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Old 03-24-2008, 03:46 PM
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Erin524 Erin524 is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,020
15 yr Member
Erin524 Erin524 is offline
Elder
Erin524's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,020
15 yr Member
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Go to a pain specialist. An anesthesiologist (an anesthetist is a nurse that specializes in giving anesthesia...my dad is an anesthetist)

My mom goes to a pain clinic every few months. She gets epidurals in her back for her low back pain (she has spinal stenosis) The epidurals are still helping, but not as much, so now she has a TENS unit. Which is a little electronic device about the size of an iPod. It's connected to wires that are attached to sticky pads that you put on specific places on your back.

When it's turned on, the electricity from the battery powered TENS unit somehow makes it feel like it's vibrating (sorry, not sure of the specifics on how the electricity is conducted)

What it does is disrupt the sensations of pain going from the affected area to the brain. My mom's anesthesiologist told her that it basically distracts the pain signals from reaching your brain, and you instead feel the vibrating sensation instead.

TENS units cost from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars (my mom's unit is in the cheaper category) I'm pretty sure you dont always need a prescription to get one.

Ask your doctor to refer you to a pain specialist. They might be able to help you figure out what's causing the pain, and then they can treat your for it with things like the TENS, or medically with epidurals or spinal blocks or patches that contain medication.
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