Chronic Back Pain for Years

I seriously recommend you viewing the information I just sent you about nevro hf10 neurostimulator spinal cord therapy. I did a one-week trial with excellent results I have serious pain from L1 through L5 causing severe sciatica down the back of the right leg also nerve pain from surgery on left foot and achilles tendon on the left ankle implant was done 2 weeks ago turned on this previous Monday already feeling the effects from the permanent implant it's not a super fast fix but you turn up the power slowly until you get the desired effect that you want. Find a good doctor and give it a go. Mine was done through my pain management doctor. I'm 63 years old and suffering with this for a long time and this is becoming very very successful throughout the country. I live in Oklahoma.

@gailb, I understand your frustration and confusion. I have the same thing you have and I've searched for 1 1/2 years for the right thing to do. Physical therapy did nothing after going 3 times a week with this pain is horrible. My second pain Dr helped a lot because she's not a pill pusher. I wanted treatments of some kind. She gave me several ablations, many injections of cortisone and a prescription of low-dose hydrocodone. I've had nerve testing by a neurologist who said if left untreated with surgery I could lose bowel and bladder control. I finally got to the right Dr, a n orthopedic psiatrist (spelling?) who is into sports medicine. He showed me on X-Ray how my spine is actually in two sections just held together because the spinal cord isn't broken. But it is being damaged by the loose vertebrae sliding into it. He said my choice is to keep living like I am, in bed or an orthopedic chair, and using a walker to get around my house. The only alternative is surgery. This will be my fifth spine surgery and all have gone well so I'm going to have it asap. You must research your surgeon, ask to speak to some patients he/she has treated, find nurses who work in the same hospital and ask who they would go to. Tell your primary Dr you want the best neurosurgeon available, not somebody he golfs with or owes a favor to. Good Luck!

@rw5473

You might be interested in the discussion about simulators for neuropathy. I had a Burst DR spinal cord stimulator implant in June for the neuropathy pain in my feet, and after a few adjustments, it's giving me full relief. I do still take a low dose of morphine sulfate, but I plan to try tapering off it and see if I still need it.

The discussion is in the chronic pain group, a thread headed "has anyone had a stimulator implant", or something close to that. Others might benefit from reading about your experience, as many people have questions about it.

Jim

My Dr. And I have talked about the stimulater ,He doesn't believe it will give me relief as,I have bone pain, in my back n legs,upper extremities severe nerve damage from 4 failed neck surgeries .
All plates screws n bolts.
But i appreciate the information.

Their are good surgeon's n bad ,
My first two surgeries were failed,because the Dr.came in drunk.
Almost killed me.
Another, surgeon who was,subing,happened to see,what was going on, and saved my life.
3rd was Emergency surgery, broke my neck n auto accident, N hospital in Alaska, sent me out with broken neck,
I had neck brace on for a week,
My husband took me straight to the hospital here,when I got home,
Wouldn't let me leave, b4 they screwed it back on,no choice of Surgeon.
So he left gap in ,vertabrae was pinching
Spinal cord.
So ,my husband past 3 months after, N had to have it done again.
Know numb from head to toe.
Neck pain dizziness..

@dx311mddnos I’m so sorry to hear of your dilemma. I hope your pain, although bad, will continue to let you work. Do you have a spouse that you just do not want to rely on? You mentioned having kids, can they help at all? I would hate to have to ask my son or daughter but I know they would want to help if they didn’t live far away.
I really hope you manage to find a solution for your situation.
JK

@phob you mention living in Maine. Are you in southern Maine so going to Boston would be doable? I have run unto a number of people from a ways up in Maine who go to Boston. My brother lives in Cape Elizabeth and uses doctors in Maine supplemented by doctors in Boston.
JK

Thank you @eileena. I tried acupuncture without success but plan to try with another practitioner. I have done some tai chi but prefer the few times I tried Qi Gong (Qi Gong? Sp) I live in Maine where there doesn't seem to be an abundance of alternative therapies or I just haven't found them. I have an excellent DO who does very gentle manipulation. I think my biggest problem is I had 4 joint replacements in such a short time that my body is in some sort of shock. Everyone who has done work on me states how tight my whole body is and that's how I feel. I'm tight and don't seem to be able to relax my body. It's been suggested that it's a response to having so many replacements all within 4-6 months of each other that my body is waiting for the next thing to happen. It makes sense and that's what it feels like. I'm also on many meds, morphine, muscle relaxers, something for anxiety plus something to wake me up from the fog the meds have me in. This has been going on for years. Any suggestions to stop this chronic back/neck pain?

I have had something called IMT, Integrative Manual therapy, used on me during part of recovery from one surgery or another. It is a very slow process, very gentle, but it helped get me through to the other side of the pain. http://www.instituteofimt.com/what-is-imt.php
I am not sure if it would help, but look over the information from that site.

Also, just range of motion for 4 solid months followed by, now, strengthening, for a badly torn shoulder. Surgeon tells me he wished all would improve like I have following that surgery that stitched together the 4 torn tendons in my left shoulder.

Your body needs a lot of time to heal from the assault it has endured. I have recently come across some information about breathing you might give a try. Do NOT breathe through your mouth. Only through your nose. I started being conscious of whether I was breathing through my nose or mouth. I seem to climb stairs far better. To get to my shop without the elevator I have to climb up 31 stairs. My legs had become so very week that it was quite a struggle. I am trying out this nose only breathing while climbing the stairs. I'll let you know how much it improves or not in a few weeks when we are back on a regular schedule at work. Holidays coming up allow a break in the regular schedule.

Sometimes really gentle pressure while massaging can help move the chi around. If you choose to do this, being it is a back, not a hand or knee, have someone apply light pressure and basically sweep the chi toward one of the spots on your body. It is a flushing motion and moves the chi around. Another of my PTs in the past taught me to do this sweeping motion on one of my arms while in recovery. It added to my wellness and I still do this whenever the pain is something I can manage on my own.

I do hope some of wha tI have learned is helpful to you.

@contentandwell. Thank you for your reply. Yes, I am in Southern Maine. I'm in Falmouth and have thought often about going to MA. There are so many MD's in Boston it's overwhelming. How do you know who to go to? Glad you are feeling content and well. Suggestions re: pain MD's would be greatly appreciated.