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  • RF Ablation alternative

    I have been getting RF Ablations for several years now to treat my pain in my thoracic area due to disc degeneration. I was wondering if there were any permanent non-surgical options to end my nerve pain. I do well with the ablations, but the cost of getting them done every year is adding up. Any suggestions???
    T12- L5 fusion 1975 - Rochester, NY
    2002 removal of bottom of rod and extra fusion
    3/1/11 C5-C6 disc replacement
    Daughter - T7 - L3 fusion 2004

  • #2
    Originally posted by rainbow2010 View Post
    I have been getting RF Ablations for several years now to treat my pain in my thoracic area due to disc degeneration. I was wondering if there were any permanent non-surgical options to end my nerve pain. I do well with the ablations, but the cost of getting them done every year is adding up. Any suggestions???
    Have you tried medication (e.g. gabapentin) or physical therapy?
    Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
    Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

    Comment


    • #3
      I cannot take pain medicines as they cause other problems for me. As for therapy, I have been working out in a heated pool for years but that does not help with the pain caused by nerves getting squished. I have seen commercials for a laser therapy and I was wondering if any one knew about that - if it was just another for of an ablation or if it totally cut the nerve and permanently sealed the end.
      T12- L5 fusion 1975 - Rochester, NY
      2002 removal of bottom of rod and extra fusion
      3/1/11 C5-C6 disc replacement
      Daughter - T7 - L3 fusion 2004

      Comment


      • #4
        Hi...

        Neuronton isn't a pain medication, so you may find that you can take it. Nerve pain is not controlled very well by pain medication anyway.

        I've never heard from anyone with scoliosis being helped by laser surgery.

        --Linda
        Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
        ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
        Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

        Comment


        • #5
          RFA, or rhizotomy, is sometimes used to treat severe chronic pain in the lower (lumbar) back, where radio frequency waves are used to produce heat on specifically identified nerves surrounding the facet joints on either side of thelumbar spine. By generating heat around the nerve, its ability to transmit pain signals to the brain is destroyed, thus ablating the nerve.

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiofrequency_ablation

          This is interesting.....I used hot hot soaks to control nerve pain at 106 degrees and it worked. Hot water is cheap therapy. I measured water temp with a spa thermometer each time.

          I agree with Linda on pain medications not working on nerve pain.....They don’t work worth a damn, that’s for sure.

          Rainbow, How many times have you done the RF? How well does that work? Is it total pain relief, and how long does it last?

          Ed
          49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
          Pre surgery curves T70,L70
          ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
          Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

          Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
          http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

          My x-rays
          http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

          http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

          Comment


          • #6
            I have been getting ablations done for over 5 years. They last for about a year. I just have to get all the nerves from T2 - T12 on the right side done and the nerves fro T7 - T12 on the left side done. They do it in three sessions and with insurance paying less and less, my costs are getting pretty expensive. My husband recently took an early retirement and now I have to be on medicare. Even with a medadvantage plan I will have to pay 20% which will be over $500 each time.
            T12- L5 fusion 1975 - Rochester, NY
            2002 removal of bottom of rod and extra fusion
            3/1/11 C5-C6 disc replacement
            Daughter - T7 - L3 fusion 2004

            Comment


            • #7
              Hi Rainbow8, It's good to hear from you, but i am sorry about your pain. I went to a pain clinic and was told that Medicare would not pay for a nerve ablation in the lumbar area but a spinal nerve stimulator was suggested as a possible solution. I am thin and I did not want to have a unit implanted under my pelvic bone. Just one more position that would be uncomfortable to sleep in. I wish there really was a solution to nerve pain. I take neurontin and it works for me, but not completely. I keep wondering about acupuncture but haven't had the courage to try it yet. The disc above my fusion is degenerated and I really don't want to go for a revision since there are no guarantees of being pain free. Been there, done that. Let me know if you come up with a solution.
              Hey everybody, stay warm. 28 degrees is eastern NC with a light dusting of snow. I thought I moved South to get away from the cold and snow.
              Sally
              Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
              Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
              Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
              Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
              New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
              Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

              "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

              Comment


              • #8
                I guess the cost of pain relief is dependent on pain level.....The more it hurts, the more we will pay and or submit ourselves to. Pain is never a free thing....it always costs something.....

                Insurance and costs are rising......We really have to stomach all of this and never mind the spine pain, the financials will kill us alone....

                Sally, it looks as if this RF ablation might be something you could try for your disc....

                On the subject of weather, I was reading about low temps in Florida, and down in Homestead, which is pretty much as far south as it gets in the US, the absolute low record was around 23 degrees F. If you want it warm all the time, you have to be closer to the Equator....

                They have also had snow flurries reported in Miami in the past....

                Ed
                49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                My x-rays
                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by loves to skate View Post
                  Hi Rainbow8, It's good to hear from you, but i am sorry about your pain. I went to a pain clinic and was told that Medicare would not pay for a nerve ablation in the lumbar area but a spinal nerve stimulator was suggested as a possible solution. I am thin and I did not want to have a unit implanted under my pelvic bone. Just one more position that would be uncomfortable to sleep in. I wish there really was a solution to nerve pain. I take neurontin and it works for me, but not completely. I keep wondering about acupuncture but haven't had the courage to try it yet. The disc above my fusion is degenerated and I really don't want to go for a revision since there are no guarantees of being pain free. Been there, done that. Let me know if you come up with a solution.
                  Hey everybody, stay warm. 28 degrees is eastern NC with a light dusting of snow. I thought I moved South to get away from the cold and snow.
                  Sally
                  Sally, are you saying that preop, before spinal surgery, that Medicare would not pay for an RF? I have had 3 done, all paid by Medicare. Susan
                  Adult Onset Degen Scoliosis @65, 25* T & 36* L w/ 11.2 cm coronal balance; T kyphosis 90*; Sev disc degen T & L stenosis

                  2013: T3- S1 Fusion w/ ALIF L4-S1/XLIF L2-4, PSF T4-S1 2 surgeries
                  2014: Hernia @ ALIF repaired; Emergency screw removal SCI T4,5 sec to PJK
                  2015: Rev Broken Bil T & L rods and no fusion: 2 revision surgeries; hardware P. Acnes infection
                  2016: Ant/Lat Lumbar diskectomy w/ 4 cages + BMP + harvested bone
                  2018: Removal L4,5 screw
                  2021: Removal T1 screw & rod

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    never got much relief from nerve ablation...
                    so if it lasts a year for someone, i think they are very lucky.
                    i have never had ANY injection last a year with pain relief...
                    not one....

                    i am hoping to get some relief from steroid shot Friday with the
                    lowest dose possible...so as not to upset my cortisol level....
                    i would not dare go back for another one if this one does not help.

                    am hoping Amtrak will be running enuf trains by Friday for me to
                    get into Manhattan for appointment.
                    right now, early Thursday morning, it is 1 degree in northeast
                    CT, 8 inches of snow is finished, and wind is picking up....
                    ugh....not best weather for train platforms! hope i get to pain
                    doc on time, and not frozen solid.

                    jess...and Sparky

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I used Neuronton for nerve pain when I had my neck fused. I took it for 2 weeks and it helped while the nerve healed. It did nothing for the nerve pain in my thoracic area. I don't mind getting ablations done but I was just wondering if there was any permanent way to stop the nerve from growing back.
                      T12- L5 fusion 1975 - Rochester, NY
                      2002 removal of bottom of rod and extra fusion
                      3/1/11 C5-C6 disc replacement
                      Daughter - T7 - L3 fusion 2004

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        his w

                        Originally posted by susancook View Post
                        Sally, are you saying that preop, before spinal surgery, that Medicare would not pay for an RF? I have had 3 done, all paid by Medicare. Susan
                        Susan, This was last year, five years post fusion. I might have been given the wrong information.
                        Sally
                        Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
                        Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
                        Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
                        Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
                        New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
                        Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

                        "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by susancook View Post
                          Sally, are you saying that preop, before spinal surgery, that Medicare would not pay for an RF? I have had 3 done, all paid by Medicare. Susan
                          Susan, The information I got about the nerve ablation was from a pain clinic in Raleigh recommended to my by Dr. Hey. It was at least a year ago, five years post-op. It is possible that I was given the wrong information.
                          Sally
                          Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
                          Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
                          Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
                          Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
                          New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
                          Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

                          "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

                          Comment

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