Pain Management Community

Hi dogvet,

Am so happy that the medical hypnosis worked for him. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. Guess my body and mind aren't connected enough or too broken to fix. Whatever, it is I gave it a good try, but it didn't help at all and neither did acupuncture that so many people say worked for them. It may have to do with the fact that I have multiple pain stiumli from FMS and a damaged S1 nerve root. Tell him to keep up the good work and let us know how he is doing in a while. That is great that it worked for him. That is the good thing with medicine, things are always changing and someday maybe other things will be developed that will help all pain sufferers.
Teresa

Dogvet,

I am a bit confused. You also posted under "Discogram" that your husband had an artificial disc implanted with very good results. You had only mentioned pain as a symptom prior to surgery. I thought the pain was fixed by the surgery and implant, but I must have misunderstood.

I have never personally used medical hypnotherapy, but have known people who did, they did not get long lasting pain relief at all, and were not able to decrease their pain meds. I am glad to hear it works for some folks. I think that is true of many therapies, they help some people and not others.

Take care, Annette

Hello Annette,
Thanks for your reply. Before the artificial disc, my husband had terrible shooting pains down his leg. The artificial disc elevated the disc height and replaced the torn disc tissue that was leaking inflammatory mediators onto the nerves. The pain that remained is chronic - they have told him that the pain nerves don't know how to do anything else since they've been constantly firing for 14 years. He's since had a neurostimulator implanted in his spine which helps about 25% - pain people and their families will do anything to ease their suffering. The hypnotherapy has not allowed him to decrease meds, but it takes care of the remaining horrible pain that the meds won't touch and gives him not only more quality of life, but a tool to use instead of reaching for another pain med - more personal empowerment which increases his self-esteem.

Thank you very much for your reply, Teresa. When you have been suffering with your loved one for many years and something actually works for a change, one wants to shout it from the rooftops to see if it helps others. I really hope you find that something to help you someday. I wanted to let you know about a website called www.restministries.org started by a woman with RA and run from her home office - even if you are not religious, this site has a lot of pain links and books that are helpful for dealing with the emotional aftermath. Best hope and luck to you, Teresa! Judy

Hi Judy,

Thank you so much. I will look at it this weekend hopefully, if not, will do first of the week. Glad things are working out for you guys. Know you have been through a lot and its time for some relief. Keep us posted on how he is doing. Teresa

Hi dogvet, this is a little off subject but you mentioned that your husband had a artificial disc put in to replace a torn disc, I had an MRI last October that showed a torn disc at L4-5 and I have been getting some very bad pain from it. The medication helps for now but I'm afraid that it won't work forever...you mentioned the terrible shooting pains down his leg which I get also, more on the left side the same side the disc is torn at...could you explain to me a little more about the disc leaking inflammatory mediators onto the nerves and what this is, that is the mediators. Maybe this would give me a better idea of what may be going on with me and how far I should proceed, this is if I might should seek surgery or not...thanks if you know any more info that might could help me...futurexboy...

It sounds like your husband has gone through what many of us have gone through, multiple procedures and some relief. There does not seem to be any one therapy that takes care of all of our pain.

I have always claimed that if we try a number of chronic pain treatments we will get some relief from each of them and end up better off than if we only tried one at a time.

Glad he has found some relief.

Take care, Annette

When tissue is torn, the body makes chemicals that promote inflammation to try to draw cells to the area to help clear up the dead tissue. They leak out of the torn disc and inflame the nerves that surround the disc. I absolutely, wholeheartedly believe that artificial disc replacement is the way to go compared to the fusion. I would recommend that you find out who is the best surgeon around for you. If you want to find out about the procedure, there is a site called www.artificialdisc.com that explains what to expect. When my husband went through the clinical trial, all of the people who had remained active despite their pain or who had just suffered the injury within a short period of time did extremely well, were able to drastically reduce meds and return to work.

Hi futureboy2 and dogvet,

In agreeing with all of the facts that dogvet just made, you also need to gather information about what can and does go wrong with these surgeries. For many of us who have had back surgery of one kind or another, there is something called failed back surgery syndrome where the surgery actually makes the pain worse. Being one of those unlucky people, just want you to be aware that not all back surgery goes well and you have a chance of making it even worse. My surgeon adamantly stated that he had done nothing wrong (strange, why would he even bring something like that up when I wasn't thinking it), so it should have turned out and helped me get back to work, right? Wrong. I was never pain free, in fact the day of the surgery was the most painful and just a preview of what was to come. Had I known then before the surgery that sometimes just waiting it out and letting the discs heal no matter if it takes 4 or more months would give better results, I would have not opted for surgery. However, I was told that he could "fix" my pain and I would be back to work in 6 weeks or less. That was six years ago and am now permanently disabled as direct result of the failed surgery.
Now you may not be one of the unlucky and hope if you choose the surgery it turns out 100% good, but want you to do your own research carefully so you can be very knowledgeable about every aspect of the surgery before you decide on having it.. Good luck and hoping you have less pain no matter which option you choose. Teresa

Good point, Teresa - thank you. My husband was one of the lucky ones that had a fair outcome but is now classed as failed back surgery syndrome because the overall pain never stopped, just the shooting pains down his leg. They also have minimally invasive techniques that will cauterize the torn area from inside the disc using a laparoscopic technique and laser. I searched "minimally invasive laser spine surgery" and got some good information. There is also an interesting one www.avoidtheknife.com which may be appropriate for someone like you. Best wishes to you all in your struggle with pain.

Hypnosis sometimes works amazingly and sometime, you that.
But there are many condition between worked and don't worked.
One of the major condition is the hypnotist you are consulting.

You are very correct. Just like any doctor or therapist, you sometimes have to keep searching for one that works for you. I think that so many pain patients are sucked into psychological and physical dependence on taking a pill to relieve their suffering (understandably so) that many times alternative methods that work and have no side effects are not even tried first. Good luck to you all in finding your path through the pain - you are not alone out there even when you feel that you are!