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Should I have the Spinal Cord Stimulator? Looking for reviews on this
I have had chronic lower back pain due to lumbar spinal stenosis for over 10-years. I have had multiple therapies and procedures done - including RFA, Epidural steroid injections, a MILD procedure, acupuncture, OT/PT and Chiropractics, as well as an Interspinous spacer and nothing has helped my pain. After all of that, the physician I saw in March's only recommendation was for me to have the Spinal cord stimulator, but I am actually afraid of this and have read that there have been numerous injuries as a result of this implant, and after reviewing the booklet and watching the video I initially felt that it was just to restrictive in terms of how you could move your body. If you have had this procedure please let me know your results. Many thanks.
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Many thanks to all for your comments and recommendation's.
I understand your reluctance to have too much more done on your spine. If the SCS doesn't work for me I am going to have the PSO done. Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy. It's hard to get into Virginia Mason in Seattle WA. The doctor that is Raj Sethi. World renowned surgeon. This is the end of the road and is as good as it gets. He conducts a full medical review board to access the risk vs reward benefits.
I might as well get my two cents in here. Talk about disappointed, well, that is me. I am now 85+ and have had back troubles since I was 40. Had all the treatments over the years. Nothing helped for the long term. My latest pain management doctor suggested Abbott SCS. I would try anything to be normal again so I bit. $250,000 plus later and the unit is turned off. I got zero pain relief and all it did was make my legs so weak I could not walk up stairs without grabbing a hand rail and pulling myself up. Oh, I have had 9 different programs, each with several different power settings and zilch pain relief. Once I had a referred pain in my right leg that was so bad I darn near passed out. At least a 8-9 level pain. A man came running up to me thinking I was having an heart attack. He was ann EMT and wanted to help. I told him it was a leg pain. Abbott said I would get 40-50% pain relief when we did the test. (they used some tricky figuring to get those results.) Didn’t happen. All the implant leads have been checked and are in the proper placement. Controller seems to be working. Sure made my legs weak. Took me six months to finally get Abbott to admit that “it could make my legs feel weak”. Didn’t feel weak, they were. 9 months of exercises to get them back. So that is my story. No fairy tale ending here. I am still waiting to run into someone with a SCS that is working for them.
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3 ReactionsMy late husband had a SCS and experienced great results. Of course he had the trial first. The company worked with him very well on getting the stimulator adjusted. They called him the morning after placement. Called daily a few days, then weekly for a while. He had the Nevro SCS.
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1 ReactionThat's really unfortunate. I had a Medtronics scs for about three and a half years. It worked fairly well until it suddenly stopped. There was some thought that several of the electrodes on the paddle had burned out. Who know? Did you have the trial? And, what kind of pain relief did you get if any? They always shoot for at least 50% pain reduction before moving forward with the permanent implant. I had about 80% pain reduction during the trial but only 50% with the implant. Still, it was enough, along with my pain meds, to maake my life almost normal. I was able to get out again and cycle for 30-40 miles a week. I know from reading a lot of these posts that not everyone will get noticeable pain mitigatin from a scs. No one seems to be able to explain it. Again, did you have the trial and what kind of relief did yoy get?
BTW... I had a pain pump implanted last year. It is supposed to give 87% of users decent pain relief. Well, I guess that I'm in the unlucky 13% who don't get relief. Boo-hoo! lol
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1 ReactionDid you end up getting the SCS? If so, how is it working for you?
No, I never got the SCS. I was referred to a Neurosurgeon who performed a Laminectomy on me first, followed by a L3-4-5 spinal fusion. I am currently 4-weeks post-op from the surgery.
How are you feeling at this point? I'm 9 months out from my L4-5 fusion, and having low/right back pain. I've tried epidural injections, nerve blocks, etc, and think an SCS is my last option. I think it's due to scar tissue formation.
I am still rather young in my recovery process following my spinal fusion - it's going to take me a good 3-months to even begin to feel better. I still have a lot of pain/discomfort, am still taking pain medication and muscle relaxants, walking with my rolling walker. I have hip and groin pain which I hear is all part of this recovery. So I guess you could say that there is still a lot of healing that has to happen yet in my body.
I have been through all of this: L4-S1 fusion in 2014; epidurals, lots of PT (and I am extremely active) and had the SCS performed in 2023. It is working, yet you need to work with it and the reps: it is not a one size fits all. I knew of the SCS five years ago, but I wasn't ready. When you have exhausted all methods, then you will know when it is time. There are several companies for SCS, do your research. Strongest wavelength is not the best. One thing with a fusion: the hardware in your spine begins to settle and bulge on top of the other lumbers. Not a good thing.