We live in Chicago. (Western Suburb) My husband got Parkinson since 2009. He has pain and stenosis. He wants to adjust his dosages. Please suggest a good Doctor/hospital we should go which can take care of all our problems.
Problems
1 Pain
2 Parkinson
3 Constipation
4 Stenosis
Information
1 Heart Pacemaker
Make = MEDTRONIC
Model=Azure S DR MRI Sure Scan W3DR0I
( implant in March 2021)
Thanks
SD
Pain from stenosis vs Parkinson Pain can be difficult to treat. My HWP has foraminal stenosis and had a lumbar fusion L5/S1. The difficulty is PD pain is different from pain from nerve compression. Many people with PD respond well to PD meds and get some pain relief. HWP all over body pain did improve, but his specific leg/lumbar pain did not improve much. For that it is a combination of over the counter NSAIDs tylenol and when it is really awful pain medication. He ices almost every night and goes to physical therapy 2x week. Folks here have reported that umPEA helps with inflammation and pain. Have you tried epidural spinal injections for the stenosis? Also, have to try different OTC pain, ibuprofen use to help, now onto naproxin. Supplements to try (curcumin) may help with overall inflammation and reduce pain. We are also using the Kalio pain patch, he said it helps, wears it 24hrs, adhesive irrates skin and we then take a break. Patch seems like a gimmick but he said it helps, I think it may be like a weak external spinal cord stimulator redirecting pain signals to brain. Initially I placed the patch at his injury site (L4) and he said his leg pain went crazy, per instructions I moved it up the spine and until the pain reduced. Not a miracle, but it helps and is not a drug.
Regarding getting a neurologist in your area, go to Michael J. Fox website and see if there is an MD or hospital facility that is a "center of excellence" for Parkinson's. Teaching hospitals tend to have more information for patients. Appointments can be difficult to get, I suggest stating he needs a medication adjustment because pain has become intolerable. Ofcourse they will make final determination regarding meds but you may get in sooner.
Good Luck!
-Syd
FWIW, my sciatica is in remission as a result of consuming fish oil. I wrote about this here:
I would say that the Shirley Ryan ability Lab, part of Northwestern, would have the strongest program although there are a lot of good institutions there (someone mentioned Rush which is also excellent). However, SRA has a team that works quite a bit with issues that can impact Parkinson’s but aren’t directly related to the Parkinson’s (such as that stenosis). Interestingly, they actually have a fellowship position for a physiatrist within their movement disorders program; that’s more or less a diagnostician for musculoskeletal issues. In fact, may have already seen a physiatrist (also called a physical medicine and rehabilitation doc or PM&R) when you were looking at your options to address the stenosis as they often act as an interlocutor before referral to a surgeon
I just had a second spinal fusion surgery and most (if not all) of the pain has gone away. Both the stenosis pain along with what I thought was the Parkinsons pain!
Hi was it a level above previous fusion? My HWP fusion is at L5/S1. Thanks.
Yes. I had various vertebrae above L5S1 fused about two years ago. Suddenly a month ago I received reports of an almost severance of the spinal column just ABOVE those vertebrae. So I had to have that one fused in addition.
I think I heard someone tell me that L5S1 had in the meantime self-fused!
I had an amazing doctor who did both surgeries WITHOUT ANY PAIN WHATSOEVER!!
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