Medtronics Spinal Cord Stimulators: Intellis

@caregeraci15 I did a trial of the pain pump. They injected a small amount of dilaudid into the space around the spinal cord. It dropped my pain from a 7 down to about a 2. Unfortunately, the permanent implant has not helped even though I have had the pump's output increased many times. Have not had no such test on my spine. None of the 20+ docs I have seen have ever mentioned it. I am still taking oral meds. Not really sure they are helping.

@heisenberg34 so if the permanent pain hasn't worked in spite of several increases in the medicine are you still trying to get a benefit from it? You're not sure the oral meds are helping? How would you rate your pain with everything you've told me?

@frodo777 Good Day! Thank you for the well wishes. I wish you well on your healing journey. LORD, have mercy on us! 8 spine surgeries...they want to do another spine surgery on my lower, lower lumbar area to help with the stenosis but I have some precautions due to the first major lumbar spine surgery ended up failing me. I'm in pain every single day of my life but I'm grateful to be alive and do not wish to die! I'm just saying, it gets rough! What are you doing now to manage your pain? Did you get Nevro removed? Why do you choose Nevro over Medtronic?

I have a Medtronic Bladder Stimulator and all I can say is, blah! In other words, I have a Samsung phone that goes alongside my device, to change the settings, but none of the settings have any details. You just basically are going in blind, choosing a setting you think may work for you without even having a guide. Medtronics does a poor job of educating patients on their products. I've called them a few times and their explanations were vague and not helpful. I think my Pain Specialist only installs (implants) Medtronics' devices. I guess I'd have to find another Pain Specialist, but that can be frustrating and misconstrued because they may think I'm Doctor Shopping when I'm not, I'm trying to have a better life.

@caregeraci15 Thanks for your response. I am at the end of my rope with this pain pump. My pain has stayed at a steady 8 for the past three years despite getting more increases than I can remember. At one point I had it increased to a point that I started having fits of nausea and vomiting. So, I had to have the pump dialed back. I believe that I will get it removed since it's doing nothing to help. what's really crazy is that one day last October I had given myself a bolus(increase) and, about 30 minutes later, nearly almost all my pain disappeared. Looks like my pain is here to stay.

@heisenberg34 I'm sorry your pain pump hasn't helped you with your pain. Three years at an 8 I know is frustrating but when my pain is that high and that happen one to two hours before I'm due to take my pain meds. I take Oxycodone 5mg Q6H and Tizanidine with it. They take the edge off and sometimes my pain drops to a 2 but it returns before it's time to take my meds. You sound defeated when you say your pain is here to stay and I feel bad for you. Do the oral meds you take help? What do you take if I may ask. I find that when I'm anxious the pain is worse and when I'm in pain my anxiety is worse. Nobody I've seen for my pain has been able to diagnose the cause. It feels muscular but I can't be sure.