate of lazy law enforcement. Punish the addicted who are committing crimes, for God's sake! Leave the rest of us ALONE.