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Spinal Cord stimulator battery pain
Chronic Pain | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (42)Comment receiving replies
@alexandercrps Thanks for the reply, and your concern. Yes, the chronic pain she can't seem to shake really sucks. She has lost faith in the SCS, and the surgeon that put it in. We're still trying to get it adjusted to get some relief. Not many options otherwise. Going back again tomorrow to meet with a new Abbott rep/tech. The old one has given up. Nice, right.
I am anxious about the paddles, the laminectomy part especially. We think we found a good Neurosurgeon, but at least for now he is not taking her insurance. We have a consult with yet another Neurosurgeon to access what treatment she should have next to relieve her pain. Or what he thinks. He does take her insurance.
I have had a feeling for some time that it is a impingement of a nerve. None of the Doctors, no matter the specialty, agree with that, even though a EMG found 4 nerves that tested to be, not normal. None of the Doctors are willing, or maybe able to explore that. Very frustrating for me. She thinks a nerve was damaged from the kyphoplasty, and probably can't be fixed.
Replies to "@alexandercrps Thanks for the reply, and your concern. Yes, the chronic pain she can't seem to..."
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@cman55 Hey and thanks for sharing. First, I’m so sorry you and your wife have to deal with this. To me it sounds as if she has symptoms of Crps Type 2 (with known nerve damage) and given I have had this diagnosis since 2020, I truly hope it is not that but it does sound a lot like it especially her symptoms. I also have to say I am a tad skeptical to the paddle
leads, as you are too it seems, as next step. If they couldn’t
get the regular SCS to work
I honestly fail to see how paddle leads are gonna fix that and it sounds as if the
same paddles will make her respond better to the SCS. Also
you are discovering smth central about the medical reps
from Abbott and Medtronics. and Boston Scientific et al;
these folks are often wanna be doctors but could not get in or
afford the cost of medical school. In the case with getting either an SCS or a pain pump you see these reps frequently,
they act super friendly and supportive, they give you their number and says to call at any time..they act like this before the trial and up until placing the permanent, these guys and girls are in the operating theater when it gets placed. Then after some recovery time you start programming the unit to get it to work. During this period you also typically see
your med reps frequently før reprogramming or maybe they need to show up to restart the
pain pump after an mri etc. However it does not take long before you are pretty much alone with all this tech inside you. It soon starts to become problematic to get a hold of your rep and they almost seem a bit annoyed for having to show up for a reprogramming or worse, when the stim just stops working as it should. I have been ghosted several times by these med reps.
And it says nothing in the catalog about how these med reps soon stop to care about you; they spend all their energy on the new sale, the new chronic pain patient who will provide him with a nice bonus from Abbott from being “the SCS Seller of the Year”..
I am of course just joking about the latter but it is true that these reps are in it for the money, and there is no bonus or pay or any economic incentive for the after care from this tech. Sadly health care in America is a business, not a human right. And nowhere is this more true than for the medical equipment field.
Lastly I hope you and your wife finds the best doctors there is and try hard to get help from
them. In ya’ll’s case it doesn’t even seem like the doctors even know what is wrong (and docs don’t like it when “normal people” like us propose a diagnosis..I think you are right, and that this is medically induced injuries and nobody wants to be responsible for it.
I am sending good vibes your wag, dealing with nerve pain is absolute hell, I have nerve damage in my left leg and my crps type 2 has basically destroyed my life as I knew it. You have my deepest sympathies and I am sending much love to your wife who I know suffers in dehumanizing ways. Best of luck to you both and thank you for being such a strong partner for your wife. Your love for her is evident and that love is what keeps ya’ll fighting. Keep up the good fight, my friend.