Anyone tried Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain?

Thank you for the good wishes! Mayo is about 1.5 hr. away so I use local Brunswick, GA doctors. Dr. Gage (physiatrist) sold me on the concept but he used Boston Sci. At the time they didn't have one that was paresthesia-free, so I looked around and found that Nevro had a high frequency product that was paresthesia-free, so went to Dr. Topp of Southern Ortho. He only uses Nevro.

Half of the people I know who have had the implanted stimulator didn't find that it works as well (or at all!) as the trial. From what I've read online, many people point to the permanent leads being different that the trial ones. Now I'm reading that they don't change leads if the trial ones work. Be diligent with your research and ask MANY questions! Good luck!

We don't know who to listen to. So use your brst imformation. Thanks for replying and the best of luck to you.

My Medtronic Spinal Cord Stimulator worked well for a year. I was able to walk really well, which I couldn't do before. After the year I was in pain and I was unable to walk. I turned the Stimulator off and it felt as if every nerve in my body was on fire. Over time the nerves calmed down, but I wasn't able to walk well again. I do not recommend a S.C.S.

Keep us posted on how it goes--what type of doctor is doing it??

The script for the IgG (there are comercial preps) is written by a neurologist. Then you specify what fusion center you will use. I had already set something at the local cancer treatment place I was going to with my oncologist. That is probably more than you need to do.

@martyk Two weeks after having my new HFX implanted I started having difficulty charging it. It would charge for a few minutes and shut off. I called the Nevro rep. She instructed me how to diagnose the problem, and it was easy. She thought an electrode or connection was faulty. She was correct. A Nevro HQ tech also put me though the same procedure with the same result. Electrode/connector #5 had significant impedance. This meant that I would have to have the device and leads removed if I ever needed an MRI. NOT GOOD! I met with the Nevro rep and she developed a program that used the electrode on the opposite side of my spine from #5. It worked! I still have 100% relief BUT also still have the MRI issue. Over the next two months I tested the system from time to time with the same bad result...until yesterday! Everything tested as normal!!! I immediately called the HQ tech dept. and a tech ran me through the diagnostics again. NORMAL. He said that it might have been a bubble that somehow dispersed. He said that for 7 days I was cleared to have an MRI (not that I needed one). I will continue to do the diagnostics for the foreseeable future or until I'm satisfied that it's not intermittent issue. It's always sumtim' 🙂

I had a spinal cord stimulator for quite a while several years ago. I finally had the device removed because it just didn’t work for me. However, my next door neighbor also has one and loved it. It worked very well for him. So, I think it’s hard to know until you actually have it. Have you done the trial yet?

wow. i'm glad that you got it working and your pain is gone. i wasn't so lucky

@martyx The leads from the HF10 were well-placed in my spine so all the doc did was disconnect the old device from 2018 implantation and hook up the HFX to the existing leads. That was probably where the trouble started. I had no idea how little pain the HF10 "blocked" until I got the HFX.

Did your trial not work or your permanent one?

my trial didn't get me enough relief. all i got was about 25%. so i didn't go for the permanent one.