Spinal Stimulator ?

[Johnch]

Well after working with the Doctor for over a year
Ohio Workman's Comp is allowing me to get a trial Spinal Stimulator
As the injections to kill nerves is not lasting as long as hoped and the head pain is returning way to fast

So after suffering WAY to LONG

The spinal stimulator is to help with headaches and nerve pain in and on my head and my shoulders

I know this will not be a cure all
But as I have told the Doctor
I will try anything to help with the pain short of it killing me

Anyone have a Spinal Stimulator ?
What is the Good , Bad and Ugly of the stimulator ?

The Trial Spinal Stimulator has the battery pack on the outside , I guess on my back in a package
But if it works , I will have to make sure they place the permanent battery on my left side if recoil of a gun will mess with it

I sure hope it helps as much as possible
As trying to explain to most people that I am in constant pain from skull fractures that happened 8 + years ago is stopping me from getting out to do just about anything is hard to do

Thanks
John

[Rcmaveric]

Not sure about head pain....

I had a friend with a fractured his spine. It allowed him to run again and do our Navy PRT

My neighbor with nerve damage in her spine in her late 50s had one put in and it let her go back to being a good house wife.

Only down side I saw was that when you needed the battery replaced it was another surgery. They only needed to recharge ever couple days. Both of them had the model that blue toothed to their phones so they could adjust it.

My wife went the pain pump route and I cant recommend that. She used Fentenol and the narcotics killed her teeth at 35.

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[farmbif]

my doctor wants to implant something like that in my spine..
ive been poked prodded stuck cut on and rearranged my entire adult life by doctors trying to correct the damage done in an accident.
I think not, I'd rather suffer with what I got and deal with it than have any more operations.
I suggest you watch the documentary called, the bloody edge or the bleeding edge or something like that while getting a second and third opinion on having any kind of surgical implant.

[Bazoo]

My wife has one. She has it for bowel problems. It doesnt help much. She says if anything hits there it hurts. If she lays wrong it can move a bit and hurts. Mostly she don't notice it. Hers is on the left side. If you shot a hard recoiling rifle setting in a chair, and so happened the unit was touching the chair, it'd hurt. She has no problems shooting. , but doesn't shoot rifles much. She has a remote thing for it. No MRIs. They said the surgery/unit cost around 80,000 dollars.

[LUBEDUDE]

I have a Spine Stimulator by Boston Scientific originally for 3 herniated discs even though I now have a 4th.

I absolutely will not take narcotics for pain unless I hit 10 on a scale of 1-10.

The SS takes some getting used to, my butt and legs have the sensation that they are asleep. But I adapted quickly and am glad that I did it. However, I don’t want to go through the procedure to have the forth disc connected at this time.

Recovery is a drag in that I was told not to lift more than 10 pounds, raise my arms above my head, or bent over. Really?! I live alone and have many pets to care for besides myself- thus a total impossibility. But I lived through it.

I’ve had debilitating migraines since 1979, but mine are from a head injury and hyperacusis. If I was told that a SS could possibly help, I would jump at the chance.

Bottom line, the SS is not a cure, but it helps significantly.

Best of luck.

[MaryB]

They tried to implant one on my spine... way to many bone spurs and they can't get the leads in where they will work. So it has been narcotic pain meds for the last 14 years... pain meds dull the pain, they do not remove it. If you get total pain relief you are a junky and should seek help!

My spine doc asks me to give a talk twice a year to his patients on use of meds. I have never crept my dose up, in fact I cut one in half and the other by 1/3 on my own because I was tired of being constantly tired.

First thing I tell new groups, if you expect 100% pain relief get up and leave. Usually lose about 1/4 of them. Use the minimum to get some relief, pain is a reminder you are not only alive but that you have an injury that can get worse if you are not careful. Do NOT work and push through the pain! That is a recipe for spending the next 3-4 days in massive pain and tying to get it back under control! And some ask if they could save meds and skip taking them some days, use them on really bad pain days. Bad idea! Take your minimum dose every day because once you start chasing the pain you are in for a bad week!

Living with disability is a lifestyle change. I do a lot less than I used to but I still stay active. My first back doc told me I would be in a wheelchair by 2013... nope! I am to stubborn to give in to that and staying active is crucial! Quit moving and things will go bad fast. I plan 2-3 hours a day of doing bending, lifting, twisting... keep the back moving! Includes the neck where I have a 3 level fusion and a titanium plate holding things together! Use your arm muscles, stretch them, exercise them... despite having rotator cuff surgery twice on the right! 80% tear on the left I never had repaired. Surgery didn't help the right side.

[Bazoo]

Forgot to mention, sometimes when moving a certain way the wife will have a tingling in her leg or a lightening bolt in her leg. Not often on the latter but a few times. Medtronics is the brand, dr farmer at UL put it in. Shame it didn't help her much, but it helped lots of others according to dr F.

[Lloyd Smale]

had one. I was like you and was willing to do anything to get off the drugs. Did it help? Not alot. Had the trail unit (called a tens unit) if it doesnt help dont get discouraged because the implanted one is a 100 times better. After they installed it and i had it for a bit i couldnt get it to cover the area that was worse so they had to do surgery again and move the leads implanted in my spine. I used it for about 6 months but it was such a hastle keep it charged and it didnt really do anything for the pain unless you were sitting still in a chair. After not using it for about 5 years i got worried about the batterys leaking inside me so had it taken out. Would i do it again? Nope. The surgery is about like a back surgery and recovery isnt fun. Then the fact i had to go through it twice didnt was a pain! Ill say this. If the tens unit works stick with that but I doubt it will do much. Its hard for me to really give you advice because everyone is different. My buddy had a broken neck and had much more pain then me. He had one and it did help him but he had problems with his and they were going to have to replace it and he said just take it out. It didnt help that much. Its not going to shut the pain off like a switch. That i will say. but given a choice between the narcotics and the implant id at least give it a try. If work comp is having it put in they should be responsible if you want it out down the line. They were for mine anyway. NARCOTICS #### Today i do a few prescription pain pills (non narcotic) and take trazadone to sleep at night and thats one of the biggest tricks to it. You get in a vicious circle when you dont sleep well. If you can get sleep it helps more for pain then anything. I feel sorry for you. Over time and 6 back operations mine today is bareable. Im in pain all the time but its at a level that i can for lack of better words put to the side. I can do most of what i used to do if i take it easy. Just dont expect a miricle. If they were that good nobody would get surgery.

[TRM]

Didn’t work for me. They give you a 7 day trial hope it works for you

[Bazoo]

Recovery was rough on the wife. About 3-4 days for the trial and two weeks for the main. And that ain't after two weeks she was normal, just able to hobble around okay and get moving again. There was some improvement with the trial unit, so they went ahead and put the main unit in. It ain't helped her. She regrets getting it. Hers has a battery that is good for about 8 years then it's surgery. No charging. She swears sometimes that it shocks her. She says sometimes she can touch something metal and feel the electricity running through her. She's more sensative to electric though.

[MrWolf]

They tried to implant one on my spine... way to many bone spurs and they can't get the leads in where they will work. So it has been narcotic pain meds for the last 14 years... pain meds dull the pain, they do not remove it. If you get total pain relief you are a junky and should seek help!

My spine doc asks me to give a talk twice a year to his patients on use of meds. I have never crept my dose up, in fact I cut one in half and the other by 1/3 on my own because I was tired of being constantly tired.

First thing I tell new groups, if you expect 100% pain relief get up and leave. Usually lose about 1/4 of them. Use the minimum to get some relief, pain is a reminder you are not only alive but that you have an injury that can get worse if you are not careful. Do NOT work and push through the pain! That is a recipe for spending the next 3-4 days in massive pain and tying to get it back under control! And some ask if they could save meds and skip taking them some days, use them on really bad pain days. Bad idea! Take your minimum dose every day because once you start chasing the pain you are in for a bad week!

Living with disability is a lifestyle change. I do a lot less than I used to but I still stay active. My first back doc told me I would be in a wheelchair by 2013... nope! I am to stubborn to give in to that and staying active is crucial! Quit moving and things will go bad fast. I plan 2-3 hours a day of doing bending, lifting, twisting... keep the back moving! Includes the neck where I have a 3 level fusion and a titanium plate holding things together! Use your arm muscles, stretch them, exercise them... despite having rotator cuff surgery twice on the right! 80% tear on the left I never had repaired. Surgery didn't help the right side.

Agree with Mary. I know how you feel with the daily headaches and migraines. Luckily I am on a disability retirement and know when to stop and prevent the migraine. Folks do not understand how bad the headaches can be. My pain docs have been talking about doing the facet injections but extremely high at base of skull. Said they are one of the few that go that high. I dont trust them so I stick with the daily pain med. Like Mary, I have not changed my dosages in at least 5 years. It does not make the pain go away. It only dulls it and you need to learn to live with what you can and cannot do. I know when I push it in that I have lost at least the next day to pain. Simple trips for grocery and doc, total about 4 hours and I am shot the remainder of the day and will feel it the next. Good luck.

Ron

[xs11jack]

The VA talked me into a outside unit. It had electrodes on a sticky pads that you put on the skin on or near the pain. I wore it for about two days and on the second day I was walking along the side of my house when it shocked me so badly that I involuntarily turned and ran into the siding on the house. Then when I started to take it off, it started giving me pounding shocks every second or so. I finally got it off and went back to the VA hospital and the guy in charge of these things said do you want another? Not on your life. I just live with the pain for now.
Ole Jack

[Boaz]

I had one implanted last spring . The stimulaters have come a long way . I studied them online for a long time before making the move to get one . In my layman opinion the Medtronic is most advanced . One of the biggest drawbacks to most all of them is you can't get an MRI with one implanted . The Medtronic is MRI compatible , it simply has a mode on the control to put it in MRI mode . The battery's last up to 10 years . The controller is user friendly and programmed with different types of stimulation . The Mertronic representative customizes the stimulation programs for you as long as you have the unit .

Battery charge varies . I use mine almost all my waking hours and get 3 to 4 days out of a charge . Charging isn't hard but aggravating at times . Charger is wireless and on a belt , starting off I had a lot of trouble getting it 'directly' on the unit . It's easier now and I charge it when needed in the morning while I drink coffee . If your moving around , walking , bending over and such it will get out of place .

The unit was implanted in about 30 min . They gave me a general anesthetic . Had to stay in recovery for one hour and they sent me home . I never even knew they put it in , never had any pain or discomfort . I haven't had any problems with it at all .

I have 4 herniated discs and spinal stenosis . It helps quite a bit combined with pain med as needed which I take very sparingly . Not to be discouraging but I had hoped it would provide more relief than it does . But as I said...it helps .

As far as recommending getting one I hesitate . Everyone is different and your relief can vary , it's a crap shoot with all the devices and surgery's . It's given me some time , ultimately I know I'll have to have surgery . If you decide to get one I hope it helps and gives you some relief of your condition .

[Boaz]

Oh ! Quick add on to my comment ! In my situation recoil from shooting has absolutely no effect with the unit .

In the trial with the unit it's the basic same process . Leads are implanted but the unit itself is just taped to your back . It's very small .

[Burnt Fingers]

The VA talked me into a outside unit. It had electrodes on a sticky pads that you put on the skin on or near the pain. I wore it for about two days and on the second day I was walking along the side of my house when it shocked me so badly that I involuntarily turned and ran into the siding on the house. Then when I started to take it off, it started giving me pounding shocks every second or so. I finally got it off and went back to the VA hospital and the guy in charge of these things said do you want another? Not on your life. I just live with the pain for now.
Ole Jack

There's a BIG difference between a TENS and a SS. It sounds like you had a TENS. You're not supposed to use the TENS when you're moving around. They should have covered all this at the consultation. I've had a few TENS units and have to sit through the consultation every time.

[Rcmaveric]

My wife had a TENS unit. It didn't help her. I borrowed it and does wonders with me. About 30 minutes with it set as high I can take it. My back feels 18 years old again.

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[MaryB]

Tens will help with muscle spasm in the spine, it will not help nerve pain from compressed nerves.