Stimulated?

Disability and DVT, My Treatment Add comments

Mar 022009

Getting the wheelchair was probably the single biggest thing to make a difference in the first couple of years. I was on handfuls (literally) of tablets and the effects weren’t really that good! As is the case with opioid painkillers, they become less effective over time. When they didn’t really do the job in the first place, it became more and more disappointing as the pain started to increase again.

I was still seen by the pain clinic at the Infirmary and had a useful period of time with the Pain Management Team at the Astley Ainslie. They tried to help me pace my life more effectively and change my attitude towards the pain with some Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques.

Unfortunately though, I was still in a state of desperation. When I went back to the Infirmary, I asked (quite seriously) about amputation. The request was refused but a process called Spinal Column Stimulation was suggested instead. It was agreed that we would seek further information and a referral.

The process took nearly two years but it was worth it in the end!

The procedure was not available in Scotland, so it took a while to find a hospital that would agree to ‘look’ at my case. Fortunately, The Walton Centre in Liverpool stepped up to the mark. Once their agreement was secured, there then had to be an application for funds. This took time but was eventually sorted out and I was invited down to Liverpool for an initial assessment.

Following this, I was offered a ‘trial run’ with the results of this dictating whether I would be offered the final procedure. Each of these steps were quite detailed, so I will deal with them separately but the important thing was that I was offered the procedure and to a large extent it was successful. I’m certainly glad I had it done, but do wish a bit of ‘fine tuning’ will be possible.

For those interested, I will write an account of the details of each step. I was viewed as a bit of an experimental case. The team at Liverpool said they had not tried the procedure on anyone with the same pain profile before. They were keen to stress that they did not know how effective it would be. I know how well it works and if I have any complaint it’s that I think it could work better than it does. I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to go through the same procedure again.