1. < Spine Health

Has anyone had the Stimwave spine stimulator installed?

Posted by WS4K @ws4k, Dec 12, 2018

Hello to ALL! I have a severe back injury and even after three surgeries and several fusions, I am still experiencing severe and chronic pain. My pain management specialist is talking about a spine stimulator. After some research I located the Stim Wave. With this unit, only the leads are implanted. No wires come through. The antenna is worn like a pager on your belt.

Has anyone tried one of the Stim Wave stimulators yet? Any feed back on them?

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mamullen7 | @mamullen7 | Feb 13, 2021

Im currently doing the trial of the Stimwave Freedom system. It has helped pain some but has increased my pain in other areas.

It just seems like it was not designed very well. I have tried the SPRINT simulator in the past and it worked better for me and I plan on trying that again.

Everyone is different so to each there own and in my opinion don't waste your time withe the Stimwave simulator!

REPLY
martyk | @martyk | Feb 21, 2021
In reply to @marychapman "In the fall I did talk to the Stimwave rep that is in my area (southwest..." + (show)
@marychapman

In the fall I did talk to the Stimwave rep that is in my area (southwest Ontario) and to date they didn’t have anyone in my area signed on to deliver this system. The primary benefit is that the leads are placed through a needle so no big surgery as there is with the SCS units. The battery back is kept externally so it sounds like an interesting system. I can’t lay flat on my stomach to have the SCS inserted as my legs go into spasm in that position. The dr won’t even try it for me due to this. In talking to them I thought this could work for me as I only need to lay flat for 10-15 minutes. My pain dr is checking it out since it is new to Ontario. They have several drs in another Canadian province of Quebec and it is working well. I am trying the RFA next as my pain is very severe and not much helps me with the pain.

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Hello marychapman, what part of your body is the pain? i.e, lower back, legs, feet. Have you since tried the RFA? Thanks

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1 reply
martyk | @martyk | Feb 21, 2021
In reply to @pvarn01 "I'm on the fourth day of a Stimwave "Freedom" trial implanted in my upper back for..." + (show)
@pvarn01

I'm on the fourth day of a Stimwave "Freedom" trial implanted in my upper back for lower leg sciatic pain. Two days to go.

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Did you get a permanent Stimwave implanted? If so, are you happy with the result? Thanks

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karen2021liam | @karen2021liam | Feb 21, 2021

Im having the test tomorrow afternoon - which will last for a e week. I don't know Anymore at this time

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martyk | @martyk | Feb 21, 2021

I'm considering Stimwave. Please keep us informed when the trial is over. Good luck. Thanks

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marychapman | @marychapman | Feb 21, 2021
In reply to @sanderosa "HAS ANYONE had the Proclaim XR SCS system implanted in your back...........pain since 1983, operation didn't..." + (show)
@sanderosa

HAS ANYONE had the Proclaim XR SCS system implanted in your back...........pain since 1983, operation didn't help, now at 85 a bit frightened about any cutting or injections but need help to stop pain. won't do opiods, so need info from patients of this product. My Dr wants an answer, must have an answer next week with appointment so PLEASE if you have any info I really need it.. I am without anyone to take this over with, I must depend on you.. thanks..Jeanne..

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Hi Jeanne
I haven’t heard about this specific system at all. Have you had previous success with this model? If your doctor is more comfortable using the Proclaim model then he should be able to have you talk to a patient who has had the procedure done.

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martyk | @martyk | Feb 21, 2021

I spoke with an RN on Friday. She said she had the Abbott DRG implanted about year and a half ago by a Dr.Pavli Damian in New Jersey. She is very happy with the result. She highly recommends it. She said there is very little parathesia, She has another SCS implanted on the other side. So, she has two of them from different companies. She had 2 foot surgeries and an auto accident before the implants. She claims she doesn't notice the implants and she has at least 90%or more of pain reduction. However, she can't even be around the MRI machine at the hospital where she works Fearing it would turn off or interfere with the DRG implant. She said a CT scan would suffice and should be used instead of an MRI if you need one

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1 reply
marychapman | @marychapman | Feb 21, 2021
In reply to @martyk "Hello marychapman, what part of your body is the pain? i.e, lower back, legs, feet. Have..." + (show)
@martyk

Hello marychapman, what part of your body is the pain? i.e, lower back, legs, feet. Have you since tried the RFA? Thanks

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I had a fusion at L5S1 in 1994 which gave me some relief in the lumbar area but unfortunately my relief only lasted about 10 years. I know that it sounds like any relief should be a bonus and believe it was at the time. Over a period of time it failed completely. My neurosurgeon said that no one would operate on my lower back again as there is too much hardware and no space to work around it. I saw a neurosurgeon for another opinion and he said the most relief that I could hope to get with the Stimwave was 20%. Since it also involved the fact that I needed to be able to lay flat on the XRay table for up to 45 minutes but my legs went into spasm so that was the end of our discussions.

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martyk | @martyk | Feb 21, 2021

Sorry to hear abut your situation. I wonder if you were able to lay flat for 45 minutes what the outcome would be?

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1 reply
martyk | @martyk | Feb 21, 2021
In reply to @martyk "Sorry to hear abut your situation. I wonder if you were able to lay flat for..." + (show)
@martyk

Sorry to hear abut your situation. I wonder if you were able to lay flat for 45 minutes what the outcome would be?

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Perhaps if they knocked you out with anathesia, you could lay flat for 45 minutes.

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