spinal cord stimulator

[mrsrlp]

Has anyone had the spinal cord stimulator for degenerative disc disease? Has it helped to the point that you can come off narcotics?

[emtert]

I have a failed fusion at L5-S1. the vertebre are bridged but if not for the screws would not be stable. My spine surgeon wants me to keep waiting it out in hopes it will continue to fuse on its own, I agreed to try a bone growth stimulator to help speed up the process, meanwhile I am having severe pain in my back, tramodol is the only med my MD will give me. He also gave me the option of the SCS for the pain. After reading some of the previous posts, I am looking for other options. I am 14 months post op. ANY suggestiond will be greatly apreciated

[mrsrlp]

Buddah,
Thank you for your input on this matter. I am not going to have this product put inside of me. I have been going through hell parden my french since Nov. I have been very ill and now I have been having N/V since Nov. It has boiled down to the Morphine I was taking. I am about weaned off of that and I will have to try another long acting drug. God help me, I will be on it the rest of my life. I am 70 years old so I am not concerned about addiction to any drug, I only want to find one I can take that will not make me sick. Celebrex really helps my pain also. Maybe I can do the Celebrex and get injections ever 5 months. That would be wonderful. Thanks again.

[buddah1237]

I am agreement with the MadMan. Please get a second opinion. I have the device implanted. The battery is in my buttox upper left and the lead runs up my spinal cord to the center of my back. this device is not only ineffective for pain but it creates another set of problems such as your not being able to get an MRI once you have it implanted.
When it was first implanted, the good folks from Boston Scientific would send my "personal Tech" out to adjust the device to target the pain areas. Well the adjustment would only seem to work for a few days and once again I was calling him to set up another appointment to be put back on the rack to be adjusted again. this went on for months until finally I stopped using it. Now I have a battery implanted in my butt and a wire attached to my spine and having the worst time trying to get someone to agree to perform the surgery to remove the whole thing. The Pain Management Doctor who swore by this device does not seem to want to have the discussion and my adjuster with Workers Comp does not believe that any surgery for the removal will be paid for by them, (they paid for it to be installed). I am truly sorry that it did not work, I had a lot of hope that this device would be the one thing that would allow me to have an increase in quality of life, but not so. Not to say that it will not work for you, but just ask a few more people of their experience with it and I am sure you will find more people like myself who are looking for ways to have it removed.
Also, I cannot sleep on that side, pressure on the battery causes much discomfort. And I am told that it can create another dangerous issue if it is left in for any length of time,

[mrsrlp]

Oh Madman,
Thank you soooo much for your story. I will ask my PM doc about the botox and I have already decided NOT TO GET THE STIMULATOR. I do not want anything in my body! My doctors mother is in her 80's and her bones are crumbling. She has tried Celibrex and it helps her. I have been on it for 2 days now and the pain has subsided. I will go in for the injections and continue the Celibrex and get off the darn drugs! I hope. :) Thank you again for you advice. Bless you for helping me. mrsrlp

[TheMadMan]

Please get a second opinion if your need this stimulator. I have DJD/DDD for years, been on all the medications needed, (which didn't help), fentanyl patches and more. All this did was dope me up but the pain was still there. My pain management doctor (after going through changes of three doctors) wanted to refill my morphine but I told her I did not want the drugs, I just wanted a shot (steroid injection for the pain area) and all she would do is refill my morphine.
After much debate with her, she prescribed the spinal cord stimulator. Apparently, there is a requirement of physiological testing for this apparatus which I did. (I was told this is required by law) I had to pay for this testing out of pocket but told by the psychologist that I passed the test and she would refer this results to my pm doctor. When I returned to my pm doctor, she 'decided' that I did not need this spinal cord stimulator. She finally gave me the shot I requested and also a Botox injection to the piriformis muscle which had been troubling me for years.
I am now walking, off the drugs and relatively pain free but don't need to argue with a doctor for treatment so I will be consulting with another doctor AS NEEDED but since November, I have been walking for the first time in years and waking up muscles that needed this exercise. Waking up this muscles is the only pain I have now and glad I did not get this implant. Just ask around and do research into if you need this implant. Good luck and stay strong, the mind and education is the best medicine.