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cweinbl

Joined: 02/05/2010

My Story:

Born with congenital central canal stenosis. Disc herniations began at age 17. Three disc herniations and four failed surgeries forced me into retirement at age 51. Osteophytes, osteoarthritis, advanced fibrosis, collapsed vertebra, bone damage, multiple areas of radiculopathy, nerve root impingement and nerve necrosis. Participated in two comprehensive pain management programs. Conduct research into alternative treatments, including molecular pharmacology and interventional techniques in the management of chronic spinal pain.

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Reply: Your Experience/Thoughts on Spinal Cord Stimulator

It is absolutely not "irresponsible" to try a wide variety of opioids. Any pain management...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

It is absolutely not "irresponsible" to try a wide variety of opioids. Any pain management physician will agree. Each of us has a unique body chemistry and we all react differently to opioids. It only makes sense to try them all in order to discover which combinations work best for us. The operative word is "combination." After 30 years of trying various combinations of medications, my doctor and I have discovered the best combination of long and short-acting opioids, plus off-label drugs. That has certainly been a godsend for me. As long as it occurs under the care of a physician, it's perfectly safe. The rate of addiction among chronic pain patients (who have no prior history of addiction disorder is less than 3% (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20091598?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1 and http://updates.pain-topics.org/2011/01/study-finds-low-risk-of-rx-opioid-use.html . I'm happy that I can control my pain without having to have a mechanical device with a poor success rate surgically implanted.

The success of the SCS and the It Pump (both) is around 50% to 60% (http://updates.pain-topics.org/2011/01/study-finds-low-risk-of-rx-opioid-use.html ). If you want to risk the chance of MRSA infection and/or mechanical failure for a success rate of 50-60%, then go for it. It's your body and your life. But any physician will tell you that the SCS and IT Pump are for the opioid intolerant chronic pain patient. They are last resort options, according to orthoped surgeons and neurosurgeons.

I've been through two comprehensive pain management programs and I can obtain more efficacy from biofeedback than from risky invasive implanted mechanical devices. But hey, it's your life.

You are right about one thing. Everyone's pain situation is different. That is perfect reasoning for trying all possible medications and all other non0invasive options first, before having a mechanical device with a 60% success rate surgically implanted.
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cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted bycweinbl

196 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Your Experience/Thoughts on Spinal Cord Stimulator It is absolutely not "irresponsible" to try a wide variety of opioids. Any pain management...

Reply: Anyone

Trust no one who has not completed a fellowship in spine surgery. That's three or four...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Anyone Trust no one who has not completed a fellowship in spine surgery. That's three or four...

Reply: Spinal shots for pain

Have you been diagnosed by a spine surgeon? I don't mean an orthopedic surgeon or a...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

Have you been diagnosed by a spine surgeon? I don't mean an orthopedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon that also does spine surgery. I don't even mean one of the above who has a primary focus on the spine.

I'm talking about an orthopedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon that has completed a fellowship in spine surgery. That's three or four years AFTER medical school and AFTER a residency in orthopedic or neurosurgery. This "spine surgeon" has completed about 8 years of training after medical school and all of that training comes from the very tip of the sword of spine surgery at the very best teaching hospitals in North America (Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Case Western, etc.).

Frankly, if your spine is as bad as you have described, no medication, no pain clinic treatment, no injection or other therapy will offer significant assistance. If it is as you describe, then most likely only reconstructive surgery will offer a decent solution. Even then, it's not guaranteed. But if you do not see a spine surgeon, you may regret it for the rest of your life.

You should see the best of the best. That means a fellowship-trained spine surgeon. I saw two of them (University of Michigan/Ann Arbor and Case Western University/University Hospitals in Cleveland). Two minutes each with those two fellowship-trained spine surgeons gave me more solid information than had 18 years with regular orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons. Yes, a fellowship-trained spine surgeon is that far ahead in terms of education, training, experience and the very latest techniques. It is not a world of difference; it is a galaxy of difference.

Nothing is more important than your health. So why trust it to a bush league surgeon? If you don't live in a big city, where most spine surgeons are, then travel there.

Don't you deserve to be treated by the very best in the profession of spine surgery? Isn't your health that important? If a spine surgeon decides that your case is not surgically treatable, they will tell you that. These fellowship-trained spine surgeons are multi-millionaires. They do not need to operate for a living. They have six and seven figure teaching contracts with major medical schools. They will not take a chance on your spine unless the operation has a real possibility of success (unlike local orthopedic and neurosurgeons in your city or town that need to pay for their vacation home with more surgeries).

Seek out a fellowship trained spine surgeon. They can be found at or near teaching hospitals. If not, then you are cheating your health and well-being for the rest of your life. You deserve the best possible health care. But only you can demand it.
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cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted bycweinbl

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Spinal shots for pain Have you been diagnosed by a spine surgeon? I don't mean an orthopedic surgeon or a...

Reply: New Opiate laws are effecting people with pain man...

After three disastrous disc herniations and four failed spine surgeries, I was ready to...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

44 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:New Opiate laws are effecting people with pain management After three disastrous disc herniations and four failed spine surgeries, I was ready to...

Reply: Failed Fusion...Now What???

Just one medication added nine wonderful years to my career. Fentanyl (Transdermal) is the...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

36 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Failed Fusion...Now What??? Just one medication added nine wonderful years to my career. Fentanyl (Transdermal) is the...

Reply: lumbar herniation- chronic debilitating pain

Before you do something you may regret for the rest of your life, take a look at a...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

Before you do something you may regret for the rest of your life, take a look at a comprehensive review of Laser Spine procedures here: http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/north-american-spine-ohio-c338046.html . The most frequent research complaints included these comments:" STAY AWAY, BAD DOCTORS and TROUBLING MEDICAL PRACTICE!"

Here is some more:

"The Ohio offices and "surgery" location in Dayton are being shut down. The reason the staff says is all about money. However, with the recent complications and lost lawsuits you just have to wonder if the Ambulatory Surgery Center just said "get out"?????

2 of 5 doctors, with drug and alcohol CONVICTIONS!!! (That is 40%). Lost lawsuits, no malpractice insurance: Why would you ever want to trust these guys???????

To add to this there are rumors of multiple cases of a type of paralysis from Dallas!!! That scares the crap out of me.

They just lost a case for 6 million dollars and the court records state no malpractice, can this practice be financially solvent???? I can not see how it could be.

Please do your homework, if a practice looks like a pile of scat, smells like a pile of scat, taste like a pile of scat...then it most likely is a pile of SCAT.

Keep looking you will find a good practice that can help you, there are many to choose from. You don't need to take unneeded chances with a practice like this one!!!

Here is some more:

"These doctors should not be allowed to practice in America.

Our medical system is not in need of an overhaul from our current President but rather a clean up of guys like these who hurt patients, lie, steal and cheat in order to line their own pockets.

Pass this link to as many as you can, as Americans we need to put an end to this @#$%."

A little more... "Take a look at this website

http://med.ohio.gov/formala/35057342

Would you want this to be your doctor???

Then add :
http://newstalkradiowhio.com/localnews/2009/10/woman-gets-63-million-award-in.html

"A place I will avoid!!!"

NEVER allow a physician to touch you, must less operate, until you have conducted plenty of research. These "Laser Spine Institutes" and "Acura Surgery" are nothing more than shills and quacks that use unproven techniques and substandard equipment for the purpose of making a lot of money, not healing spine patients.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!
View Thread

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted bycweinbl

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:lumbar herniation- chronic debilitating pain Before you do something you may regret for the rest of your life, take a look at a...

Reply: Spinal shots for pain

What kind of "injections?" Are you having trigger point injections? Spinal nerve root...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

20 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Spinal shots for pain What kind of "injections?" Are you having trigger point injections? Spinal nerve root...

Reply: Failed Fusion...Now What???

Better than a "board certified" orthopedic surgeon or neurosurgeon is a "fellowship-spine...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

36 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Failed Fusion...Now What??? Better than a "board certified" orthopedic surgeon or neurosurgeon is a "fellowship-spine...

Reply: Strong non-narcotic pain killers?

Litharia, would you be surprised to know that the rate of addiction among chronic pain...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

Litharia, would you be surprised to know that the rate of addiction among chronic pain patients using opioids is below 3%? It's true. In fact, many very recent comprehensive studies peg the addiction rate under 1%. Read them here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20091598?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1 and here http://updates.pain-topics.org/2011/01/study-finds-low-risk-of-rx-opioid-use.html . In other words, if you have no history of addiction disorder, your chance of becoming addicted is almost nil. Many people confuse addiction with dependence and tolerance. Addiction is a PSYCHOLOGICAL disorder, characterized by stealing medication, purchasing it illegally and doctor shopping. Meanwhile, dependence is a PHYSICAL condition characterized by the need to use higher amounts of an opioid to achieve the same state of relief. Similarly, withdrawal is a PHYSICAL condition in which a patient who no longer requires an opioid must wean off of it gradually. All of these conditions are easily treated, some with opioid antagonists such as Suboxone or Naloxone.

I'm glad that you are "not in tears." But if I (and many people I know) only had access to something as mild as Ultram, I would be howling in pain 24/7. Actually I would make no sound, because I would have decided long ago to stop living.

Just one powerful opioid, Fentanyl Transdermal, added 9 wonderful years to my university career. It continues to help in retirement. Over these past 15-16 years with the powerful opioid, I have experienced no problems with addiction or withdrawal. Dependence is to be expected. Even then, it can be avoided with opioid rotation. Your physician can help with these decisions and subsequent administration issues.

Not all opioids (please, we no longer use the term "narcotics") are bad. The incidence of addiction is less than 3%. The side effects are minimal and typically diminish after several weeks.

Mind-body treatments are often useful. For example, I can reduce my chronic pain by about 20% with biofeedback alone. Others swear by acupuncture, hypnosis, systematic relaxation, meditation and Yoga. Yet others escape the pain with TENS or acupuncture. Other yet benefit from the spinal cord stimulator or the intrathecal infusion pump.

Finally, for some who cannot benefit from narcotics or mind-body treatments, there is THC. Yes, the effective ingredient in marijuana. Many of us can obtain very significant pain relief with marijuana. Possession is now legal in several states and medical marijuana is legal in a dozen more states. Don't knock it until you've tried it. People have been using THC for pain for at least two thousand years. Don't want to smoke or ingest it? Fine! Ask your physician for an Rx for Marinol (Elan Pharmaceuticals). The active ingredient is THC.

What would you do to stop the pain, or at least to push it very far away? I've tried virtually every possible treatment. Ignore people who think that you will become addicted. You will not, unless you already have an addiction disorder. Ignore those who rail against marijuana. It is safer and more effective than most of the drugs that physicians prescribe. Be open to new ideas. Try anything and everything. After all, what can be more important than your health?
View Thread

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted bycweinbl

(FromChronic Pain Management: Member Discussion)

160 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Strong non-narcotic pain killers? Litharia, would you be surprised to know that the rate of addiction among chronic pain...

Includes Expert Content

Reply: Chronic Cervical Spine Pain, after fusion and spin...

People like us MUST accept that we'll never again be the same. I know how it feels.because...

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted by cweinbl

People like us MUST accept that we'll never again be the same. I know how it feels.because my chronic pain began at age 17. Fortunately for me, I worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for seven years. I worked on a daily basis with paraplegics and quadriplegics. At that point I realized that compared to them, I was very fortunate indeed. I could no longer play football. But I could sit, stand, walk and care for my bodily needs. My patients would never be able to do that. If these words mean nothing to you, then please visit your nearest Goodwill, long-term rehabilitation center or hospital. Then you'll agree with me that it is better to have limitaitons than to be paralyzed.

Finally, if you can still run, then you are NOT severely diabled. You are inconvenienced, or in pain, then so what? So are millions of us. Please don't take this the wrong way, but many of us, myself included, will never again be able to run, walk very far or even sit upright for more than a few minutes. I would KILL to be able to run again. If the price you have to pay is arm discomfort, then be happy that you can raise your arm, that you can sit, stand and walk. You don't want to hear this, but life is about much more than running, walking sitting, standing or anything physical. If you doubt this, read about President Franklin Roosevelt, or actor Christopher Reeves. I'm tying to be courteous, as you have requested. But you must also comprehend that all that it important about being human has nothing to do with what we can do physically. It's about what we can do mentally and emotionally.

I've been dealing with your problem for mroe than 40 years. I've had four failed spine surgeries, two pain clinic and countless other treatments. I have finally accepted my limitations. Before you reject this, put yourself in the body of a paraplegic or a quadriplegic. If you still feel that the world owes you something that no one else can have, then I can say no more. But I hope that one day you will discover that everything that's truly important to a human's concept of self worth is above the neck. If you;d like to discuss this further, I am at csw2@bex.net .View Thread

cweinbl
csw2@bex.net

Posted bycweinbl

3 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Chronic Cervical Spine Pain, after fusion and spinal cord injury People like us MUST accept that we'll never again be the same. I know how it feels.because...

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