Jerry Lewis Tells of Four-Decade Battle with Chronic Pain

Comic legend Jerry Lewis showed his serious side when he spoke to a rapt audience in Manhattan this week. In fact, he had something in common with almost everyone who came to see him: life-shattering chronic pain. Lewis had an important message: chronic pain is a horrendous burden, but it can be vanquished with the help of a doctor specializing in pain management and the right treatment. A panel of pain management specialists and patients followed Lewis’ emotional presentation.


Lewis explained that his trademark falls, a stunt that made audiences laugh throughout his career, took a terrible toll on his back. Over the years, it kept getting worse, but the “adrenaline rush” made it possible for him to perform. “From 1965 to two years ago, I had the kind of excruciating pain that drove me one minute away from suicide.” If his daughter hadn’t found him with a gun and stopped him, it would all be over, he said.


Dr. Philip Wagner, a pain management specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan who was on the panel, says chronic pain is grossly undertreated in the United States. And when people fail to find the right doctor and continue to suffer, many feel suicide is their only escape.


Chronic pain is defined as pain that recurs or persists for at least six months. Experts believe it affects 70 million Americans. “For many, it really is a tragedy,” Wagner says. “Advances in the understanding and treatment of chronic pain can significantly improve quality of life, but many people don’t get the help they need. It is important for them to find a caring physician specializing in pain management.”


Most doctors receive little training in the area of pain control, according to Wagner. Pain management is a licensed medical subspecialty that requires extra training. Wagner is an anesthesiologist and internist with a special credential in pain management.


Of the 150 people who came to the conference, many carried canes to help them walk. Others arrived in wheelchairs. Loved ones attended to get information for family members. There seemed to be a sad solidarity among the people in the audience. Some of those who asked questions of the speakers seemed resigned to their suffering, others had a quiet desperation in their voices.


But Jerry Lewis gave them a message of hope and said he was at the conference “to give something back.” After 37 years of suffering and countless doctors’ visits, he finally found relief in the form of a device called a neurostimulator. Permanently implanted near his spine, the device sends mild electrical impulses to the spinal cord to prevent pain signals from traveling to the brain. Lewis controls the electrical impulses by pressing a button. “My whole body tingles… and it opens my garage door,” he joked.


Fifty-three year-old Susan Herfield of Woodbury, Long Island, also told the audience she was helped by the neurostimulator. But not before six years of suffering, after she tripped on a curb and broke her foot. Herfield has a disease called reflex sympathetic dystrophy or RSD. Most often, it develops after an injury and leads to unrelenting pain. After the initial injury heals, the body plays a cruel trick. Nerves misfire and pain signals go awry, continuing to travel to the brain from the injury site. Herfield says excruciating pain tormented her day and night, bringing her to the brink of suicide. “If I didn’t have a family, I would have killed myself,” she said. “It was raw nerve-ending pain – the worst pain that anyone could ever feel.” She said the neurostimulator gave her life back to her.


Wagner cautioned that although many people are helped by the neurostimulator, not everyone is a candidate. It is generally used to treat pain in the back or limbs. But numerous other treatments are available, including pain medications, nerve blocks and complementary therapies, such as relaxation techniques. “People with chronic pain should find a caring doctor with whom they feel comfortable and who acts as a partner in their care,” he said.


Although chronic pain cannot always be completely eliminated, the idea is to help people become more functional and have the life they want to live, according to Wagner. Unfortunately, misconceptions about chronic pain prevent many people from getting the help they need.


Contrary to popular belief, pain medications are not addictive in appropriate cases and help many people to lead satisfying lives, Wagner says. Other myths about chronic pain can be just as damaging, he says. “Sometimes, if the precise medical cause can’t be found, there’s this erroneous notion that the pain is not real. Any time a doctor tells a patient that the pain is ‘in their head,’ he should look for another physician.” Wagner says anyone who believes chronic pain is something they’ll just have to live with is also mistaken. It is not a sign of weakness to seek treatment, and people should not stop until they find a doctor who helps them. Jerry Lewis would surely agree.