Anyone tried Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain?

Yes, several yrs ago I had a Spinal Cord Stimulator implanted in my spine by my pain mgt doctor. After 5 or 6 setting adjustments by the Medtronics (the company who made my device)
representative I found that it was very helpful in lessening my heavy back & leg pain. After it had been in my spine for about 7 years I found that it was much less helpful in lessening my pain. My pain mgt doctor had a Medtronics representative come to one of my appointments with the pain mgt doctor. The meter that the Medtronics rep. used to test my implant showed that my implant and the associated battery needed to be replaced. My surgery was scheduled and my entire Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) and battery were replaced by my pain mgt doctor. After the surgery the dr. tested my new SCS. It did not give me coverage where I needed it at all. He told me to go home and to rest for 2 or 3 days and that after that the swelling should be down and I should have good coverage of my pain again. After 4 days my coverage was still not in the areas that I previously had it -not even close. I called the pain mgt dr. again. He set up another appt for me with him. I called the Medtronics rep. ,that had been helpful to me in the past, to request that he come to my appt with the pain mgt dr. He met me at the pain mgt drs office and examined me first and then connected a testing device to me. This testing device tests the location of the device as well as the strength of the implanted device. He found that my new SCS device and several wires from my SCS were implanted in incorrect locations and would need to be taken out and
re - implanted as well as my battery to my SCS removed and re-implanted. After much discussion I agreed to have everything removed and then I had everything
re-implanted. The surgery was completed by my new pain mgt dr and a highly recommended representative from Medtronics.
The surgery went well. Once swellingbwent down I found that when I turned on my SCS that I had coverage in the correct locations. Unfortunately I found that the coverage I had was no longer enough for the depth of my pain. My pain mgt dr and the Medtronics representative and I discussed my situation and I agreed to turn off my SCSand that at this time I would no longer use my SCS.That was 8 years ago and I am still without a means to lessen my severe pain.

I’ve had over eight surgical operations, which is none of them have given me complete satisfaction as it’s like a bad rider that is Step gets worse as you get older my doctor wanted me to do a stimulator and I checked with two other doctors and they said absolutely no. You have too many operations with a lot of hardware and scar tissues. Because of that, they couldn’t get the wiring through all that maze or problems, and therefore did not work. I just had a friend of ours for the stimulator it and they tried everything and nothing seemed to help. The best thing that helped was your ablation nerve block. Surgery takes time to heal with high-risk along with no guarantee in the long run It’s going to hold up.

There are contact numbers for NEVRO on the internet. I'm scheduled for the 5 day trial on Monday in Pennington, New Jersey. I have lower back, leg and foot pain. Will keep you all updated.

@martyk I'm getting the upgraded device this summer. mine has 3 programs but the newest has more than 30!!! And you can turn up the power so it acts like a TENS unit.

Great. What make is your device? NEVRO, Boston Scientific, Abbott?

Hello @neferkem1 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am sorry to hear of your accident at work. I wanted to connect you with others who have been discussing spinal cord stimulators so that you may find some support as you explore this option. You will find you post here now:

- Anyone tried Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/spinal-cord-stimulation-2/

I see that @mmata has joined the discussion and shared some with you! I will let the pair of you connect.

Do you happen to know why type of stimulator your doctor is considering?

It took me 5 days to separate/distinguish the surgical pain from the back pain, so be patient, no pun intended 🙂 They told me it would be a "home run" for my feet and might help my back. Instead it was a home run for my back and didn't help the feet. go figure! Good luck!

Thank you. My feet are very sore, especially the right foot. My legs are feel heavy too. I'm a mess. I hope it helps them too.

I have chronic pain from the waist down. I did have a St Jude stimulater. It worked great for a little while. My Stims started going out one at a time until all gone. I had it removed. I’m sure they have developed better ones now.

Advice can be given but most will not listen to regular people even if you have already v been through all these procedures you have to listen to yourself to make the right decisions no the risks , do your own diligence. Sometimes things seem great until there not … It’s not an all help everyone procedure we our all wired differently… NO ONE CAN TELL YOU WHAT PAIN YOU HAVE !! Only you know that know matter what your diagnosis is people our misdiagnosed everyday and it’s more then what you would ever think . Just know the risks take care of you know matter what you decide . I’m using YOU a lot because that’s all that matters