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Thanks, George. These are good things to know. Her leg strength is already borderline for walking and she does not have tremors but instead freezes up. The sinemet has helped for a long time but now, of course, after using it for a long time, she has terrible dykinisia. Problems with balance were actually some of the first symptoms she had before she was diagnosed. So to hear that your leg strength and balance are actually worse is discouraging but good to know, nevertheless. Thanks, Sandy George Campbell wrote: > My bilateral DBS 16 months ago has controlled terrible tremors quite well. > But my over all pain is worse. Also, my balance and leg strength are not > nearly as good as they were prior to DBS. There are several places where the > electrodes can be placed, so maybe she could get some relief. DBS is not > perfect. There are side effects. The surgery is a big deal. Follow up visits > to adjust the units will likely take more time and money than planned. All > total, DBS has been a lifegiver for me. > > People tend to love their DR. but with emotion not reason. The Neurologist > should do only motion disorders. The Surgeon should do ONLY halo surgery. > She should have a dedicated halo surgery room, surgery staff, and follow up > staff. KNOW the real success rate. Some DR's do two are three halo > surgeries per failure, some two or three hundred per failure. > Be careful. The prestige and money surrounding DBS can be blinding to some > DR's. They might be tempted to imply more than they can deliver. > GWC > > --- Original Message ----- > From: "Sandy Fliegelman" <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 2:32 PM > Subject: New subscriber with question about DBS > > > 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 > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn