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Severe chronic pain and Intrathecal pain pump
Chronic Pain | Last Active: Mar 24 9:25am | Replies (60)Comment receiving replies
@jcoleary My spine is solid hardware, from C3 thru my sacrum. Plus, i have a DRG stimulator. I only have one place my stimulator can go. (left, front or back side. ) Since, my spine is fused everywhere, it doesn't matter as much. My neck is kind of bad, but my leg pain is horrendous. & i want the leg pain diminished, if possible. My PM doc said that i am limited. I also, have my right shoulder (no connection to my spine) bone on bone & torn rotator cuff . My shoulder pain is so bad, i can't lift my right arm without horrendous pain. At this time, i don't want shoulder surgery. because of all my hardware, i would have to go into an in patient rehab for 2 or 3 weeks, post surgery. I now have an aversion to any more surgery. No one wants to operate on me due to my age & all my hardware. However, i may have to get my shoulder done, as i can't take the pain. I am just tired of hurting & don't like to be helpless. My last 30 years have been non stop pain & i really don't have a life. it is all. very sad & depressing. I rarely go too far from my bed.& my life is limited Good luck to you
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@laurenseavertson789 Your leg pain could very likely be due to your SI joint. I read on a poster in my pain doc's office that up to 75% of people with lumbar fusions develop SI joint issues, which are not relieved by a pain pump, or at least mine wasn't. I never had sciatic pain in 14 years of back pain and 15 surgeries, only severe low back pain. One day, I developed bad pain in my buttocks, pain down the outside of my left leg and bad aching in my left knee and outside mid-calf area. I was first told it was sciatica, but a neurosurgeon said it could be the SI joint. I had a steroid injection and the pain diminished with the local anesthetic, but the steroid did not help. Last December, I had a Placental Tissue Matrix injection in both sides of my SI joint and within two weeks was almost pain free from the SI joint. It started wearing off after maybe four weeks, so I had a second set of injections in Mid-Feb and am again mostly pain free. The injections are regenerative in nature, so there is no limit on how many you can have, unlike steroids, and could lead to more permanent, or at least longer lasting, relief. The only issue is the Medicare will not cover the cost of PTM, about $800 for the injections. Medicare will however cover the cost of the injection procedure (the doctor's charge). I would ask your pain doc about them if you can afford it.