Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

@faithgirl30 I am sorry for being so shallow but did Boston Scientific give you a “refund” so to speak? How devastating!

@bustrbrwn22 No, there was no refund, sigh. You have to sign a lot of paperwork before the device is implanted that limits the liability of the device manufacturers. They tell you straight up that this therapy won’t work for everyone, and you are the one taking the financial risk in having a device implanted.

@jesfactsmon Hi Hank! Thanks for the welcome and empathy regarding the challenges of living with chronic pain. I’m really sorry to hear about your wife’s situation - I feel a great deal of empathy regarding the pain she must experience on a daily basis. She’s lucky to have you as a loving companion and caregiver. I don’t know if I could get through my day without the help of my husband.

I had a Boston Scientific Wavewriter implanted about 2 years ago. It was a combination device that provided both high and low frequency therapy. The trial provided great relief to the right side of my neck, where I was experiencing pain. Because of my pain patterns, my surgeon and pain specialist agreed that I would benefit from a paddle implanted directly over the spinal cord instead of the usual leads. This would allow better coverage, but it required a larger incision down the back of my neck than the leads, so it was a bigger surgery to implant the device than most people undergo. I was really excited about the possibility of pain relief that didn’t require long term medication.

I asked the Boston Scientific reps if we could turn on the device while I was still in the hospital, as surgery on the back of the neck is extremely painful. I was hoping to begin experiencing pain relief right away.

Unfortunately, once implanted the device never worked for me. I worked with the Boston Scientific rep countless times on adjustments to try and create algorithms that would work for me. We were never successful at providing pain relief.

So, in my last surgery, October 2019, I had my surgeon remove the device as part of a surgery where they fully fused my neck and added rods to the back of my neck for stability. One of the things that surprised my surgeon was just how much scar tissue had formed around the paddle, making it really difficult to remove, but this may have also been one of the reasons the device didn’t work. While trying to remove the device and all the scar tissue, my surgeon punctured the dura causing a spinal fluid leak and making my recovery much more difficult.

I know spinal cords stimulators work for many patients - but for me, it just wasn’t a successful experience.

Dear faithgirl30, I am so sorry for the misery you are going through. Really I just want to cry for you. We all are facing so much pain on a daily basis and where is all of this technology getting us, except the medical world wealthier. That may or may not be fair to say to all medical help, but gosh it just isn't right for you to have gone through what you did and no refunds. I have found relief in my world of pain, but unfortunately the same method has not worked for Hank's wife. I hope bunnyb is having good results. I feel bad having told them of my cold laser treatment with such good results and not have it work for them the way it has me. You and all are in my prayers for the right answer to each of us individually. God bless and take care. Jerid

my name is Steve, I had TKR 2yrs ago and have been stuck in server pain since the surgery, I have had ever injection[ nerve blocks] , tried every cream, had nerves cut and knee revision still no relieve. Next step is STEMWAVE IMPLANTS OR SPINAL STIMULATOR . I am so lost on what to do

my name is Steve, I had TKR 2yrs ago and have been stuck in server pain since the surgery, I have had ever injection[ nerve blocks] , tried every cream, had nerves cut and knee revision still no relieve. Next step is STEMWAVE IMPLANTS OR SPINAL STIMULATOR . I am so lost on what to do

Welcome, Steve. Your story sounds awful. When you say severe pain, what do you mean, may I ask if you don’t mind?

Have you had a revision?