United Pain Center – St. Paul

United Pain Center is a hospital-based outpatient clinic that provides comprehensive services for individuals experiencing pain. The clinic offers a variety of interventions, including injection therapies, pain medication management, psychological assessment and support, biofeedback and acupuncture.

At United Pain Center, we can help eliminate or reduce your pain. There are times, though, when it is not realistic to expect pain to completely go away. When this is the case, you still have options. Our staff can teach you techniques that are useful in managing your pain, so the pain doesn't manage your life.

We diagnose and treat all types of pain on an outpatient basis. Chronic pain conditions may include headaches, neck and back pain, repetitive injuries or pain due to cancer or trauma. We also treat some types of acute pain, such as post-herpetic neuralgia (shingles pain).

Forms

• Patient packet
• Medical records / release of information

Pre-procedure reminders

These instructions are for your safety. Failure to follow will result in cancellation of your procedure.

• Please arrive 30 minutes prior to your appointment.
• Please arrive 60 minutes early for SCS appointments.
• If you arrive after your scheduled appointment time, you may be asked to reschedule.
• Up to 2 hours before scheduled procedure start time you may have clear liquids. Examples include water, fruit juice without pulp, and black coffee or tea (do NOT add creamer). Clear hard candies such as lemon drops and chewing gum are included in this category.
• Up to 8 hours before scheduled procedure start time you may have solid food. Examples include light meal such as toast or oatmeal and liquids containing dairy products such as milk, tube feedings & yogurt or solid components such as pulp and candy. Heavy (high-fat) solids examples include meat and fried or fatty foods.
• Patients must have a 6-hour delay after chewing tobacco as this is something that may be swallowed.
• You may take your medications as prescribed with a small sip of water the morning of your procedure and bring these medications to the appointment.
• You will need a driver after discharge. There are no exceptions. 
• Please inform us if you have diabetes.

Blood thinning medication instructions

If you take blood thinning medication, you must check with your prescribing physician about going off of them prior to your appointment. If you have had recent cardiac stent placement, you may not be able to stop blood thinners.

To perform spine injections safely, it is advised that you be off of blood thinning medication for a certain number of days:

• Aspirin(dose of more than 325mg every day)
  • For lumbar epidural steroid injections:
    • If patient has cardiovascular disease (history of stroke, heart attack, cardiac stents, or blood clot) or are at high risk, they may continue to take 81 mg. aspirin.
    • If patient does not need to be on aspirin for medical reasons, such as cardiovascular disease (stroke, heart attack, cardiac stents, or blood clots), patient to stop aspirin for 10 days before your procedure.
  • Cervical/ Thoracic epidural injections – off all aspirin for 10 days
  • For Spinal Cord Stimulator Trials – you must be off aspirin for 10 days.
• Effient (Prasugrel) 7 days prior
• Fragmin 10 days prior
• Lovenox 24 hours prior
• Plavix 7 days prior
• Ticlid 7 days prior
• Trental 14 days prior 
• Xarelto 72 hours prior

These medicines require additional instructions:

• For Coumadin (Warfarin), you must be off 5 days prior and obtain an INR before the appointment.
• For Eliquis (Apixaban) 2 days prior and no INR needed.
• For Pradaxa, you must be off for 5 days prior to injection and have a PTT checked before the appointment.
• If taking daily aspirin greater than 325mg (for cervical epidural injections only) stop taking it 10 days before procedure.

If you are taking any other blood thinners not listed above, please call the patient care line at 651-241-7365.