SCS and Driving

[trouble74fam]

The Doctor is talking about a spinal cord stimulator, first test coming up. In what I have read it should be turned off when driving. Can it be used when driving, is it on a case by case kind of thing or just NO? is any on using theres when driving? I am the main driver when going somewhere, I have to stop, stretch and rest sometimes but we get there.
Back ground: I was on 5 a day Actiq 800mcg and driving cross country with no problem. Workman's comp. found out after 2-1/2 years that it was expensive and put a stop to that. My doctor in Calif. never documented how we got from Norco to Actiq so they said not with out a trail. The Pain Management I went to went down the same line as before but Actiq is now on the bad list so the doctor said NO. He sent me to a shrink who sent me to a nerve doctor who thinks that SCS might be be a good thing instead. when the lollipop was taken away there was a withdrawal but not bad.
I had L2-L4 ground to relief pinching of nurve roots that lead to lose of control of right leg in 1995, now it is happening to the left leg. When I woke up from the 95 surgery I was VERY surprised and sad by how much pain was being blocked and now had to be dealt with.
I have rattled on enough.
Lookig forward to feedback even if it is not what I might want to here.

trouble

[Wise Young]

The Doctor is talking about a spinal cord stimulator, first test coming up. In what I have read it should be turned off when driving. Can it be used when driving, is it on a case by case kind of thing or just NO? is any on using theres when driving? I am the main driver when going somewhere, I have to stop, stretch and rest sometimes but we get there.
Back ground: I was on 5 a day Actiq 800mcg and driving cross country with no problem. Workman's comp. found out after 2-1/2 years that it was expensive and put a stop to that. My doctor in Calif. never documented how we got from Norco to Actiq so they said not with out a trail. The Pain Management I went to went down the same line as before but Actiq is now on the bad list so the doctor said NO. He sent me to a shrink who sent me to a nerve doctor who thinks that SCS might be be a good thing instead. when the lollipop was taken away there was a withdrawal but not bad.
I had L2-L4 ground to relief pinching of nurve roots that lead to lose of control of right leg in 1995, now it is happening to the left leg. When I woke up from the 95 surgery I was VERY surprised and sad by how much pain was being blocked and now had to be dealt with.
I have rattled on enough.
Lookig forward to feedback even if it is not what I might want to here.

trouble

It is an interesting question. This is the first time that I have that the instructions for spinal cord simulators recommend that the device be turned off for driving. I wonder the extent to which this is based on some accident occurring or the manufacturer just protecting itself from lawsuits. A stimulator by itself is not considered a cause of danger. For example, nobody would require somebody with a cardiac pacemaker to turn it off while driving. I suppose they are afraid that the stimulator may cause some kind of movement that would interfere with driving.

Wise.

[2ndtwin]

I think it probably has alot to do with where it is implanted. Mine is above my right breast and I very rarely turn it off. It is screwed into the very top of my spine. But I do notice that if I put my chin to my chest or tilt my had to the left, it compresses on my spine a little and I do feel a "surge". It never hurts and it has never caused me any problems. I have had it for almost 5 years. If it is implanted in your butt area it may affect your reflexes some depending on how you move. My medtronic scs also says in the instruction manual that you should shut it off while driving. It depends; you know your own body and how it reacts. I can't shut mine off for more than 5 minutes without feeling severe pain.