Re: Re:spinal cord stimulator-Caroline

[Guest guest]

Ann,

Wow! An implant! Kind of like robotics. YOu can call yourself Bionic Woman now I

guess, eh? It sounds really neat though. Did you buy it from the company? Or did

a doctor recommend it & sell it to you? I imagine a dr. had to implant it,

right? Does it interfere with your daily activities in any way at all? is it

covered by insurance? Medicare? Seems strange to have such a device inside

oneself. Oh well, they put metal in people's spines, don't they? This sounds

less complicated to insert into the body. I'll check out the website, thanx.

Caroline

[Guest guest]

This sounds kind of like Interstim....that's why my doc is saying is the next

step for my IC....but to be honest I'm kind of afraid to try it, it involves

spinal cord surgery which scares me, if something goes wrong....

Blessings, Lori

Ann wrote:

The stimulator works somewhat like a tens but much better and you can have

many more areas of your body feel the stimulation than with the tens unit.

It is all internal...I have 2 leads at my T8 level with 8 electrodes on each

one...this is what transmits the electrical pulses to the area where I have

pain to block the pain.

[Guest guest]

<<< My doctor is wanting to do a spinal cord stimulator on me. For some

reason, I am not wanting to have this done. It seems so invasive and I

personally am scared of the things that could happen if a lead moves out of

place. Did you hesitate at all about having this done? How much has it

improved your quality of life?>>>>

Yvette

I did lots of research before I had it done...went to the Medtonics web site

as there is so much info there and I talked to someone who had one and asked

my doctor a million questions. I had the surgery done by a neurosurgeon and

would recommend having only a neuro do this...and one that has lots of

experience. They actually suture the leads to your bone on your spine so

once it heals and scars over, the chance of it moving is pretty slim.

I still have pain in my back but I would not give this up for anything as it

took away the terrible burning pain I used to get in my legs and I could not

live with that anymore.

Hope you find the answers you are looking for and hope this helps.

Ann

[Guest guest]

Same with me on the stimulator. My neuro says my " options " now are either more

surgery (fusion) or try the stimulator. I'm not thrilled with either option..and

have a LOT more research to do before I make a decision. I have constant back

pain and constant sciatic pain in varying degrees. The latest MRI shows there's

no " obvious " bone spurs or anything that seems to be pushing on the nerves. I

had a laminectomy last August..but have continued to have pain. I'm not sure

what can be causing all the pain! His answer was...scar tissue or that when I

move a certain way that something is probably pushing on the nerves. (thus the

fusion option) The pain in my back gets worse the longer I'm on my feet..and the

sciatica gets worse the more I sit. Very frustrating!

I've tried the ESI, water therapy, yoga (what I can do now), physical therapy

and am now trying accupuncture...with no relief from any of it.

Jan @->--