40 – Pain and Pain Relief

Intense pain is a suffering that most stroke survivors have after the stroke.  They may have intense pain due to damage to the nerves that control their muscles. This nerve damage may cause muscles to contract for long periods going into painful spasms or spasticity. While most stroke survivors have intense pain after the stroke, some find pain relief from previous nerve problems.

Albert had pain from spasticity in his hand, arm, side and his leg after the stroke. He was given baclofen and other pain blockers, as well as therapies to relieve the pain. Some of the pain relievers worked while others only worked partially.  His pain after the stroke was in different areas of his body then his pain was before the stroke, but both were intense.

Albert was in a great deal of pain before his stroke. When he was in his late 30s, he had his first surgery to remove cancer cells from his left salivary gland.  Unknown to Albert, the tip of his former dentist’s metal file broke off and embedded itself into one of his molar canals while he was getting a root canal.  The dentist didn’t tell him about this at the time and years later, his new dentist saw a problem and sent him to an oncologist. After many tests and X-rays, Albert was told that he had salivary gland cancer.  The surgery was successful, but Albert had to follow up with two to three months of radiation,

In his 40’s, Albert had another surgery on his left shoulder to repair his rotator cuff.  Doctors stated that the radiation that he received after his salivary cancer had weakened the tendons and muscles in his shoulder and they were detaching.  Surgery was scheduled to repair the damage that the radiation had caused.  The surgery was moderately successful in that the muscles and tendons were reattached, but Albert was in intense pain.  As his shoulder healed, the nerves in his shoulder began to twitch and grow.  Over the following months, his left shoulder grew on its own making his left shoulder appear fuller, taller, and more muscular than his right shoulder.  Albert went back to his doctor.

Ultimately Albert’s doctors implanted a spinal cord stimulator alongside his spine with a battery pack that was placed in his butt cheek. The stimulation to the nerve from the stimulator was supposed to stop the growth of the shoulder.

What was supposed to regulate the muscle growth in his shoulder, gave him more pain than he or his doctor expected, and he was given morphine for this pain.  Albert stayed in the hospital until doctors got on top of the pain.  When he came home from the hospital, he was exhausted and still in pain, manageable pain.

Albert was able to go back to work, worship, playing golf, hanging out with his friends, etc., for years, and then came the stroke that changed his life.  

Since the stroke, Albert has had a lot of pain from spasticity, in his side, legs, and hands.  The pain keeps him in bed for hours at a time.  Some days he only gets out of bed to go to the restroom. Therapies with pain blockers have been helpful, but having a positive outlook and faith in God have gotten him through each day.  The pain comes and goes daily, but each day he wakes up and has life.