Guest guest Posted September 2, 2002 Report Share Posted September 2, 2002 Is it like a tens unit?? Zanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2002 Report Share Posted September 2, 2002 > > Jerry is on Pred. for pulmonary fibrosis. I didn't hear him > say he had fibro, too! But I did hear something about the device > implanted for his pain. I'd like to hear more about that, and if it > was for fibro pain, or another type of pain? Hi , On Larry King Jerry said he suffered over 35 years of pain due to " pratfalls " in his act. This is pretty vague but sounds like maybe back pain and joint pain? Maybe osteoarthritis? The device is made by Medtronic and involves implanting wires and a battery pack under the skin. (How do you change the batteries??) He has a remote control device to regulate the strength of the electric pulses that control pain. http://www.medtronic.com/hic/pain.html Tomorrow I'm going to pick up an Alpha-Stim to try for insomnia. It's also approved by the FDA for treating pain and anxiety. It's a lot less drastic than the Medtronic, involving putting little electrodes on the earlobes for a period of time each day. If anyone is interested, I'll give a report in a few days. Tenayahh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2002 Report Share Posted September 2, 2002 > Is it like a tens unit?? > > Zanna I've never actually seen a tens unit, that's an external device, right? This one is implanted. Here's from the USA Today article on Jerry : " From 1936 on, " he explains, " I have taken more falls than any other 20 comedians put together. From the time I was 21, I've taken them on everything from clay courts to cement to wood floors, coming off pianos, going out a two-story window, landing on Dean, falling into the rough. You do that and you're gonna have problems. I had pain during the last eight films; I've had pain in 37 straight telethons. I've never had a day without pain since March 20, 1965. " That's when he took a professional fall that chipped a piece of his spine " that would have paralyzed me if it had been another 15th or 16th of an inch. " As it was, the chip led to a much-publicized Percodan addiction at its worst in the early '70s — and more recently a domino effect of afflictions, including nerve damage and the pulmonary fibrosis that has mandated his taking of the steroid prednisone. The drug contributed to his 45-pound weight gain. says his longtime friend, famed heart surgeon DeBakey, calls prednisone the " greatest worst drug in America. " This is all atop past double-bypass surgery, prostate cancer, spinal meningitis and pneumonia. Lying on the couch a foot away is a device that looks something like a TV remote. Manufactured by Minneapolis-based Medtronic, it's the controlling component of a surgically inserted battery pack that one can see vaguely outlined in his left side when he lifts up his shirt. ( " I hate to show you this because I'm so fat, " he says, " but look — see it? " ) Doctors cut bone out of his spine and replaced it with two large electrodes. From the battery pack, he says, " the two electrical leads lock in and are naturally covered with scar tissue. I'm sitting here in pain, but in a minute, I'm not going to have it. When I turn it on like that (beep), I'm vibrating like a vibrator within my skin. I raise the level if it's not working totally. ... I've had no pain since April 20. " It also opens my garage, " he deadpans. ************ I'd think you'd need to be in pretty serious pain to have bone cut out of your spine and wires actually implanted. Seems like the surgery would not be without risk. Tenayahh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2002 Report Share Posted September 2, 2002 > Is it like a tens unit?? > > Zanna I've never actually seen a tens unit, that's an external device, right? This one is implanted. Here's from the USA Today article on Jerry : " From 1936 on, " he explains, " I have taken more falls than any other 20 comedians put together. From the time I was 21, I've taken them on everything from clay courts to cement to wood floors, coming off pianos, going out a two-story window, landing on Dean, falling into the rough. You do that and you're gonna have problems. I had pain during the last eight films; I've had pain in 37 straight telethons. I've never had a day without pain since March 20, 1965. " That's when he took a professional fall that chipped a piece of his spine " that would have paralyzed me if it had been another 15th or 16th of an inch. " As it was, the chip led to a much-publicized Percodan addiction at its worst in the early '70s — and more recently a domino effect of afflictions, including nerve damage and the pulmonary fibrosis that has mandated his taking of the steroid prednisone. The drug contributed to his 45-pound weight gain. says his longtime friend, famed heart surgeon DeBakey, calls prednisone the " greatest worst drug in America. " This is all atop past double-bypass surgery, prostate cancer, spinal meningitis and pneumonia. Lying on the couch a foot away is a device that looks something like a TV remote. Manufactured by Minneapolis-based Medtronic, it's the controlling component of a surgically inserted battery pack that one can see vaguely outlined in his left side when he lifts up his shirt. ( " I hate to show you this because I'm so fat, " he says, " but look — see it? " ) Doctors cut bone out of his spine and replaced it with two large electrodes. From the battery pack, he says, " the two electrical leads lock in and are naturally covered with scar tissue. I'm sitting here in pain, but in a minute, I'm not going to have it. When I turn it on like that (beep), I'm vibrating like a vibrator within my skin. I raise the level if it's not working totally. ... I've had no pain since April 20. " It also opens my garage, " he deadpans. ************ I'd think you'd need to be in pretty serious pain to have bone cut out of your spine and wires actually implanted. Seems like the surgery would not be without risk. Tenayahh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2002 Report Share Posted September 2, 2002 > Is it like a tens unit?? > > Zanna I've never actually seen a tens unit, that's an external device, right? This one is implanted. Here's from the USA Today article on Jerry : " From 1936 on, " he explains, " I have taken more falls than any other 20 comedians put together. From the time I was 21, I've taken them on everything from clay courts to cement to wood floors, coming off pianos, going out a two-story window, landing on Dean, falling into the rough. You do that and you're gonna have problems. I had pain during the last eight films; I've had pain in 37 straight telethons. I've never had a day without pain since March 20, 1965. " That's when he took a professional fall that chipped a piece of his spine " that would have paralyzed me if it had been another 15th or 16th of an inch. " As it was, the chip led to a much-publicized Percodan addiction at its worst in the early '70s — and more recently a domino effect of afflictions, including nerve damage and the pulmonary fibrosis that has mandated his taking of the steroid prednisone. The drug contributed to his 45-pound weight gain. says his longtime friend, famed heart surgeon DeBakey, calls prednisone the " greatest worst drug in America. " This is all atop past double-bypass surgery, prostate cancer, spinal meningitis and pneumonia. Lying on the couch a foot away is a device that looks something like a TV remote. Manufactured by Minneapolis-based Medtronic, it's the controlling component of a surgically inserted battery pack that one can see vaguely outlined in his left side when he lifts up his shirt. ( " I hate to show you this because I'm so fat, " he says, " but look — see it? " ) Doctors cut bone out of his spine and replaced it with two large electrodes. From the battery pack, he says, " the two electrical leads lock in and are naturally covered with scar tissue. I'm sitting here in pain, but in a minute, I'm not going to have it. When I turn it on like that (beep), I'm vibrating like a vibrator within my skin. I raise the level if it's not working totally. ... I've had no pain since April 20. " It also opens my garage, " he deadpans. ************ I'd think you'd need to be in pretty serious pain to have bone cut out of your spine and wires actually implanted. Seems like the surgery would not be without risk. Tenayahh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2002 Report Share Posted September 3, 2002 Mighty interesting, Tenayahh. Thanks for posting it, I missed that article. Aside from that, I know there's some controversy about Jerry and the MD campaign, but don't really know what it's about. And he has never really said why he does the campaign, has he? Lynn tenayahh wrote: > Is it like a tens unit??> > ZannaI've never actually seen a tens unit, that's an external device, right? This one is implanted. Here's from the USA Today article on Jerry :"From 1936 on," he explains, "I have taken more falls than any other 20 comedians put together. From the time I was 21, I've taken them on A smile is the lighting system of the face, the cooling system of the head and the heating system of the heart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand." -Unknown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2002 Report Share Posted September 3, 2002 Mighty interesting, Tenayahh. Thanks for posting it, I missed that article. Aside from that, I know there's some controversy about Jerry and the MD campaign, but don't really know what it's about. And he has never really said why he does the campaign, has he? Lynn tenayahh wrote: > Is it like a tens unit??> > ZannaI've never actually seen a tens unit, that's an external device, right? This one is implanted. Here's from the USA Today article on Jerry :"From 1936 on," he explains, "I have taken more falls than any other 20 comedians put together. From the time I was 21, I've taken them on A smile is the lighting system of the face, the cooling system of the head and the heating system of the heart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand." -Unknown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2002 Report Share Posted September 3, 2002 Mighty interesting, Tenayahh. Thanks for posting it, I missed that article. Aside from that, I know there's some controversy about Jerry and the MD campaign, but don't really know what it's about. And he has never really said why he does the campaign, has he? Lynn tenayahh wrote: > Is it like a tens unit??> > ZannaI've never actually seen a tens unit, that's an external device, right? This one is implanted. Here's from the USA Today article on Jerry :"From 1936 on," he explains, "I have taken more falls than any other 20 comedians put together. From the time I was 21, I've taken them on A smile is the lighting system of the face, the cooling system of the head and the heating system of the heart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand." -Unknown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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