Sherri grew misty-eyed, remembering.
“I had sharp, shooting pains in both of my legs” she recalled. “It was a burning sensation. On a normal night I would lie in bed and shake my legs and cry myself to sleep. Even when they had me on the OxyContin, I slept badly. I was very restless.”
On a scale of one to 10, she said, her quality of life was about a one or a two. “It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. I used to sit back and think, why me? Why this?”
Today, Sherri is back at work and functioning normally, thanks to a neurostimulator, a “pain pacemaker” implanted in August 2002 by Dr. Bradley Mullen of the Mayfield Clinic. The surgery took place at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Edgewood, Ky.; the neurostimulator was manufactured by Minneapolis-based Medtronic, Inc.
“I’d say my quality of life today is an eight or a nine,” Sherri said.
Sherri, who is 30 years old, was only 23 when she began to suffer from degenerative disc disease in her lower back. Degenerative disc disease, also known as spondylosis, occurs when the discs between the vertebrae begin to dry out and break down because of age or wear and tear. The pain did not begin because of something specific, like an accident or fall. It just began. “I woke up one morning and I was in excruciating pain,” she recalled. “I don’t know what caused it.”
Sherri went to see her family physician and began a series of conservative treatments. She had epidural injections in her spine. She paid $75 three times a week for acupuncture. When nothing helped, her doctor recommended spinal fusion, a surgical procedure in which two or more vertebrae are fused together to immobilize the spine. Sherri underwent surgery in 1998 and, for the next 18 months, was free of pain.
Then the pain returned, this time slightly higher in her back. She began taking the painkiller OxyContin, a narcotic. Eventually, she had the second pair of discs fused. But the pain persisted, even with OxyContin, and Sherri’s life began to deteriorate.
Several months later Sherri heard about another treatment option: an implantable spinal cord stimulator. Spinal cord stimulation is a reversible therapy that delivers precisely controlled, low-voltage electric stimulation to the spinal cord through an electrode, which is carefully placed on the covering of the spinal cord during outpatient surgery. The electrode is stimulated by a pulse generator, which is implanted under the skin, usually in the flank or lower abdomen. The therapy works by interrupting the neurotransmitter that communicates pain to the brain from the spinal cord.
Dr. Mullen describes the stimulator as an underutilized technology that can make a profound difference in the lives of patients suffering from intractable pain syndromes. Dr. Mullen, who has treated more than 400 patients with spinal cord stimulation during the last 10 years, estimates that only 10 to 15 percent of patients who could benefit from the technology are actually receiving it. Patients, whose experiences vary, often get immediate relief when the stimulator is turned on, and some have been known to cry with relief while on the operating table. Sherri said she felt a difference “four or five minutes” after her stimulator was turned on.
Although Sherri continues to take medication for her back, the stimulator has eliminated the excruciating pain in her legs. Instead of pain she now feels a tingling sensation, and she likens the comfort she feels to lying in a Lazy Boy recliner. Best of all, she is able to sleep soundly through the night.
“The stimulator changes your life,” Sherri said. “It enables you to go out and live life. When I tell people about my stimulator they’re amazed. I don’t know where I’d be today if it weren’t for Dr. Mullen and Medtronic.
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Hope Story Disclaimer - "Sherri's Story" is about one patient's health-care experience. Please bear in mind that because every patient is unique, individual patients may respond to treatment in different ways. Results are influenced by many factors and may vary from patient to patient. |
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