TIPNA

[RuthCUK]

Hi,

I have recently repatriated from Michigan, USA back to the UK. Some members may recall my case from my signature below, and following my TG surgery in Houston, Tx in April 2004. I should really put my update in Case Studies but it has been a very tough 18 months and I'm not sure I wish to think too hard on the subject at the moment. However, there is a positive outcome in that I am probably about 30% better and the declining, pre-surgery trend has now been reversed. This means I can walk and sit for reasonable amounts of time, and drive a car. But I cannot carry heavy loads or bend over too far without supporting my upper body weight. So now I can at least go shopping in the rain and not worry about slipping on the MI ice getting to the Mall from the huge car park!!!

However, my pain levels remain relatively high (6/10) and now that I've completed the move back to the UK, I wish to follow some prolotherapy treatment. Does anyone in the UK have experience of any Drs registered on the following website? :-

http://www.bimm.org.uk/Home.shtml

I went to see Dr Grayson many years ago and he was very good, but that was in the days when we didn't have a clue what was wrong. We were shooting in the dark and I only had one injection each side. I'm now thinking of returning to see him but I would be interested to hear of anyone elses experiences.

Best wishes to you all - Ruth
_________________
Bilateral TG Surgery Houston Tx, April 2004. Severely compressed nerves at Ischial Spine caused by childbirth in 1991

[amandaf]

Welcome back to the UK Ruth,

Im sure you will have noticed a big change in the surroundings in the time you were away.....but also noticed that the weather hasnt changed!!!! Rain and even more rain!

The link you posted is very useful as it lists some practitioners who offer Prolotherapy etc. Thanks for that information.

I wish you luck in finding a doctor who can help your residual symptoms. It is great to hear that you feel that you have turned a corner even if slightly......its still good news.

Amanda
_________________
PN since March 2003 after Hysterectomy. Pain 24/7, PNMLT Nantes 2004
Surgery Sept 2004,
2 post op blocks Dec04, Feb 05
5 day Epidural / Ketamine Infusion Aug 05
5 day Intrathecal Treatment via Alcocks Canal Jan 06
Retrograde Stimulation - May 2007

[Hilary]

Hello, I have had experience of prolotherapy from a practitioner on the BIMM website. These are all doctors qualified in musculoskeletal medicine. Obviously it depends where you live but if you are near London I can recommend Dr Adam Ward at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. I havent got PNE but I have severe ongoing hamstring strain because of the way I walk which gives me pain in the sitting bones in my bottom. First Dr Ward did steroids but I have now had 6 sessions of prolotherapy and am waiting to see how that pans out. Dr Ward is an NHS Consultant, very experienced. He worked in Paris for a number of years because musculoskeletal medicine more advanced there. He also does clinic one day a week in Tunbridge Wells. He knows Dr Barownoski as they are in the same group of hospitals(University College London Hospitals) so that might be useful. If you were interested you could ring on 020 7391 8888 which is the Royal London Homeopathic and say you want to make a private appointment with him. They will give you his Tunbridge Wells number probably (I havent got it to hand) as he picks his messages up there Tuesday and Friday. He will come back to you promptly and you will speak to him directly, no going through secretaries etc. The cost of each prolotherapy session is £120 and you normally have six. I think the cost would be much the same wherever as they all charge BUPA rates. You are welcome to mention my name!
If I was in the Midlands I might have been tempted to go to Dr Walker - he is an osteopath and anaesthetist. If you type Coventry Pain Clinic into Google he has a very detailed website. If you have any other questions about Prolo you can email me. Good luck!
Hilary

[RuthCUK]

Many thanks Amanda and Hilary for your replies.

Before I departed the USA I had a couple of telephone conversations with Dr Irene Minkoski, a Prolotherapist in San Francisco. She is the medic who takes referals from Dr Weiss and Stephanie (physio) in CA. She has developed a treatment protocol for post-op TG patients from both Houston and France. We discussed type of treatment i.e. which ligaments besides SI joints that required strengthening, number of treatments, and the medications injected. She was extremely helpful and informative. At that point she had treated more than a dozen or so post-op TG patients and was probably the most experience person in prolotherapy treatment for recovering PNE'ers.

It was with regret that my Medical Insurance did not cover this type of treatment. Also, the trip from Michigan to SF on a weekly/biweekly basis would have been far too difficult for me to undertake and not practical, despite having the free airmiles to cover all trips!

From the very good information Hilary has kindly supplied it appears that there are some good Dr's practicing prolotherapy here in the UK and who also appear to be (dare I say it) 'approachable'. They may be interested in Dr Minkoski's approach since we bear such an unusual medical problem.

Just to add - my SI joints are not painful and are holding up just fine. It is the nerves which remain very sore with some residual numbness near scars. I am seeking prolotherapy as the preventative, next stage of treatment, which may help me move on in life with greater 'skeletal' confidence.

Best wishes.
_________________
Bilateral TG Surgery Houston Tx, April 2004. Severely compressed nerves at Ischial Spine caused by childbirth in 1991

[Biaba]

Hello! I believe that Prolotherapy can help in strengthening ligaments. I have read throughout about it and only one problem is that we (most of us) in this forum has overall laxity, which means that there are hundreds or at least tens of different joints which should be fixed. I have called different prolotherapists and tried to research as much as I can. Some of them to refuse to work with generalized laxity, some refuse with neck or spine. I have tried to visit two specialists from http://www.bimm.org.uk/Prolotherapy-Practitioners.shtml but non of them gave me treatment to all back, plus shoulders (which are most problematic areas for me). I asked but they didn't. The reason I was asking for it is that I came to Prolotherapy through US forum, visited US doctor's web sites, watched videos and believed it can help. Only after I started to search in UK and was happy to find therapists here.

Here are videos from US doctors web site (I recommend to you go through his website and read about theraphy, there's a lot of useful info):
http://www.prolonews.com/

And here is info why I believe that treatment should be in more than just couple of places if we have generalized laxity and additionaly pain:
http://www.getprolo.com/optimize_prolotherapy.htm

My question to you is - have you visited Prolotherapist in UK, which gave you treatment in many areas and treated with a lots of injections (not less than 5-10)? Please, advice me if you have good experience!

[Biaba]

Have you had prolotherapy with many injections like here?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NsgU4FVYOA&feature=related

If yes, please could you tell me your doctors name and location in UK? I am searching around UK from BIMM practitioners list but most of doctors I have found do only couple injections in spite of laxity throughout the body.