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Anti-pain implants


SorryNotSorry

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SorryNotSorry

Consider this my own spin-off from Vampyremage's thread about pain ( http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/78332-pain/ ).

Last night my ankles hurt so bad, I could barely stand. I've never had gallstones, but this pain I experienced could not have been far behind.

I've tried just about all the pain pills: aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, opiods... no workee!!!

So then I got to wondering: years ago, surgeons used to implant small gold needles filled with radon gas into some cancerous tumors to shrink them, so why can't the design be modified a bit to fill gold needles with a powerful local anesthetic like Lidocaine or Tetracaine, with a small hole in the side of the needle to allow a patient's tissue fluids to slowly dissolve a low, steady dose of anesthetic into the area where the pain is, and keep it perpetually numb? Then every 6 months or so, you just have your doctor extract the empty gold needle for recycling, and have a new full one inserted. This, I think, would be a more feasible solution to my problem than some surgery which I probably can't afford even with insurance, and after which I wouldn't know how long I'd be off my feet.

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Janus the Fox

There's probably medical research done on this somewhere.

They could do more harm than good, but I think there's an economic side to this...

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Its an interesting idea although I'm not sure about the practicalities of it. I've had local anesthetic used on me before and the results are quite profound. At least with the stuff I've had used on me, I can't see myself actually desiring to have any part of my body that profoundly numbed, even to help eliminate pain, but perhaps if there was something available to partially numb a particular area? The local I've had used on me has been pretty complete in the sense of having no feeling in the area at all and I'm just not sure that's something especially practical to have long term. In my particular case, a local wouldn't help much anyway due to the nature of my pain issues, but perhaps it might be something to be considered for others.

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Interesting thoughts. I wonder if an organic-based implant might work better, like it can just dissolve slowly overtime. I have never heard about the gold needle before. The idea of numbing an area of my body though, I do not believe I would do it unless the pain was extreme. My body is numb enough without adding to it.

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SorryNotSorry

The only drawback is, there are always bleeding-heart types (I call them "feelers") who sob that "pain is a useful warning signal", but apparently these people have never experienced constant joint pain.

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The only drawback is, there are always bleeding-heart types (I call them "feelers") who sob that "pain is a useful warning signal", but apparently these people have never experienced constant joint pain.

This. I have a strange relationship with pain. On the one side, I'm something of a masochist. I engage in hook suspensions and various body modification procedures. Pain is absolutely part of the experience of suspension for me and without it the experience wouldn't' be the same. On the other side, I live in constant chronic pain and that is not any fun at all. For me, it comes down to choice. The pain I choose is the pain I embrace, the pain I'm stuck with whether I want it or not is the pain I would really rather not have. Those who have never experienced chronic pain really don't have a place to judge those of us who have, as pertains to how we decide to deal with our pain.

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Wouldn't excessive anesthetic eventually cause loss of strength of something like ankles?

I dunno, this just sounds like a duct tape solution to a renovation. I'm also pretty sure this exact topic was posted within the last 6 months.

edit:

Ah yes, you mentioned that in this thread:

http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/73785-drug-implants/page__p__2131668__fromsearch__1#entry2131668

Someone posted this link about shocking nerves along your spine to reduce pain which sounds quite possible, probable, and effective if we ever see it used regularly:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/tiny-implants-combat-chronic-pain

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The only drawback is, there are always bleeding-heart types (I call them "feelers") who sob that "pain is a useful warning signal", but apparently these people have never experienced constant joint pain.

Well, I've never experienced constant joint pain, but I've experienced constant kidney stone pain, and I'm still going with the "useful warning signal" thing - there's no way I could tell when one of my kidneys is actually blocked without being able to feel pain, at least not until it got to the point where it was imminently life-threatening, because it's only being able to distinguish between different types of pain that lets me know that it's blocked kidney versus just a small stone poking into something.

That said, something to minimize it, where I could still feel the pain and have an idea of what's happening in my body, but it'd be more on the intensity of a bruise that's a couple days old, that would be absolutely awesome.

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Look up nerve block, which is a bit similar. I'm not entirely sure how an implant would work, as it seems a nerve block is an incredibly precise procedure. After all, you can't just numb any nerve - it has to be a particular one and at a high enough level to relieve the pain.

However, it is a surgical procedure and as a result, the cost is probably quite high. There are a number of other long-acting, slow-release opiates out there that are non-invasive - opioid patches, extended-release capsules, etc. - and then combine them with short-acting, "as needed" medications. The problem is that treating pain is only recently becoming a thing for doctor's to learn and become experts about. A lot of doctors are still hesitant to prescribe pain medications and/or don't take the time to learn about the etiology of pain and the best ways to treat it. Also on the flip side, a lot of patients are unwilling to take opiates for fear of getting addicted to them.

Also, there are various types and causes of pain. For example, pain from inflammation is different from nerve pain, which is different from surgical/trauma pain. Or you could have multiple causes of pain. It's important, then, to determine what is causing the pain and you can use different categories of medications synergistically to treat the pain. For example, a friend of mine gets flare-ups from her lupus. She treats these with steroids for the inflammation and an opiate (not sure which kind) to help with the pain itself.

So then I got to wondering: years ago, surgeons used to implant small gold needles filled with radon gas into some cancerous tumors to shrink them[...]

Actually, they still have this kind of therapy - see brachytherapy! The technique and types of radiation are probably a bit different, but the concept is still there.

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Consider this my own spin-off from Vampyremage's thread about pain ( http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/78332-pain/ ).

Last night my ankles hurt so bad, I could barely stand. I've never had gallstones, but this pain I experienced could not have been far behind.

I've tried just about all the pain pills: aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, opiods... no workee!!!

So then I got to wondering: years ago, surgeons used to implant small gold needles filled with radon gas into some cancerous tumors to shrink them, so why can't the design be modified a bit to fill gold needles with a powerful local anesthetic like Lidocaine or Tetracaine, with a small hole in the side of the needle to allow a patient's tissue fluids to slowly dissolve a low, steady dose of anesthetic into the area where the pain is, and keep it perpetually numb? Then every 6 months or so, you just have your doctor extract the empty gold needle for recycling, and have a new full one inserted. This, I think, would be a more feasible solution to my problem than some surgery which I probably can't afford even with insurance, and after which I wouldn't know how long I'd be off my feet.

The people that would want to use it would. I wouldn't, even with my experience of having chronic--menstruation-related, so every 2 weeks it'd happen like clockwork--bouts of excruciating pain for about 2 years. I might say differently if I had to go my whole life with it, but whatevs. I'd use it if I wanted to, wouldn't if I didn't.

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never odd or even

You wouldnt be able to walk anyway if your ankle was numbed cause that would go to your foot too.... you could also end up seriously injuring your ligaments, tendons, muscles, or even bones if you walk and cannot feet your feet.

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