Skip to main content

Spinal Cord Stimulators: A Success Story

Here is a success story about spinal cord stimulation...as a follow up to my earlier post this week.  It's a really amazing technique. It certainly won't help everyone with chronic pain, it can do great things for lots of folks who are out there suffering-without drug fog or risk of addiction!
The pain in Sequoia Lawson’s right arm grew so severe that she could not lift it to shake hands.

Nothing worked to dull the pain from what doctors said was nerve damage – not medication, physical therapy or multiple surgeries. That is, until she took the 3,000-mile trip from her home in Washington State to Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences in Newark.

Lawson, 30, had learned of the work of neurosurgeon Antonios Mammis at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School treating pain through spinal cord stimulation.  Mammis often consults with colleagues as part of a new interdisciplinary approach to pain management at Rutgers.

“I had suffered with pain for more than a decade and was willing to try anything," she recalled.

Mammis and pain management anesthesiologist Anthony Sifonios diagnosed Lawson with complex regional pain syndrome – a rare and poorly understood condition characterized by excruciating and chronic pain, temperature changes of the affected extremity, swelling and movement disorders. They believed a device, which provides spinal cord stimulation through a “switch” the patient controls, would bring some relief. The device, a neurostimulator, is implanted during minimally invasive surgery.


In the recovery room 15 minutes after the implant surgery, Lawson was able to raise her arm and turn her head from left to right without pain. “It was quite an emotional moment, seeing such a significant response so fast,” says Mammis, recalling Lawson’s tears of joy as she shook his hand.


You can read the story in its entirety here.

Source: Rutgers.edu/news
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Living with Chronic pain hits the big screen!

Been to the movies lately?  Jennifer Aniston is on the big screen in a recent release titled "Cake." Her character, Claire is a victim of chronic pain...she belongs to a support group, where all of the members are coming to terms with the suicide of one of their members.  Of course, she also takes pain medication and addiction is another of her problems...and of course there's more! I guess I am writing this post just to bring readers' attention to the fact that Hollywood has become aware of the crisis that is chronic pain.  This movie is a testament to that. People that don't have to live with this kind of pain don't fully understand the whole story.  Maybe this movie will shed some light on the issues. Here is the official trailer for the movie: Sources: prweb;NorthJersey.com;YouTube
Post a Comment
Read more

The Multimodal Approach to Pain Management

OK..so if you've been following this blog you will notice that there are a good number of ideas to help manage chronic pain.  You might ask yourself, "Which one of these ideas is best for me ?" I would suggest that you might try any number of these things, depending on your level of ability/disability, health care team recommendations, and your personal interests.  There are a number of reasons for doing this: 1) The patient is in control..with few exceptions, it is your decision what to try/not try and how many different things you want to experiment with at any time. 2) Non drug pain management ideas do not have any of the drug interactions or side effects that medications have.  You may have to set limits or modify activity according to personal circumstances, but usually it does not hurt to try any of them. 3)You usually do not need a prescription for most of the ideas I have described.  There are a few exceptions, such as physical therapy.  There ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beware Of The Tick!

It's tick season, everyone! And while we all know about Lyme Disease and its lingering effects, a new problem has entered the scene. According to the CDC, the Powassan virus is another tick-borne disease that has recently been recognized. The CDC says symptoms become apparent anywhere from one week to one month after infection. Symptoms include vomiting, weakness, confusion, loss of coordination, problems with speech and seizures. Approximately half of those infected by this virus have permanent neurological symptoms, which can include muscle wasting, problems with memory, and recurrent headaches. Many people who have been infected with Powassan virus required hospitalization and sometimes even respiratory support (i.e., a respirator). Treatment is focused on supportive measures. In the meantime, preventive measures are the best way to avoid Lyme disease, Powassan virus , or any other tick-borne virus.  You can read more about preventive measures by clicking here . Sour...
Post a Comment
Read more