Connect
Should I ask for removal of innactive spinal cord stimulator?
I had my spinal cord stimulator implanted for my back back in 2012. It never did work very well.. After a few years of moving and then covid I lost track of the charging system. My stimulator has been innactive (not charged) since 2018 at least. I recently lost over 80 lbs and while the pain in my back has substantially improved, the area where my stimulator causes me sharp stabbing pain at times and I can feel the leads when I lay down on my side. Also there is a large lumpy area when the leads were implanted and the area around the stimulator is very loose so much so that I can nearly turn the thing over.. This is 2025 and I haven't used this thing in a very long time. I'm thinking about asking to have it removed. Will this be an issue seeing as how long I've had it? Thanks for any input.
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.
Connect
@laurafhl
I would probably want it out, too. The only issue is paying for it. If you don’t have a medical complication or approved reason to remove according to your insurance company policy for your plan, they may say you need to pay for it yourself. When I had ruptured saline implants and breast implant illness symptoms, my insurance would not pay for removal but the surgeon was willing to do the surgery if I paid for it. It ended up costing me about $11k (in 2023) but a removal of a stimulator would be much more involved than my procedure and I would expect more expensive.
It sounds like you may have some scar tissue and nerve damage in the area of the implanted stimulator so not sure if this will improve or worsen with removal. You would want to weight the pros and cons of removal.
By the way, congratulations on your weight loss! I need to also lose 80 pounds. How did you do it and how long did it take you? Do you have a lot of loose skin from the weight loss?