Spinal stenosis and ablations

@bruizersmom I had radio frequency ablation on my L-1/S1 nerves years ago. They use high frequency radio waves to “burn the nerves. Did not help my lower back pain, Good luck in your journey.

@heisenberg34, this sounds like the nerve block I had done on my back....two long rods inserted one on each side of spine..... a burning of nerve endings. The heart ablation: catheter inserted into heart, supposed to poke around till a reaction (tachycardia ) is found, then an electrical something goes into catheter, and zaps the active nerve. In my case first poke brought on Tachycardia, and zap - done. Seems to have worked. Nerve block in the back lasted 6 years.

@bruizersmom Glad to hear it. Not exactly sure what they inserted where but it didn’t work. Nine years later and I’m still in major pain.

I had an intervertebral lumbar ablation in August 2023 and I ended up in the hospital and rehab for a month with a stroke and no pain improvement. I have to use a walker/rollator now that I didn’t need before. I will never have any thing like that again. I regret it.

I too have spinal stenosis, sciatica, and scoliosis and I walk bent forward. I kept refusing the ablation because my sister has had 7 spinal procedures and nothing has improved her life but to put her into a wheelchair. I understand. I find it appalling that USA, FDA, pharmaceutical, pain management, and Ortho have not improved for patients in the last 35-40 years. Insurances tie up their hands and our bodies and mankind goes unnoticed.

I have went through so many injections, ablations that never worked except the first series of three injections and the first ablation I ever had done to my neck. I finally got the neuro spine stimulation implant and it helped.

@k2misek and people whom abused the pain meds ruined it for those of us that live in pain everyday

@kris27 neuro spine stimulation implant...It helped treamendously but I have a bad spine from top to bottm, so still live in pain, but NOTHING like it was

@jtoohey1 I don’t blame the people who got addicted to pain medication for the lack of progress in pain management. I wonder if there are any studies going on to find solutions.

My pain doc. is suggesting a lumbar ablation for my pretty sever stenosis. The steroid injection just worked for a few days. He dosen't think surgery would be a good thing to do. One of the conerns I have to go forward with an ablation is that I have to be off my blood thinners 5 days prior to the procedure 3 different timess. A total of 15 days total. I'm not sure I really want to chance that.