Anyone had Spinal stimulator removed? Replaced?

Thank you so much and yes the nervo team were working with me trying twice with 3 different programs both times and finally when they told me to turn it off . I have heard nothing from them since . The only doctor here that does this procedure saw me and said I looked fine and sent me to physical therapy which I'm still doing and I told him if I decided to have it removed I would not go back to that hospital and he informed me that's the only hospital he practices at. I will travel if need be .I have thought about turning the machine back on because it been off and my pain has still been present. Thank you so much for you help ! Anymore suggestions would greatly be appreciated. My surgery was done in dothan Alabama but I will travel!

I think you need to contact the company again. Is this Nevro? They have a page on Facebook promoting their device! I would guarantee if you go on there, state you are having issues and not getting any satisfaction, you will get immediate attention! 😮 Squeaky wheel gets the grease! No need for threatening stuff, just start low key. They are always offering help to people who have questions. If that doesn’t help, then put it on your own FB page - 😍👍

I am wondering how you are doing now. I have a fusion scheduled for January at Mayo T10 - S1. I had a fusion in the 70’s L3-S1. I started having problems with the level above that last spring. It got so bad that I couldn’t walk, stand or lie on my back. The vertebrae above my fusion fractured in 2 places, slipped forward taking the disc with it and leaving very little room for the nerve. The local surgeon said he could stabilize my back but not to expect too much pain wise. So I went to Mayo in August and saw a surgeon who uses new hardware which is supposed to be less invasive to place. He wants to cut apart my old fusion to put the curve back in the lumbar spine (back in the 70’s it was standard to straighten the spine before fusing it) and then add the levels up to T10 because on MRI they were all failing. They plan to do a staged procedure over 2 days. I am 69 now and am worried about how my body will handle this major a procedure, Everything the surgeon said made sense to me and he really spent a lot of time. I wasn’t expecting to need this much done so I’m a little nervous about it.

Good for you for sticking to your guns about not returning to a hospital you don’t trust! Something happened to me in a small rural hospital in Texas that left me with severe lower back pain. X-rays later showed that my tailbone was broken off at the sacrum and shoved up into my body. The orthopedist who found it said he had only seen injuries like that in severe auto wrecks, plane crashes or other accidents like falling off a cliff. The assumption is that I must have been dropped while being transferred under anesthesia. Although the tailbone was removed, other pelvic pain has plagued me for 17 years. I couldn’t even sue the hospital because no one there would admit that anything had happened and I didn’t have proof that I didn’t have the injury before entering the hospital (other than the fact that I was walking & physically active with no pain before the minor laparoscopic surgery). If you don’t trust a hospital, trust your gut!

Good afternoon @texasaviatrix, Welcome to Connect......on behalf of another person with a broken tailbone. I am so sorry to hear of that misfortune. Do you have any idea why the pelvic pain was responsible for the tailbone removal? 17 years is such a long time to cope with and manage chronic pain.

Before we go any further, I just want to let you know that I also suffered a broken tailbone. It apparently happened as a part of or result of pregnancy. I had some surgery to protect my cervix from premature labor. However, I did not become aware of the broken tailbone until much later (7 years or so) when hunting for the cause of back pain. I do not recall any medication except Celebrex and then a laminectomy. I remember that pain and discomfort and the limitations on my life.

Sometimes, we just are better off letting sleeping dogs lie. Finally, I ran into a medical technician/yoga instructor who taught me two simple exercises/poses that kept the pain away until this day. Your account may be totally accurate and the resulting condition needs to be addressed.

What is your best temporary (3-5 hours) solution for pain control? How are you sleeping? Can you meet with a pain specialist before the surgery to give you an idea of your options?

Good luck to you......please check back or just give us a quick update. We wlll be here for you.
Chris

Greetings from Connect, @sue406. Did you think we forgot you? Well now I have found you and am both excited about your upcoming surgery in January and also a bit apprehensive. My first lumbar fusion was in the 70’s so I have been down that path.

The new options and technology that is available today is very encouraging. And your team at Mayo will be comprehensive and attentive.

Let’s talk about pain. I would like to get some other folks to find you and chime in. Perhaps someone has recently had the same surgery.

For managing pain, there is a pain center at Mayo. You might want to ask for a pre-surgery interview so that you will know how that part of the Mayo team will be able to assess your potential pain and discuss some options. Let me know what questions you might have now?

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

Hello Chris and thank you fir your reply.

To clarify, I am not currently contemplating any surgery. My tailbone was snapped off at the sacrum and shoved up into my body as a result of a hospital accident. We can only assume that I was dropped while I was unconscious, probably when being transferred from the operating table to a gurney for transport to recovery. I say that, because there was no record of anything bad happening to me and it was my word against theirs. Although I came out of the minor surgery with severe lower back pain, I wasn’t diagnosed until 5 months later.

The pain was so severe, that I was basically bedridden until I found a neurosurgeon who was willing to remove the tail bone. The surgery and recovery was a success, and I thought my troubles were over. It’s a VERY long story, but in a nutshell:
I developed new pain about a week after the surgery. I’ve been told that I have everything from SI joint disfunction to periformis syndrome, a luxated pelvis, and cluneal nerve entrapment.

I’ve had everything from physical therapy to chiropractics, Accupuncture, too many cortisone injections to count, every anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxer and pain med known to man and multiple nerve ablations. I had a morphine pump for 8 years (which malfunctioned 6 years into its life) and then swapped it for a spinal cord stimulator 4 years ago...which had been absolutely useless.

The only short-term relief I get is by taking a combination of morphine and hydrocodone. I can only take it once a day, so I save it for evening, when the pain is at its peak, so that I can get some sleep. That’s the short story. I’ve had 3 pain management docs. When the second one ran out of things to try, he announced that he was taking me off all opioids (my only relief) because I’d “been on them to long”. Now my third doc tells me he is no longer prescribing them because the government is making it too hard to do. I have to find another doctor within two months when my meds run out. This is no way to live.

@texasaviatrix So you have 2 months to find a new pain doctor? How can these MD’s live with themselves? Your pain has got to be unbearable! Our wise faithwalker007 has posted some legal information regarding opioids and quality of life that you might be able to use when you see a pain doctor. I am so sorry there is nothing I can do but pray for you and be here if you want to write.

Thanks mamabear62, could you share with us where you son's pain is located? Mine is in the toes of my foot from 2 prior surgeries. I had the Medtronic traditional SCS implanted last year it only gave me slight relief and I had a little back pain, so I had it removed on August 2nd. I'm told by my new doctor that the DRG which is made by Abbott is much better for targeting pain the the feet. I'm considering the trial for that. The trial I had from Medtronic was only for 5 days but because of all the tape, it was very painful. I guess the trial for DRG will be painful where the leads all placed and taped in.

My son’s pain is on the bottoms of both feet excluding his toes. His pain dr that did the DRG trial said that these stimulators seem to have a better track record with CRPS ( chronic regional pain syndrome) and wasn’t too hopeful that it was going to help my son’s pain. He was right, after having the trial DRG for 5 days he didn’t see any pain relief no matter how much they tinkered with the settings. And yes, there was a LOT of tape which was irritating to his skin and hard to deal with but was told if he was to get a permanent one that wouldn’t be an issue. Hope this helps!’ Such a terrible condition to have