Should I have the Spinal Cord Stimulator? Looking for reviews on this

@fjeldbar
This sounds hopeful. What do you mean by nerve pain in your case? I have throbbing or radiating pain in my legs after walking just a few steps from severe stenosis and spondylosis and other things. Was your nerve pain anything like that? Where did you have the implant done?

I am afraid of having fusion and was wondering what you meant when you said a spacer was put in your back. I was told by a prominent surgeon that he could put in the tops device but it's not an easy surgery at all it's very invasive actually. So I'm curious what kind of spacer you have put in and also what is MILD ?

@dadkins

Update: My doctor is going to use general anesthesia for both the trial and the implant!!!

Pain management is a joke, I live in VA. and let me tell you they are the worst. I have severe osteoporosis, facet arthritis, fibromyalgia, and Hashimo hypothyroidism.
My back began to break in 2013. During kyphoplasty I had a stroke. I broke all of L spine 1-5. In July it wasn't operated on until October. I suddenly became a drug seeker. I was in agony and still working. Then came the T spine. Burst my 12th vertbta, still no help. I had to go on line to tell the doctor how to do his job. In the whole pain management in the tidewater area, All of them are pompass asses, narcissistic and don't like when you ask intelligent questions. I went from 5'5 to 4'11. My back has been broken several times. All my vertbta are broken. My recent T-4 was so bad I thought I was having a heart attack. They did a catheterization found out my heart was fine but T-4 was broken. They didn't even mention it. They offer no help, no suggestions as to what they can do, just deal with it. I'm supposed to get the Spine stimulation and NOW I find out they do a test run!! Dang

@mcochrane

They do a test to see if the SS helps BEFORE they implant it. No point in implanting something that offers no relief.

How does a vertebrae just break?

@mcochrane Oh, yeah? My pain doc is worse than yours and can likely beat yours in a match of egos. Seriously, I am truly sorry to hear of all your troubles. No one should have to go through all what you have had to endure. Now, about this pain stimulation... I am pretty sure you are referring to a spinal cord stimulator. Yes, they do a trial first for a couple of reasons. It tells them if the procedure will likely give you real relief. The trial should give you at least 50% pain reduction (whatever that may be). Also, it is much less invasive and costly. I think we can agree that you would not want the major surgery if it would not give you at least some pain relief. I hope it works out for you. Be blessed.

Maybe you are not familiar with osteoporosis. I am 72 years old. This
started in 2010, I broke all of my lumbar spine in an assault.
It was broken in the middle of July, where I worked did not offer
insurance. I got an orthopedic consult. He said my bones were in very bad
shape, and there's I or they could do. It wouldn't get better. All I know
from the research I did after that was that no orthopedic doctor, no pain
management . was going to help me. I was 58 yrs old and running a 5
physician practice, suddenly became a drug seeker. I have been treated like
this for 18 years now. Pain management doesn't even offer a shot, they
don't offer any solutions, but I'm the drug addict

@mcochrane How can these doctors be so insensitive to your plight? Time to seek help elsewhere. I would like to think that there are other options out there. How is it possible that the business that you run does not offer insurance? From my math you are now about 76 and should be 76 and on Medicare. As such you should be able to go to any doctor for help. Please don't give up! Be your own best advocate. I had several orthopedic docs tell me ten years ago that there was nothing they could do for my lower back pain. Since then, I have gotten help from several doctors, including a neurologist, a sports medicine doc (who was very empathetic), and a neurosurgeon who recommended and implanted a spinal cord stimulator.
I wish you all the best!

Hi, multiple of my doc's have recommended spine stimulators for different reasons. The effective rate of the study I read for the last one (Abbott - pain) was like 80%; not nearly good enough for me to have something implanted in my body that may not work and may cause other issues.

I had the Medtronic spinal stimulator put in about six weeks ago. It is the size of a half dollar and the thickness is 4 centimeters , the battery was turned on two weeks ago and having 70% of my pain removed is worth it, I can walk without pain.