[Ingtar]

I would hope that at some point he gets the back fixed. If the physical addiction is overcome and the pain is removed, it sure would make his road a bit smoother.

[1Old Pro]

I would hope that at some point he gets the back fixed.

That's what's worriesome. Some back problems aren't fixable and we know he tried once.

[weegee]

Jerry Lewis (the comedian) was on Conan O'Brien's show about a month ago. He had endured serious back pain and was frustrated to the point that he nearly took a gun and committed suicide (he says that his (grand?)daughter walked in).

He spent much of his appearance promoting some device that he had medically inserted that has a remote control and sends electrical shocks to the nervous system to disrupt the pain signals (it can be throttled to counteract higher levels of pain). He was so impressed by this device that he wanted to work as a spokesman for the company just to help others end their pain.

Some may see it as a snake oil salesman trick but I don't think that he's a paid spokesman and he seemed very obsessed by the benefits of this device.