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Re: Back pain
deniro #30650 07/22/14 01:02 AM
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Deniro,

I'm really sorry that all of this is happening to you. You are right, there are no 'cures' for mood disorders right now, and 'treatments' are not therapeutic, they just help you cope. Much of the newer research points towards neuro transmitters rather than chemical transmitters as causes and I know people who have had 'depression' for years and their lives turned around when they were put on Attention Deficit Disorder medication. New treatments for Parkinsons have been helpful for people with depression. There are some breakthroughs happening right now, it's just taking time. If you live near a research hospital, I suggest you check their website for studies they are doing. And do seek out new opinions from doctors who have not seen you before.

Re: Back pain
slolerner #30651 07/22/14 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
And do seek out new opinions from doctors who have not seen you before.

Wise counsel.


ryck

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Re: Back pain
ryck #30658 07/24/14 01:03 AM
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BTW, Grelber, I mentioned the article to my neurologist and he had not heard about the ozone injections, but he is going to look into it for me. I am very appreciative.

No lumberjack jokes here, but the article states:

"The vast majority of herniated discs occur in the lower backs of older Canadians, either because of muscle strain injuries or simply through general wear and tear."

Thanks,
Slo


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Re: Back pain
slolerner #30659 07/24/14 01:22 AM
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From what I can tell, the trial is still accepting patients/subjects. Perhaps you qualify. It's certainly worth a look-see.

Safety and Effectiveness Study of the AO-1000 Device to Treat Contained Herniated Discs

For complete details see http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01339377

Re: Back pain
grelber #30660 07/24/14 01:50 AM
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Thanks! Just sent them an email. They do say 'contained' and I'm not sure I qualify for that because the disk was ruptured and I'm not sure if it is considered contained four months later. But hey, let them say no.

Re: Back pain
slolerner #30690 07/30/14 04:41 PM
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I may have to join you above the 49th. No US trials.

Re: Back pain
slolerner #30691 07/30/14 08:00 PM
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Sorry to hear that. US residents are not explicitly excluded under Exclusion Criteria.
It makes one wonder why the clinical trials are registered in the USA. Maybe it's an FDA requirement.

Re: Back pain
grelber #30801 08/13/14 09:45 PM
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Grelber,

I did follow through with the company and am ineligible because I am not within the distance limits of this particular study; the closest is in Vancouver. I will continue to pursue this option and am asking my doctors here to research it. The surgeon reviewed my MRI with me today and it does seem to be my best option. I had some massage/body work done Sunday and it temporarily resolved the problem almost completely, so it is not as complex as I at first believed, and my body can reset itself once everything is right. Muscles that had not been working began to work and ones overworked in their place, like my ankles, ached. It was incredible. Of course, everything crashed when I had to sit for two hours, but I know once the alignment is fixed, my body can, at least for now, fix the problems created pretty neatly.

Re: Back pain
slolerner #30804 08/14/14 06:59 AM
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I'm delighted that you're homing in on a "fix". Stick with it.

Re: Back pain
slolerner #30821 08/15/14 09:37 PM
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I've been dealing with a bad back since 1991. Massage, esp. myofascial release and zero balancing, has been the most helpful for me. Keep at it.

Re: Back pain
slolerner #30823 08/16/14 05:05 AM
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I had completely forgotten about this, and I don't even know if it's pertinent here, but some years back I heard about an Israeli company that was working on a "jack-like" mechanism that could be inserted between two discs, and slowly expanded electronically to restore disc separation and back functionality.

I couldn't locate that project, but my searching did turn up Israeli Company's Futuristic Back Implant Can Repair Damaged Spines, which sounds promising, even if it's not applicable here.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Back pain
artie505 #31284 09/24/14 12:51 AM
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Well, I'm getting something called M.I.L.D. done for my back.

http://swarminteractive.com/patient-education/viewmedica-web.html

Seems to be the best choice. I'll see if it gets some feeling back to my foot. My ankle is falling apart and I am now at 6 months from the injury and in danger of damaging the S1 permanently.

Re: Back pain
slolerner #31339 09/29/14 05:25 PM
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For anyone keeping up, I returned to the surgeon last week after a severe increase in pain. The situation since my first MRI last fall changed dramatically. No one seems to know why.

The degeneration widened. On the scan you can see a hole where (white on scan) cartilage should be between two spinal bones. I got my own CD copy of the scan. Nice.

Surgery not long down the road. Should be able to walk next day, drive after two weeks. Two titanium screws will be inserted between the bones that have been pushing into nerves. No more metal detectors for me.

Must sound odd when people hear I'm happy to go to the hospital. Anything's better than this. Finally the pain is going away.

Edit: I found a link to older versions of Osiris (freeware) which reads MRIs:

Osiris Viewer (older versions)

Last edited by deniro; 09/29/14 07:22 PM.
Re: Back pain
deniro #31343 09/29/14 09:36 PM
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Originally Posted By: deniro
Finally the pain is going away.

That's great. Good for you.

Last edited by ryck; 09/29/14 09:36 PM.

ryck

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Re: Back pain
deniro #31369 10/01/14 11:05 PM
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I think I speak for everyone in wishing you well.

Thanks for the link to view MRI discs. I have been bringing the discs with me to each doctor but not been able to look at them myself. Funny, something happened between my two MRIs taken three months apart, something very subtle, that luckily a surgeon picked up on. The surgery I had decided on would not have helped me, but I know exactly what you mean by this:

Quote:
Must sound odd when people hear I'm happy to go to the hospital. Anything's better than this. Finally the pain is going away.


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Re: Back pain
slolerner #32518 01/16/15 10:56 PM
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Deniro,

Link to older OsiriX versions doesn't work. Website I found says OsiriX Lite will work, but it won't let me install. Do you know of something for 10.6.8?


Mid 2010 MacBook Pro 13"
2.4GHz, 750GB SATA HD, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.7.5
1 HDX1500 2TB Ext.HD, 2 HDX1500 1TB Ext.HD
HP Laserjet 6MP printing postscript via 10/100 Intel print server
Netgear WN2500RP Range Extender (Ira rocks!)
Linksys WRT1900AC Wireless Router
Brother MFC-9340CDW Color Laser
iPad Air
Re: Back pain
slolerner #32524 01/17/15 09:40 PM
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Try the direct download URL http://www.osirix-viewer.com/OldVersions/OsiriX4.1.2.pkg.zip, which AFAICT is for the last version running on Snow Leopard. If necessary you can download other versions (except 5.x and 6.x) by substituting the version number components (in the case above 4.1.2) with others pulled from this version page.

While you’re at it, you may also want to look into Joël Spaltenstein’s UnImportantNotice plugin, which supposedly removes the watermarks OsiriX puts on image renditions of the free versions.


alternaut moderator
Re: Back pain
alternaut #32536 01/19/15 07:59 PM
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Thanks for the link, Alternaut.
I tried a few others in the meantime. None worked and I want to uninstall them and they came without uninstallers so I guess it's a name search, etc.

When the doctors viewed the back MRIs, they had very big screens but I was not able to enlarge any of the views, using OsiriX 4.1.2 where it was really viewable on my 13" laptop.

btw: There were no watermarks with this version.

(Cute dog, Deniro.)

Last edited by slolerner; 01/19/15 08:00 PM. Reason: More re: watermarks

Mid 2010 MacBook Pro 13"
2.4GHz, 750GB SATA HD, 8 GB RAM, OS 10.7.5
1 HDX1500 2TB Ext.HD, 2 HDX1500 1TB Ext.HD
HP Laserjet 6MP printing postscript via 10/100 Intel print server
Netgear WN2500RP Range Extender (Ira rocks!)
Linksys WRT1900AC Wireless Router
Brother MFC-9340CDW Color Laser
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Re: Back pain
slolerner #32538 01/20/15 10:59 AM
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deniro Offline OP
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Thanks. That's Barney.

Re: Back pain
deniro #33236 03/01/15 03:39 AM
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Well, I'm going to need a micro discectomy after all. Monday morning. How did everything go for you, Deniro?

Last edited by slolerner; 03/01/15 03:41 AM. Reason: more
Re: Back pain
slolerner #33237 03/01/15 12:08 PM
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Best of luck!

Hope to never hear you complain again. grin


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Back pain
slolerner #33238 03/01/15 04:14 PM
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Originally Posted By: slolerner
Well, I'm going to need a micro discectomy after all. Monday morning. How did everything go for you, Deniro?

I have never been fortunate enough that a micro discectomy could be used, but and hopefully yours will be as successful as my discectomys have been. What I remember most of all is waking up in the recovery room and realizing something was very different. It took a while to realize the difference was freedom from pain. That was and still is a wonderful difference.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Back pain
joemikeb #33242 03/01/15 11:28 PM
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Quote:
Hope to never hear you complain again. grin

Methinks not.

Really happy to hear all went well with you, Deniro.

Re: Back pain
slolerner #33261 03/04/15 02:04 AM
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deniro Offline OP
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I had surgery in November. The experience wasn't what I expected due in part to my neurosurgeon's expectations and perhaps to my optimism or misunderstanding.

The sciatica pain in the left leg is gone. What a relief. Some lower back pain remains but it's improving. Overall, I'm quite happy with the result, happy with my surgeon's skill and personality, and I hope for further improvement. My neurosurgeon told me we are on a six-month project. I continue in physical therapy.

What I didn't expect: Four days in the hospital was a nightmare. This is a good hospital, too. My Dad went in two years ago for prostate cancer, my sister five years ago for uterine cancer. Both healthy now.

I won't go into the details because there's too much to say. Suffice it to say, contrary to what my neurosurgeon said, I was unable to walk on my own the next day after the surgery or sit in a chair, nor was I able to drive within a week as he predicted. More like six weeks. The day after surgery, and for my duration there, I needed help to walk even the short way to the bathroom, and walking and even sitting or getting back into bed was excruciating. I had thought foolishly that my time at the hospital would consist of quiet recovery and watching TV.

The surgeon came to see me every morning. He told me that the operation was more involved than he thought. Four hours under. Disc had nearly degenerated to nothing, so there wasn't much to remove. He put two titanium screws connecting two spinal bones. Success.

If you are ever in the hospital, I strongly advise you to have someone with you throughout the whole process, including the pre-testing, doctor visits, MRIs, and all the voluminous paperwork. I'm not sure, but I think I signed my body to Google.

My sister stayed with me every night through the night—one person was allowed. I had trouble keeping track of the days. No clock in my room, no windows, hot, loud, busy with people coming in and out all the time. I found the staff in my room to be young, inexperienced, immature, overworked, and lacking in compassion. They weren't bad people. They just didn't seem professional or confident.

The time at home following the surgery was tough, painfull mentally and physically. Fortunately I had a lot of help.

Re: Back pain
deniro #33265 03/04/15 07:10 AM
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> ...people coming in and out all the time.

Did you have to spell your name for every doctor, nurse, and orderly who walked into your room?

I found that infuriating when I had my arthritis surgery last year, particularly because nobody could explain why they were asking me to do it.

I can imagine any number of patients with high blood pressure dying of strokes before they ever get to the operating room because of spelling-related anxiety.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
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