Anyone tried Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain?

Thank you for all the information. Specific details are helpful to me as a retired RN.
I am currently on my second round of steroid injections. The first three helped but the pain slowly increased over the year. I have had 2 more spinal injection since January and see my pain specialist next week to evaluate pain relief. Ibuprofen and and an as needed hydrocodone help me with activity related pain.
Sounds like I may have a long haul in getting pain relief or I may be blessed with a shorter time to the right treatment for me. I am encouraged with the quantity of treatments available.
Thank you again for reaching out and sharing your journey with back pain.

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@mgh15 I'm sorry, but I missed the reason you're considering an SCS. I've learned that the further the signal has to travel to reach the location of the pain, the less likely that it will help. The pain I'm reaching for is in my feet and ankles.

BTW, the pain specialist recommended a memory foam cushion. I visited our daughter shortly after that and tried out the one she has, and found it to be very comfortable, so I ordered one on Amazon from Cushion Lab. It makes sense. Sitting, the nerves to my feet and legs are being compressed or stretched. My daughter gave me a tie died bag that the cushion just fits in, so it goes with me - when I think of it.

Jim

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@mgh15 My SCS implant was in June, 2017, and the first year was really great! The second year, it was still helping, but it needed adjustments to the settings every 3 months. After that, it gradually became less effective, and by the 3rd year, if I turned it off for a month, I couldn't feel any difference.

I will have to say that a new rep took over the business of making adjustments, and I felt around 25% reduction in the pain. At the same time, I had a dorsal root ganglion stimulator trial, and there were complications requiring removal of the wires, but it was in long enough to tell that it wasn't going to help my pain.

I have the stimulator on, in the hope that it's helping, along with the various medications I take. In September, I began monthly IVig infusions, with two days of 4 hour IV infusions each month. I didn't feel any improvement until the 4th month, and since them, the pain reduction has been significant. Certain things exacerbate the pain - sitting for more than 30 minutes, standing still and being on my feet all day, whether working at home or shopping. By the end of those long days, my feet sometimes burn.

Things that currently help. I think I've tried every neuropathy pain med that was on my pcp's list, then the pain specialists' list, a couple of neurologists' lists, and various folk remedies. All 5 of my siblings found that Gabapentin did the job for them. Not me. So, I took morphine sulphate contin for quite a few years, but my doctor cut my dose in half, to a most sub-therapeutic dose. Someone here suggested buprenorphine, so when I started seeing a new pain specialist, she agreed that it could be a safer and more effective medication. I initially went to her because I'm considering a pain pump implant, and we've talked about zonitide, but I would have to find a compounding pharmacy to make it for me, and find someone to maintain the monthly filling of the pump. That's in the initial research stage right now. I've been in the hospital twice since September, so that's set me back on a number of fronts. Sorry. I've rambled off topic.

I have the SCS still going, monthly IVig infusions, Duloxetine @120mg daily, buprenorphine @ 2mg 3x daily, meloxicam and tylenol (mostly for arthritis), Prednisone 10mg (in hopes of slowing the progression), and I put Lidocaine 5% cream on the areas that are burning. Unfortunately, my idiopathic small fiber axonal inflammatory demylenating polyneuropathy is progressing at a rate that concerns my neurologist. I have a couple of new tests being scheduled, with a couple others after that. I don't know if I'll ever get to the pain pump. It's all been just a bit too overwhelming, along with being treated for depression, anxiety and PTSD with a therapist and Wellbutrin, Mirtazepine and Clonazepam and my service dog, Sadie.

So, where are you in the SCS implant possibility? Have you scheduled a trial? Please do your research as to your choice of surgeon. That's more important than I realized. I never met the surgeon until I was in the surgery prep area. I dealt with assistants both before and after. If I were writing this in 2018, I'd be hyped to recommend getting the implant. It did give me a couple of years of pain relief, and I think it could be helping me more right now if I could get the company rep to return my calls. The settings he gave me last summer did make a difference. I guess I just need to press him more to meet with me.

I hope I've given you a little food for thought. I know that implants have helped many people.

Jim

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@martyk The SCS is Abbott, though at the time it was St. Jude. The DRG stimulator was also Abbott. After 4 days, the dressing worked loose, exposing the surgical site, so I called the doctor, and he told me to meet him at the orthopedic surgery center as soon as I could get there. This was on a Sunday morning. After some discussion, he removed the wires. We decided that since I wasn't feeling any effect after 4 days, I wasn't likely to benefit from it. The Abbott rep was there, as well, and he restarted the SCS, made adjustments, and the SCS started to give me around 25% pain relief. He adjusted it again a month later, and I need to see him again.

Tonight, I'm having trouble with anxiety. Dealing with chronic pain at the same time as mental health issues is sometimes difficult. As a rule, the depression and anxiety and PTSD are fairly stable, but when pain goes up, my mental health issues are affected. Anxiety and panic attacks tend to surface at nighttime. Maybe you have found dual diagnoses to be a challenge, as well. It's pretty common to have depression along with chronic pain. They're like cousins. I was being treated for depression, etc., for several years before neuropathy pain started. It kind of set me back mentally.

Sorry for rambling on.

Where is the pain you're targeting? Stimulators are used for all kinds of pain, and they work great for some people. I hope you have success with whatever you decide to do next.

Jim

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My pain is in my right for. I had two surgeries on my toes 5 1/2 and 3 1/2 years ago. So far conventional therapies have not worked. Tried a SCS by Boston Scientific about 2 years ago. I only got 25% relief an d I didn't like the parathesia that device generated. Not painful but annoying. I had it removed after 2 months. Perhaps I should have gave it more time. I had the DRG trial about 3 months ago. Not sure if I should get a permanent one installed. The rep keeps calling me. My foot is very sore.

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I have had mine for over a year now and it has been a true blessing. I was 6 months post op when I was told there was nothing more they could do. I couldn't even walk at that point. I had the implant and was so excited over the results. I now walk 2 miles a day with little to no pain. I do get acky now and then but nothing I can't live with.

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I have had mine for over a year now and it has been a true blessing. I was 6 months post op when I was told there was nothing more they could do. I couldn't even walk at that point. I had the implant and was so excited over the results. I now walk 2 miles a day with little to no pain. I do get acky now and then but nothing I can't live with.

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@martyk The SCS is Abbott, though at the time it was St. Jude. The DRG stimulator was also Abbott. After 4 days, the dressing worked loose, exposing the surgical site, so I called the doctor, and he told me to meet him at the orthopedic surgery center as soon as I could get there. This was on a Sunday morning. After some discussion, he removed the wires. We decided that since I wasn't feeling any effect after 4 days, I wasn't likely to benefit from it. The Abbott rep was there, as well, and he restarted the SCS, made adjustments, and the SCS started to give me around 25% pain relief. He adjusted it again a month later, and I need to see him again.

Tonight, I'm having trouble with anxiety. Dealing with chronic pain at the same time as mental health issues is sometimes difficult. As a rule, the depression and anxiety and PTSD are fairly stable, but when pain goes up, my mental health issues are affected. Anxiety and panic attacks tend to surface at nighttime. Maybe you have found dual diagnoses to be a challenge, as well. It's pretty common to have depression along with chronic pain. They're like cousins. I was being treated for depression, etc., for several years before neuropathy pain started. It kind of set me back mentally.

Sorry for rambling on.

Where is the pain you're targeting? Stimulators are used for all kinds of pain, and they work great for some people. I hope you have success with whatever you decide to do next.

Jim

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