Learning about spinal cord stimulator and any information.

I do not yet have a spinal cord stimulator placed. It was scheduled for the trial in April but I got a UTI so the placement was postponed. Now, I'm finding I need a new R hip. While I wait for the surgeon to have an opening, I got a steroid shot to relieve the pain from the disintegrating hip/hip socket. Surprise! My pain coming purportedly from L5-S1 and from the R S-I apparently was coming primarily from the R hip joint. I had a SPECT scan which showed rapidly proliferating arthritis at both L5-S1 and at the R S-I, but steroid injections had ceased to help at both of those locations. I was in considerable pain. And it turns out it was not from my spine or S-I joints, but from the R hip. I'm glad it has been located and with such a significant reduction in pain. All this is meant to say is to be sure that you and your neurologist are very certain your pain is coming from your spine before you have the stimulator implanted. I'm very glad to get so much pain relief from treating the deteriorating hip. It wasn't my spine after all.

What is R hip? ( right hip?). Also what did they do to help pain or fix it? I'm to the point that my doctor is suggesting a stimulated for my back.

Have you has positive MRIs? Surgeries?

My pain doc recommended a Medtronic SCS for my lumbar back pain and said you can do a one week trial before they permanently implant the device. My new surgeon said SCS is a last resort and that it’s often effective for only a year. I’m going to see 1 or 2 more surgeons before I decide. I’ve noticed doctors love to offer up solutions when they haven’t even identified the problem. It’s like “let’s guess and see how it goes”. I’m tired of the guess work and focusing on finding out what *specifically* is the issue with my lower back.

Yes, you are right. R hip = right hip. I simply got a steroid injection into the R hip joint, hoping that would give some pain relief while I wait for a hip replacement. Surgeons here are booked out several months so it may be this winter before I can get the right hip replaced. All I can suggest is that you and your doctor be absolutely certain the pain is coming from your spine before the spinal device is implanted. If pain is not originating in your spine, the trial with the spinal stimulator probably will not give satisfactory results. And you will then know that the pain is originating elsewhere. Good luck!

I've had a SPECT scan which identified the L5-S1 level of my spine and also the R S-I joint as having rapidly proliferating arthritis and therefore contributing to the pain I was experiencing.
No similar studies were done on the R hip joint.

I have an Abbott spinal cord stimulator, placed in February 2023. it was the newest device, non-rechargeable. The disadvantage for me it was too large on my small frame (5'7", 120 lbs) and protruded out. I had it replaced with an Eterna, and it is good! Do the trial first, it is five days, with a battery placed outside your spine. No Showering until it is removed. The trial was successful, and I then made plans to have the SCS surgically implanted. I interviewed three doctors: two neurosurgeons (one from Mayo in Phoenix) and one orthopedic doctor. I chose the neurosurgeon who has performed 100"s of them, and was off-the-record recommended by the Abbott rep. Ask for the paddles, and not the lead wires, it is a better process for the pain to transmit to the brain, to alleviate the pain. The recovery is not easy, 6 weeks, and I am extremely active with racquet sports and other endeavors. I will say, it is doing its job. I don't have the pain in the morning as I did before. I had a spinal fusion L4-S1 ten years ago, and it didn't work out. There are five SCS companies, and I chose the one the pain management doctor told me about. Some could be aggressive when relieving pain. if it is your hip, then you escaped that type of surgery.

Hi, my name is Richard and and I had an L4-5 fusion last October and still have low back pain. I just had my psych eval yesterday. Is there any way you can get your surgeon's name to me who did your paddles? My email is phxrat@gmail.com. I'm hoping he/she is in the Phoenix area. Thank you.

I send you good wishes with the SCS process.

Robert Bina at Banner University in downtown Phoenix. Wonderful man, and truly cares for you. I don't have his phone number.
Let me email you later on.

The last pain doctor is right. SCS is a solution of last resort. I personally chose Surgery over SCS even though Surgery is more invasive. Surgery did not help either but at least I understood how Surgery works. I don’t feel the science behind SCS is very good. However, it does help a lot of people. It also does not work for a lot of people. And many people report good results with the trial, but then the permanent implant does not provide the same level of relief. Doctors will tell you SCS is reversible, Which is true. But getting SCS remove after the implant is done is not so easy for many people. It seems like doctors like to implant them, but they don’t like to remove them. They will tell you to keep trying different programs for extended periods of time with the manufacturers representative hoping to eventually find a program that provides some amount of relief. A lot of people just turned them off and live with the implant when they don’t work. My sister is permanently bedridden in a nursing home because the Doctor who tried to perform her implant hit a nerve during the surgery. Of course all surgeries come with risk and potential for complications. So I agree with you that continuing to look for the source of your pain is a better approach than trying to throw experimental solutions at the problem. SCS is typically deployed when the cause of the pain cannot be found, and it is the experimental
solution of last resort.