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Medtronic Neurostimulator Therapy

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Chronic Pain
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Posted 4/10/2014 7:58 PM (GMT -8)
If anyone who has had a Medtronic Neurostimulation Therapy for Chronic pain inserted could you please help me. I have severe stenosis at L2. My L3,4,5 are fused with 2 rods to support the scoliosis with a spin. Pain Management is recommending the Medtronic. I am a female, 62, severe left leg pain and drop foot at times. I am using essential oils which are helping but only started a few months ago and they take time. I am very hesitant to have this implant. Has anyone had the Medtronic inserted for a year or more that can give the advantages and disadvantages? Much appreciated.
Posted 4/11/2014 12:48 AM (GMT -8)
Hello Hawes and welcome to the CP forums at HW. We currently have a few members with neuro stim experience but if your looking for a broader range of opinions I suggest going to the top of your page and using the search forum option. This will bring up any post ever made about neuro stims at the forums,be sure to search all forums since members on Osteo and other forums also have posts.

Im sorry to say I have seen far more failures with them then success since my years here at the forum but everyone is different in what works.

I hope you find some good advice in your search and are able to make the right decision for yourself. Im glad you joined us and will look forward to your updates.

If you encounter any trouble searching or maneuvering the forum please come back and ask for help and me or one of the other mods will be glad to help.
Posted 4/11/2014 9:11 AM (GMT -8)
Hello Hawes & welcome to the forum. I completely agree with Vickie on this & would not recommend one. We see a lot of folks have problems with the leads migrating & constantly having to have more surgery to take those out & put new ones in which is a tough surgery. One thing I have noticed is the drs down play the implant of these devices and we hear patients say had they known how extensive the surgery was they would not have done it. They believed their dr & found out it was a hard surgery & a long recovery. Please do use the search feature & type in SCS units & read up on them here.

Take care.
Posted 4/11/2014 5:10 PM (GMT -8)
….I hate to say this, I really do!….but I will 3rd this!... as one that would not jump at the chance for one of these. I think I have seen more patients that said the trial worked great, but a few months later, with the permanent one implanted, the patient regretted it. Also!…once implanted they almost never remove them, wether they are working or not.

Normally I would stay out of a suggestion like this, but to be honest we see patient after patient having problems with them.

Now!…that being said, you have to understand that most all members here, are here because they are having problems controlling pain, wether its with meds or an implanted device to control it. Happy costumers, normally don't join forums and brag about their success on a daily bases. What the actual success rate is with these devises, is something I don't know. And!…I sure wouldn't ask the salesman of the company who makes them!

If I had a choice between a last resort Stimulator or a pain pump, I would settle for the pump.

As suggested, I would use the search feature here, and read up all that you can.

SE
Posted 4/11/2014 7:00 PM (GMT -8)
I am one week post op with my Medtronic neurostimulator so far its going good I have noticed relief with my chronic pain but its still to early to say. This is not an easy surgery and recovery isn't simple and has a lot of restrictions. I'm looking for information from someone as far as long term recovery, since my injury my quality of life has been in the dumps from the pain, self esteem has been low. Before I was hurt I had a good career as a medic and firefighter and already been told my career was done. I'm 35 enjoyed weightlifting, playing sports, and playing with my 11 and 9 yr old children what's the chances of gaining any of that back, and what are some of the long term restrictions.




Injured in January 2011, had series of epidural injections October/November 2011, SI joint injections December 2011 microdiscectomy and laminectomy January 2012, more injections March/ April 2012, microdiscectomy and laminectomy revision May 2012, Physical therapy 2011-2013, tens unit prescribed 2013, SCS trial March 2014, SCS implant April 2014. Current dx SI Joint dysfunction, bulging disc L2-L3, Nerve impingement W/ possible 3rd herniated disc at L5-S1, scar tissue build up w/ bone spur, spinal stenosis, ect.
Posted 4/11/2014 11:27 PM (GMT -8)
Welcome Dee to the forum and if I may suggest you start a intro post under new topic so no one will miss you and we love having the chance to hearing of folks journey and welcoming you. I do hope your stims a success and please keep us updated to your progress since SE stated we dont see a lot of good endings with stims.

That being said I believe age and overall health of the recipient plays a great role in success,your a relatively healthy younger person then Hawes and at 62 any surgical procedures a greater risk with longer recovery times and I would consider those things as well against the benefits.
Posted 4/13/2014 8:20 AM (GMT -8)
hi there hawkes, welcome aboard. back a few years i had something called a bone growth stimulator
made by spinalogic. not sure if it is the same thing. but thought i would mention it. i've had two
fusions over the past couple years and haven't used it since. thinking about trying it again.
twenty minutes a day once a day it was prescribed. welcome to the forum and best of luck to ya..
keep us updated...
Posted 4/13/2014 9:44 AM (GMT -8)
Hi Hawes, and welcome.

I haven't got any experience with the Medtronic brand of stims - but I'm coming up to eight years with St Jude, and I wouldn't be without it for all the world. My reasons for having it are a bit different to yours - My primary issue is a disease called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

All that said - I have had numerous problems with it - mainly lead migration (which requires further surgery to correct) and also premature battery failure. I also have a pump and still require oral meds, but what the stim does for me is knock out my allodynia (basically - where every touch and contact hurts - even things like light clothing or a gentle breeze) by about 90%. It's also proved effective against pains I've 'acquired' in the last 2-3 years thanks to fracturing eight vertebrae and more recently piriformis syndrome and sciatica.


Dee - I think long term effects come down very much to the individual... I'm not sure if we do things differently here (I'm Australian) - but certainly I seem to hear far fewer failures and horror stories among other Aussies than among US patients - I don't know if that's pure coincidence, maybe trials here are conducted differently, or a higher rate of pain relief is required for a trial to be successful??? I'm not sure about getting back to something as physical as you were doing before - even after the leads (especially the percutaneous type as against the paddles) have scarred into place, there is still a real potential for them to migrate with very strenuous movement. I know I had big discussions with my doctor about this- I was in vet school when I first had mine done - I had planned on doing horse and cattle work - and was warned against it even after I'd gone through my restricted movement period following surgery.

Happy to try and answer any other questions if I can

Laura
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