I trialed a St. Jude Spinal Cord Stimulator and it was not great. My dr said I could get another SCS, but not another trial. So, my permanent implant brand will be 100% based on my research. This poll would be my research. I have nerve pain all over from Lyme disease and 8 herniated discs. I'm 31 and can't drive, have sex, work, or barely leave the house. Thanks.
Please only respond if satisfied with your decision. Thanks
I had a Boston Scientific SCS put in about 3 years ago. I have a T6 SCI with severe nerve pain from my injury level (mid chest) down. It helps a little bit with the pain at/above my injury level, not much. But it does nothing for the pain below, unfortunately. I don't even leave it on most of the time.
I will say though, that I know people personally that can't live without it. Granted, they don't have a spinal cord injury like me, their pain is from other issues. But it works for them. I wish I could say the same for myself, but it just isn't that helpful. But that may be because I have no feeling below my chest anyway, aside from the nerve pain, so it may not apply to your situation in the same way.
I decided to try the SCS because I am in so much pain 24/7 that I didn't want to look back years down the road knowing that there was something that may have helped with my pain but I chose not to try it.
A complete profile would make people more likely to trust you with their personal information. Thanks.Originally Posted by JohnnyUF
I trialed a St. Jude Spinal Cord Stimulator and it was not great. My dr said I could get another SCS, but not another trial. So, my permanent implant brand will be 100% based on my research. This poll would be my research. I have nerve pain all over from Lyme disease and 8 herniated discs. I'm 31 and can't drive, have sex, work, or barely leave the house. Thanks.
Please only respond if satisfied with your decision. Thanks
(KLD)
The SCI-Nurses are advanced practice nurses specializing in SCI/D care. They are available to answer questions, provide education, and make suggestions which you should always discuss with your physician/primary health care provider before implementing. Medical diagnosis is not provided, nor do the SCI-Nurses provide nursing or medical care through their responses on the CareCure forums.
Done
In order to hit all those dermatomes, you would need 2 leads put in. One at the thoracic/cervical level, and one at the lumbar/thoracic level. When I did my trial with the St Jude, they placed one lead in my cervical and one in my thoracic, and it managed to get the tingling mode all over my body (except for above my neck of course). However, I just didn't like the St. Jude. I do, also, want to know if all other systems could reach my entire body like the St. Jude did - I assume all the dr would have to do is emulate the levels he places the previous leads at.
I did have two leads put in. I had to use a surgically implanted trial stimulator, as they weren't able to run the leads all the way up my spine due to scar tissue. They put one paddle around T3, above my injury level and one around T8, below my injury level. Each paddle had 16 electrodes on it. All the lower paddle did was make my legs and stomach spasm, so I know it was working that low, it just didn't have any affect on the pain. At the end of the trail week, they just removed the lower paddle and left the upper one in. Then ran the leads down my back next to my spine, to the pulse generator.
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