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Hi, my name is Sandy. I am a new subscriber to this listserv and I have a sister, Pat, who has had Parkinson's for over 20 years now, since she was in her early 30s. She recently had a laminectamy to treat severe sciatica that was the apparent result of one or more herniated discs in her lower back. It's been several weeks since the surgery, she is in a rehab center, and she is still having severe pain in her back with the pain just recently (in the last 3-4 days) recurring in her affected leg. She is in so much pain right now that they are giving her what they say is the maximum amount of painkiller and she still can't fathom sitting up or getting out of bed. (She was walking a bit just last week.) I did some research on the Internet over the weekend and found several articles that indicated that pain can be caused by Parkinson's itself but that the mechanism by which it occurs are somewhat mysterious. The articles also seem to indicate that the brain's interpretation of pain signals may also be altered. The research into pain led me into several articles on Deep Brain Stimulation. Some of these articles indicate that DBS can help with the pain in addition to restoring a great deal of lost functionality. My questions are as follows: 1) Does anyone have knowledge or experience of DBS and it's effects on pain, and 2) Can anyone give me advice as to how to find a good Doctor and/or hospital to perform this procedure? (My sister and I live near the city of Chicago in the state of Illinois in the USA). Thank you, Sandy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn