Has anyone had a abbot spinal cord stimulator put in?

Hi. Has anyone had the Medtronic Spinal Cord Stimulator put in? I am going to have a temporary one put on and then decide if I want the implant. It scares me!! I have a very messed up back. I didn't want to do Spinal Fusion Surgery so I lived with the pain and now it's more. From what I understand, if it doesn't work or if it hurts, it can readily be removed. Thank you so much in advance!

Has anyone had the Medtronic Spinal Cord Stimulator?

What is an SCS? I've had a Discectomy which shaves off the bulging part of your disc and a Laminectomy which removes the lamina to open up the spinal canal because I have spinal stenosis.

Not yet.
Surgery was pushed back to 3/28/25.
I scheduled a trip, and the surgical team told me it wasn’t a good idea to travel so soon after the SCS is removed.

I just had a paddle lead proclaim Abbott’s spinal cord stimulator placed. In the 3 weeks that it has been in I have had 95% pain relief at the L4/L5 level. It turned itself off one time during the night and I woke up at 4 AM with 7/10 pain, which was the level of pain I had before the surgery. I grabbed my I phone, got it turned back on and within about 15 minutes I was back to zero out of 10 pain. It is still early but so far great! I have questions still for the rep but can wait until the post op visit . I hope that I don’t have the problem that some have written about not being able to get in touch with the rep months later. I’m sorry you are having trouble getting MRIs. I have had 4 back surgeries too and had trouble finding a neurosurgeon willing to put the spinal cord stimulator in. I’m 72 yrs old and on Medicare advantage plan and had to find a neurosurgeon in network. When I had trouble finding my rep before the surgery (I didn’t know his name), I called the local Southern California Abbott office and they put out a blanket email to all their reps and mine called back!). Good luck to you- maybe you could do the same and request a new rep!

I received the 7 day trial from Abbott and I can tell you first had that it absolutely worked for me. I have a trashed back with several bulged disks, fractures, and have had 1 herniated disk and a decompression surgery on L3,4,5 that failed. My leg, hip, and lower back has been horrendous. During the trial the pain was gone in my leg and hip. One spot in my back gave me some pain but tolerable . I am set to have it implanted because after the removal the pain has returned. I absolutely recommend the Abbott implant nerve stimulator.

I tried a different brand stimulator from Boston Sientific that different work. Maybe I should ask my pain specialist to try Abbott.

I have the Abbott SCS for about 7 mos. now, and have had minimal results. I did have the trial for about 10 days and saw some improvement,but during the trial they tell you not to bend over, or lift any objects over 5 pounds. so, it's kind of hard to see the full affect. Anyway, I now have the permanent one and see some minimal relief. I had two back surgeries, one was a laminectomy, and then 13 yrs ago a spinal fusion,, with the rods and pins put in. I have had back pain and have two dropped feet since then. I get around fine but the back pain is still there. I will say the Abbott company rep. has been great. He has met with me many times to try to readjust the implant. I have now 5 different programs on the phone app and have tried them all. So, I'd say if you get the trial, try to make sure you have it for as long as you can, and give it a good try. The only complaint I have about the device is that they tell you it only need charging every 2 or 3 months,, WRONG.. It all depends on the strength settings and to get any relief you have to have the settings set higher. So, then I have to recharge about every 3 weeks.. Not a big deal,,just a pain.. Also, they a have non chargeable one ,but it only last a few years and then you have to go thru the surgery again to put a new one in.. Not really an option for me.
Anyway, I'd recommend giving it a try as most say it gives some relief.

I had an L4-L5 fusion that left me with chronic pain in my lower back and legs.
After 2 years with little to no pain relief I had an Abbott SCS implant. That was 2.5 years ago. The implant has provided noticeable decrease in leg pain but has done little for the back pain. I continue to try injections periodically and take pain, anti inflammatory and anti spasmodic medications daily. Has anyone found something else to help relieve pain? Thank you.
Wishing you all a less painful weekend

I have advanced Ankylosing Spondylitis, I recently had bilateral SI joint fusion which I feel was mostly successful but it did nothing for the nerve pain throughout my low back, pelvis, hips & legs, after RFAs & other injections, a nerve stimulator is now my least invasive option. Any similar experiences I could get would be great.