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Doris Jessesski tried a host of treatments to ease her chronic back pain. Then a Mayo Clinic Pain Medicine specialist recommended a new type of spinal cord stimulator. Today, Doris' debilitating back pain is gone.
When Doris Jessesski had spine surgery in 2004 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, she thought her days of back pain were behind her. And Doris lived free of pain for 14 years after the procedure, which involved a hemilaminotomy and spinal fusion.
But in fall 2018, the discomfort came back in a big way. "It was very painful all the time," Doris says. "I'm a walker. I couldn't go walking. I'd be sitting down watching TV, and it hurt just to stand up."
Doris went to see Evan R. Nelson, M.D., in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic Health System ― Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse, Wisconsin. After assessing Doris' condition, Dr. Nelson recommended epidural steroid injections and then sacroiliac joint injections to help ease the pain, which was being caused by a spine disorder called lumbar spondylosis. But the treatments didn't work.
Doris began taking opioid medications to manage her back pain. Dr. Nelson also recommended Doris see a Pain Medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester for further evaluation and treatment. In Rochester, Doris underwent another procedure known as radiofrequency ablation.
"We use specialized needles and radiofrequency energy to destroy the nerves from the facet joint to alleviate back pain," says Matthew Pingree, M.D., a Mayo Clinic Pain Medicine physician. "Unfortunately, she only had temporary relief from that."
Continue reading via Mayo Clinic News Network
Helpful links:
- Learn more about Radiofrequency Ablation
- Learn more about Neuromodulation (spinal cord stimulators)
- Connect with others via the Chronic Pain group
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This sounds more like an advertisement for Mayo Clinic and their pain stimulators that it does sound like a comment from one of the participants who is a regular in our chat group. I don't think that's right.
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3 ReactionsI agree
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1 ReactionI agree too, very commercial sounding and that's not right!
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2 Reactions@wsh66 @popolopo and @quark, I appreciate your remarks about this particular blog post. You're absolutely right that Groups are the back bone of Mayo Clinic Connect. It is a community people can share information, experience with others like them, as well as give and get support. It is a welcoming, supportive, inclusive and respectful space to talk with others who "get it," to learn and even challenge each other sometimes.
Here's a link to the Group Directory that has grown from 20 groups to now over 65 groups https://connect.mayoclinic.org/groups/
As Connect has grown, we've added more elements to serve the community such as blogs (Pages) and webinars (Video Q&A) with Mayo experts. See the
- Page Directory https://connect.mayoclinic.org/pages/
- Video Q&As https://connect.mayoclinic.org/webinars/
Each Page or blogs provides expert-approved information and regularly updated newsfeeds. Newsfeed posts include:
- Latest advancements in research
- Patient stories
- Clinical trials information
- Expert advice on specific diagnoses, diseases and treatments
And much more.
You can read more about the various features within the Mayo Clinic Connect ecosystem here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/tab/more-about-connect/
What remains Connect's lifeline are the discussions and connections between people like you.
I agree as well. I was trying to find out who she went to and what else they did to relive her pain. it never got to that. Wondering if this is even true.
I don’t necessarily agree with a treatment plan that includes sticking needles into the spinal area and cutting nerves. The injection of steroids can lead to scare tissue forming in the area and if done repeatedly can lead to giving the patient Adhesive Arachnoiditis which binds the nerves and crushes them with scare tissue.
As for Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) it basically cuts the problematic nerves. For people with CRPS this may give temporary relief but may also make things worse. RFA is a temporary solution because nerves grow back . Therefore repeated procedures may be necessary.
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1 ReactionHi Doris, what spinal cord stimulator did you get relief from? Boston Scientific, Abbott, or Nevro? I have severe back and foot pain. I have tried everything else to no avail.
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1 ReactionThe radio frequency ablation does not cut nerves at all, it cauterizes them, which deadens the nerve going to the area that is causing pain. I've had a few of them and had some success but not always.
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1 ReactionThe radio frequency ablation helped me for about 6 months then started going back up in pain lvl
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1 ReactionMe too ! I have no
More options I think