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JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
David McWhorter
David McWhorter is a career military man. He served in the Marines for 23 years, retiring in 1992 with a rank of first sergeant.
“I started out in infantry, then went into the corrections field, working in the jails,” details David, 73. “After that, I did embassy duty. As a first sergeant, I was primarily in charge of ensuring that everybody in my company’s health and comfort needs were met. I also made sure they were keeping up with their training.”
After leaving the military, David spent 15 years in law enforcement in Florida.
“Initially, I worked for the city of St. Augustine Beach, and then in agriculture for a while,” he expounds. “Ultimately, I went to the Department of Transportation in motor carrier compliance. I made sure all commercial vehicle operators were following the rules.”
David’s service with the Marines included a brutal, yearlong tour in Vietnam. While there, he was exposed to the highly toxic herbicide Agent Orange. As a result, he developed diabetes. Over time, he developed a common complication of diabetes called peripheral neuropathy.
Affecting more than 20 million Americans, peripheral neuropathy develops as a result of damage to the nerves that run from the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) to other parts of the body. In David’s case, the neuropathy primarily affected his lower legs and feet.
But that wasn’t the reason he first sought care from Kai McGreevy, MD, a board-certified neurologist and pain management specialist at McGreevy NeuroHealth, which has offices in St. Augustine and Palm Coast.
“My back started hurting a lot, and I was having trouble walking,” David recounts. “It was really painful, so I went to Dr. McGreevy, and he treated me for sciatica. It took a couple of visits, but my back started to loosen up and feel better.
“But I was also having trouble with the neuropathy in my feet, which hurt so bad I had to sleep with them hanging off the bed. Even when sitting in a chair, I had to kind of keep my feet off of the floor.
“I suffered a head injury in Vietnam, so my threshold for pain is very high. But on a normal night, the pain in my feet was almost a 10 on a scale of one to 10. The tingling, numbness and burning were so bad I couldn’t let anything touch my feet.
“The neuropathy started in the 1990s and got worse and worse. Eventually, it started working up into my calves. Finally, I asked Dr. McGreevy if there was anything he could do for my neuropathy pain.”
An SCS Application
Prior to visiting Dr. McGreevy, David tried multiple conservative therapies, including anti-inflammatories, nerve medications, and hot and cold packs. Nothing worked.
With that in mind, Dr. McGreevy began treating David’s neuropathy with a nerve conduction study to confirm the diagnosis and determine the type of peripheral neuropathy that was afflicting David.
“It is important to identify the type of neuropathy because that determines which treatments we recommend,” the doctor states.
Dr. McGreevy also performed an ANSAR test (autonomic nervous system activity recording). This tool assesses the function of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates involuntary bodily functions.
The test results confirmed that David had severe, symmetrical distal polyneuropathy.
“Distal polyneuropathy is a type of peripheral neuropathy that affects multiple nerves at once in the distal, or farthest point, from the center of the body, such as the lower legs and feet,” Dr. McGreevy explains.
“In addition, while reviewing Mr. McWhorter’s case, we uncovered a history of leprosy (Hansen’s disease), which is a bacterial infection that typically affects the skin, eyes, nose and peripheral nerves. He was successfully treated for that condition, but it meant he suffered two major hits to his peripheral nervous system: diabetes and leprosy. That’s why the conservative therapies did not improve his quality of life or enable him to walk around without pain.”
Based on his findings, Dr. McGreevy suggested addressing David’s neuropathy through spinal cord stimulation (SCS), which uses a small device that applies electrical impulses to the pain source. SCS can reduce the feeling of pain and replace it with a more pleasant sensation called a paresthesia, or no sensation at all.
This stimulator is implanted in the epidural space around the spinal cord.
“Spinal cord stimulation has evolved over the past two decades and specifically for peripheral neuropathy,” Dr. McGreevy notes. “Advances in spinal cord stimulator technology and programming have enabled coverage for the feet in particular. As a result, it has become an excellent option for treating neuropathy.”
Dr. McGreevy first recommended a trial to predict the success of SCS in providing meaningful pain relief and functional improvement. The three-day trial is a “test drive” before a permanent stimulator is implanted surgically.
“Mr. McWhorter reported 90 percent pain relief through the duration of the trial, with a reduction in pain medication use and the ability to walk without discomfort,” Dr. McGreevy notes. “His quality of life improved considerably with the trial, so we proceeded to implant the permanent stimulator this past summer.”
JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
The spinal cord stimulator has reduced David’s distal polyneuropathy pain by more than 90 percent, and he can now stand for hours while working on his vintage cars.
“A Good Tingling”
Since then, David’s neuropathy pain has diminished by more than 90 percent, according to Dr. McGreevy.
“Since I got the stimulator, I’ve been able to sleep really well,” David enthuses. “My feet don’t bother me; I have zero pain in my feet. In fact, we recently went on a vacation to Maine, and I walked up and down hills with no repercussions, no lingering pain at night or anything.”
-David
“The stimulator implant hijacks pain signals so they don’t reach the brain. It creates a tingling sensation in my feet, but it’s a good tingling. It’s not like the tingling I felt before. This tingling makes the pain go away. The stimulator is even helping my sciatica.”
David is impressed with Dr. McGreevy and his work, and he’s grateful for the neurologist’s recommendation to proceed with the spinal cord stimulator for his neuropathy.
“Dr. McGreevy is a good doctor,” David raves. “He’s very knowledgeable and also very patient. He took his time explaining the stimulator treatment and answered all the questions I had about it. Now, I can do my normal activities, and I don’t even feel my feet. I highly recommend Dr. McGreevy and McGreevy NeuroHealth.”
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