Spinal Cord Stimulation

[GRCJ]

Please Tell Me Your Expiriences Using The Spinal Cord Stimulation, Because I Have Already Go Trough Two Surgerys, And I Think Is A Good Alternative

[alan]

Had one. The stimulator position was changed three times. Never helped anything at any placement or setting.

[GRCJ]

Alan,

Was Your Stimulatorof The Brand Medtronic, And What Are You Doing With Your Pain, Where Does It Hurts.

[metronycguy]

i had one probably had 5 procedures after permanent installation due to abscesses suture rejection, finally had everything removed about a month ago, they tried to put a retrograde lead in but it still wasn't covering the area i had pain, my pain is in my toes, the roots are harder to get coverage on.

[GRCJ]

Alan And Mike,

Just Make Sure That The Stimulator Is Medtronic, And What About The Meds.

[firesmurf]

personally,I think the biggest thing that would come into play regarding even attempting one would be just how really stable is your pain with regard to just 'does it stay in one place and are you getting 'new' pain'?

for me,only because i keep getting new and improved pain in brand new places,this just appears to be a constant evolving thing for me.it would most definitely not be a real effective tool.

my NS,only two months after he damaged my spinal cord,wanted me to be evaluated for one,just to try and treat mostly my central pain(at that point in time,alot of the really"fun" stuff hadn't even popped in yet.)but my RSD knee was just beginning but not too bad yet.i was just kind of suprised that he wanted me to do this so very quickly after having major spinal cord surgery as he has to know just how those lovely secondary spinal cord syndromes and the other wierd neuro crap sets in over the first year or so.this just would have required many many adjustments for me.anytime your pain changes,its back into the surgery for an electrode replacement ya know?

the thing is,if you go to the medtronics web site,it states right on their own site that the stim is NOT reccomended as a first line tool for pain mangement.only after trying and failing with other modalities should the stim even be contemplated.it should just never even be brought up til you have at the very least given other modalities a good trial run.

i know for some people,the stim has been a godsend but for others it has caused ongoing spinal cord problems and even infections.

I would most definitely do some research on spinal cord stimulator,side effects or something like that,before really seriously deciding to do the trial run with it.they will always do the trial first just to see if you would even be a good candidate for the real deal.

just curious if you have ever tried the TENS unit at all to try and treat your pain?its "kind of' like the stim but is in no way as deep or stimulates as far down to the nerve roots like the the implanted stim.but it could possibly work for you too.

during last summer when the heat and mostly that lovely dewpoint and humidity was making my RSD knee go just totally off the charts,instead of seeking a raise in my meds,I asked my PM about trying the TENS instead for my flare ups.honestly it was the best thing i ever tried for the deep bone ache i had in the head of my femur,which is just one part of my RSD pain.it didn't do a whole lot for the actual deep burning i had,but will knock down the deeper bone ache pain to a much tolerable level for me.I really don't know what I would do without it now that I have had it for about a year.

but should you decide to actually try the stim,i know they do a pretty comprehensive eval on you before they will even let you do the trial.they just want to make darn sure that this would work and whether or not(mentally) you would be able to handle all that comes along with having it implanted.I do believe you also see a psyc doc of some sort.Alan would know,Alan?do you remember all that you had to do before they let you try it?

just make sure you have exhausted all other possibilities first before going with that stim.there are many other options availiable to at least give a shot.i wish you luck,Marcia

[David Berg]

Just for the sake of folks being able to make an informed decision, I should mention that while electrical stimulation provides blessed relief to some extent for a whole lotta folks, it is possible to go the other way in rare cases. I've heard of from a couple people who tried TENS units for whom the stimulation triggered a month or two of heightened pain. Apparently it set off a cascade of electrical signals that did the exact opposite of what was desired...more pain. Fortunately, in the cases I heard about it did subside back to "normal" levels, but wasn't much fun in the meantime. That said, if I was in that situation, even with what I've heard, I would probably give it a shot. It's a rare enough reaction and I'd judge that the potential for relief would be worth trying for.

[metronycguy]

mine was a ANS spinal cord stimulator it was the newest one with the octa lead.
supposed to give the most coverage of all, it definitely had adequate coverage, just not where i needed it. my problem is my pain is in the most distal area the toes , feels lie someone is hack sawing them off .
i think if you get coverage in your painful ares it will work.
remember they always do a trail first to see if you get coverage.

[David Berg]

my problem is my pain is in the most distal area the toes
Unfortunately, one of the common hallmarks of central pain is that it can often affect the distal parts of the body the most.

[alan]

My stimulator was Medtronic.

At the moment, nothing is being done for the pains (which are everywhere below my level of injury, C-5), because nobody knows what to do. Not getting any sleep because of them is undoubtedly making me feel worse, as is eating next to nothing (even less than usual.) Massage therapist says all my muscles are very tight, more than usual.

I try my TENS occasionally, but I don't know where it should be placed for shoulder blade pain (no diagrams for tha area on any of the TENS sites I've looked at.)

[David Berg]

Alan, try sending a PM to SCINurse and see if one of them can help figure that out.

[dejerine]

The weak link is the point where the electrode delivers its current. I think about every four years the electrodes can expect to have migrated.

[dejerine]

Electrodes inherently migrate or come loose. I think Medtronic is proven, but they charge so much, there is competition brewing and the newer companies are for real. The things is, electrode efficiency may be more important than the placement. These stimulators are, after all, not rocket science, they just deliver a pulse of certain wave characteristic (amperage, milliwatts, frequency, etc) which should be rather elementary given the fact nerve stimulators have been around since the sixties. What matters is delivering the pulse over a wide area of nerve tissue so a lot of energy can pass without burning anything (heating up at one point). This is the same problem in TENS units. The contact points are the real essence of which machine is good and which is bad. Not than any of them are necessarily good for central pain. If the cauda equina people cannot even get placement, how do we deal with someone with pain all through the body?? That is a lot of stimulators and electrodes to deal with. The ones that go into the thalamus and deep brain have a thirty percent incidence of brain damage. We need something better for higher injuries. Distal worsening is the rule in central pain burning dysesthesia, as David has said. Of course, the lancinating pains are not necessarily distal. Neither are the muscle pains. Neither is the visceral pain.

[firesmurf]

Hey alan? i have found with my TENS electrode placement that as long as the electrodes are "criss crossed" and the signal is actually running 'thru' the area of pain,that appears to be the key as far as placement.i am sure it would be almost impossible for you to actually place these appropriately in your own back in the way they would work the best.if you have someone that could try doing this for you and just try slightly different locations with the electrodes,you may finally hit that area of pain.but they just HAVE to be in that criss cross pattern with that signal going 'thru' the painful area in order to obtain the best possible benefit.

when I got my unit,i went thru a PT person and she wemnt over everything with me as in where my worst pain was and the best placement.i am still having to move the trodes around tho everytime i use it as my painful areas in my knee seem to jump around on certain days.but if you can just get someone to work with you one day,and it may take a while because you have to set the trodes and then run the current up high enough to see if this is indeed the right spot before trying a different location.but its worth it if you find that "perfect" spot,ya know?

one big thing to always remember tho,and I learned this the hard way?always always,shut OFF the unit BEFORE you attempt to lift off the trodes or you will get this wonderful zap to remind you for the next time.just a helpful suggestion.I do think considering what you suffer with Alan,it would be worth the time and effort to try and really see if this would help.just always make sure to run the wires to the trodes in that criss cross.i wouldn't give my TENS up now for anything.hope you can get the right placement and the benefits Alan.marcia

[David Berg]

It's not just placement. I picked up a simple TENS unit last year and after while tried some 2.5" pads instead of the 2" ones that came with it. The signal and sensations were MUCH different. It gave me an appreciation that properly using a TENS to it's full effectiveness is a bit of an art.

[LBUSH49]

after 7 operations I had a Spinal Stimulator made by Medtronics and it has worked wonders for me no more Bottom pain the DR. told me it would only take away the pain in one leg , I was lucky there it took away the pain in both legs , Oh I still have those days living in New Hampshire the weather alaways changing and the DR. did say I would still be on pain medication mine was done at a pain clinic where they manage your pain levels all the time , but for me it has worked wonders compare to what I was going through they do a 14 day trial and if it doesn't work then they take it out I love mine LBUSH

[LBUSH49]

Alan I was lucky workerscomp paid for mine my DR. told me the total cost if they do the final implant is about $30,000.00 no wqnder why insurance is so expensive , it took them 3 weeks to get the ok to do it , if my injury wasn't work related I'd be in debt up to and over my ears good luck Larry