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Comparison of Spinal Cord Stimulators from Boston Sci., Nevro

Posted by elsa @elsa, Jul 26, 2020

I've lived with severe chronic pain in my legs and lumbar spine for the past ten years. Was on opiates for 8 years until I attended & graduated from Mayo's 3-week Pain Rehab Program in 2018. That program helped immensely and I got off 5 meds I used to take, including morphine and hydrocodone. Unfortunately, in the last year my spine health has worsened. I now have a toxic mix of scar tissue (from a dural tear during a microdiscectomy), stenosis at multiple levels, bulging discs and scoliosis. I am now scheduled to do a trial of Boston Scientific's "Wave Writer" SCS on August 10, 2020. Unfortunately my doctor did not guide me in the selection of this manufacturer/model. I did my own research. I considered doing trials of Nevro's HF-10 and Boston Scientific's Wave Writer. Finally decided on the Wave Writer.
I'm posting here to ask for people's knowledge of and/or experience with these two SCS's. Please reply if you can share any information. Thanks!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Spine Health Support Group.

beeonthyme | @beeonthyme | Jul 9 9:01am
In reply to @lifetimepain "Hello, and thank you for your help in steering me to the proper group! I had..." + (show)
@lifetimepain

Hello, and thank you for your help in steering me to the proper group! I had the surgery on October 12th. My implant is from Nevro. The trial period went very very well. I may have actually hit 80% reduction in pain. Then Corona virus happened and I had to delay for about 6 months. The procedure went very well, other than we discovered that my skin reacted horribly to both the staples and surgical adhesive. Was given antibiotics and that was that.

The leads in my spine were inserted in a completely different location than where the trial was, so we're sort of starting over. I have no relief yet. My remote has settings - A, 1 thru 7, B, 1 thru 7 and C, 1 thru 7. I just learned that the higher the setting does NOT mean the stronger amount of pain relief. For instance, program A may have been a projection of 180 degrees, program B is something different. The trial period device sent the signal in a 360 degree pattern, which apparently isn't an option for the permanent device.

*Back in 1982 I had a retail job wherein I was standing all day and was when I realized my back was screaming. Had xrays in Ft. Laud., FL and found spondylolisthesis in 2 locations, mild scoliosis, and a bit of osteoporosis. 2 Harrington rods were inserted and I was strapped to a Stryker frame for 6 months. No pain relief, they were trying to save use of my legs. Skip forward to 1993, saw new docs in Idaho Falls, ID and found one rod had broken in half. That doc tried to remove rods, was unsuccessful and added 6 screws. Now found another spondylolisthesis location, severe scoliosis both front-to-back and side-to-side, advanced osteoporosis, and advanced osteoarthritis.. A rheumatologist found (after 4 years) that I have Ehler's-Danlos syndrome, which involves a genetic error in collagen and there are too many symptoms to mention - but - one symptom is Mitral Valve Prolapse.*

I am waiting to hear from my Nevro rep, but what I've noticed is that whenever I change a setting on my Nevro remote, my heart hammers like crazy for a while. It's taken me almost a month to put 2 and 2 together. I will definitely continue to update you all. btw, I am 63.

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I have the nevro implant with 5 programs, each program has 7 levels. My rep quit calling me. I just kept raising a level every 2 days like I had been instructed. I'm at programs 4, level 7. I am able to walk a bit better but still take pain meds. I have idiopathic neuropathy. I believe I was allergic to Levaquin and Cipro over 20 years ago and I started on this journey of mind numbing pain in both feet. I have tried everything. Acupuncture, chiropractic, Gabapentin, Lyrica, cymbalta, etc. My dr said spine surgery could possibly paralyze me...that is too daunting to attempt. That dr also warned me the spine stimulator wouldn't work. It did during the trial, but I am having a hard time reproducing the result I had with the trial.

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profrob | @profrob | Jul 29 1:23pm

Sounds like you got more instruction than I did. The more I learn on my own, now that the Nevro is implanted in me, the more disappointed I am in myself for not doing any research whatsoever; and disappointed not more information was available during the trial that would have helped informed my decision. (I was so out of my mind in pain I would have eaten an elephant if they told me it would help). I have the HFX with 5 programs and 7 levels. I have had it a month or so. I have no idea what the differences are between programs or levels. I have learned they are all different variations of pulse width, pulse amplitude, and frequency. When it was first installed, I "played" around with the remote control to see what the difference options "felt" like. In other words, I just ran through the programs just to see if they were palpably different in any way. I am on 10Khz so have no sensation on any of the options. So, I just went back to Program 1 Level 1. I am studying as much as I can about the programs to try to help myself. So far, I have gotten most of my information from patents filed by SCS makers, of which Nevro has hundreds or more. ("google patents"). They can be difficult to read sometimes. I am currently on methadone, Gabapentin, Cymbalta and maximum Wellbutrin. And of course, I also have the simulator. My pain still swings from a 5 to a 10. I am very excited and happy I found this site. It was sheer accident. I hope to learn a lot, and maybe even share something that may help others.

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spclk. (Karen) | @spclk | Jul 29 6:40pm

Have you tried the company who makes the device? I just received a Cala Kim for my essential tremors. I watched the videos, read the manual - both multiple times. Called CS before I started. She did not tell me everything.

I wrote asking an unrelated use ti on. Received a call back but was riding in car, device was home. She recommended I call before next treatment.

I did. Now all is working.

All I needed was for either the written instructions or the first girl to tell me there is a 3-5 second delay before the program starts. I thought there was a problem w/the device.

I’m sorry, I am not a rocket scientist, just someone w/severe back pain, though lessened since my 4 rhizotomies ~3 weeks ago, and also having an essential tremor.

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heisenberg34 | @heisenberg34 | Jul 30 9:41am

As with anything, you will find those who love it and those who hate it. If you do a search, as I did, you will find that Boston Scientific's WaveRider is the top rated SCS. What does that mean? Will it help out? Possibly. The trial will give you an idea of how well it might work when permanently implanted. I had the Nevro HF-X implanted in 2021 to replace the old Medtronics SCS. Unfortunately, I had to keep the original Medtronics paddle and leads. The NEVRO never provided any pain relief, even after toying with all the settings. It was thought that the original paddle had suffered several shorted out electrodes. So, I can't really say if the NEVRO unit would have given me any relief. What I didn't like was how big the battery was. It stuck out from my left side like a big rock. Very uncomfortable.

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gkissick | @gkissick | Aug 3 1:13pm
In reply to @sbrown293 "My husband had the Nevro spinal stimulator inserted in early August. The first few days were..." + (show)
@sbrown293

My husband had the Nevro spinal stimulator inserted in early August. The first few days were no fun due the normal issues, adjusting to the implanted device and dealing with the discomfort and itching from the dressing. He says it is the best! Nevro personnel were super, calling daily at first, then weekly. They have directed him in how to use the remote to make changes. He only makes changes with the representative on the phone. He highly reccomends it to friends with back issues.

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Does your husband use the spinal stimulator all day long, or times of moderate to high activity?

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anzura222 | @anzura222 | Nov 18 6:56pm
In reply to @colleenyoung "@elsa, great discussion to start. Choosing which spinal cord stimulator can be a challenge. To help..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@elsa, great discussion to start. Choosing which spinal cord stimulator can be a challenge. To help you with your research, here's a list of relevant discussions on Connect that you may wish to review:
- Implantable neurostimulator for chronic pain https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/has-anybody-had-an-implantable-neurostimulator-for-chronic-pain/
- Has anyone one tried the HF10 Spinal Cord Stimulation Device?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hf-10-spinal-cord-stimulation-device-relieves-back-and-leg-pain/
- Spinal cord stimulation: Will Nevro help when Medtronic didn't? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/nevro/
- Has anyone had the Stimwave spine stimulator installed? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/has-anyone-any-had-the-stim-wave-installed/
- T.E.N.S. for spinal stenosis pain https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/t-e-n-s-for-spinal-stenosis-pain/

What criteria are important for your decision making? What ultimately influenced your decision to choose the Wave Writer?

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Hello My husband had a laminectomy in his thoracic in 2021 then a laminectomy in 2023 he is still in so much pain his pain is in his legs and feet he just got off of oxycodone because it was destroying him and it did not take the pain away. he is thinking of doing the SCS but we have no idea how to chose one or which is the best he is also very sceptic because we have heard a lot of horror stories. Can you tell me which is the best or which has had the best results and how to chose one. Thank you

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1 reply
ginnyjm | @ginnyjm | Nov 19 7:28am
In reply to @anzura222 "Hello My husband had a laminectomy in his thoracic in 2021 then a laminectomy in 2023..." + (show)
@anzura222

Hello My husband had a laminectomy in his thoracic in 2021 then a laminectomy in 2023 he is still in so much pain his pain is in his legs and feet he just got off of oxycodone because it was destroying him and it did not take the pain away. he is thinking of doing the SCS but we have no idea how to chose one or which is the best he is also very sceptic because we have heard a lot of horror stories. Can you tell me which is the best or which has had the best results and how to chose one. Thank you

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You need to do your own research online & see what his dr recommends, too. I had the Boston Scientific SCS in 2022. It did nothing to alleviate my back pain in L4 & L5, even after several adjustments. It also needed to be charged quite often. I ended up having it removed February 2024. I pray you find the right answer & treatment.

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