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A pain specialist has recommended this treatment for my 87 year old mother who walks with a walker, had one hip replacement and hasn't walked well in years. She's been in pain for years and I think much of it is from the hip that was not replaced. My questions are: why now when she's been in pain for years and also is this a good thing to do for a 87 year old?
Depends on how much pain she is really in and how effective drugs are for her. I don't think my mother would have had it done at that age (she was 93 y/o at death). You have to weigh all the factors.
September 9, 2009 I had Neurostimulation therapy implant and I have been in discomfort ever since. I get constant pinching on my back and where the battery is implanted I am unable to sit due to pain. I can feel the wire on my back and I am unable to wear a bra due to the clasp that is aligned directly on the incision. I have been back to the dr and he gave me 3 choices, move the battery to the right side, NO, not an option for me, go deeper with the implants, or have them removed. I am leaning toward having the implants removed. I am so uncomfortable and unable to sleep since I cannot lie on my back or my left side where the battery is. My right side is becoming very sore due to favoring it for lying down or just sitting. Are there any others who have made a decision to have the implants removed??
[email]dtaverna46@yahoo.com[/email]
I had pain in the bottom of my left foot making it difficult to wear a shoe or walk very long distances, apparently as the result of nerve damage from some major knee surgery. I had the three day screening test, and the results were mixed. Mostly because they warn you that the test probe is just needle inserted in the proper place and not tied down. It would be tied down to the spine on the permenant implant so that it wouldn't move. They warned me not to raise my arms over my head, lift anything heavy or misalign my shoulders and hip (????? how are you going to do that when you roll over in bed and is difficult when you get in and out of a car) because it could move out of position and not be as effective. The first day was not perfect, but at least 50 to 75 improvement and made things more bearable. Of course after sleeping and moving around all day the first day, it was a little worse the second day and even more so the third. But, after all they did inform me that it was possible and why. The day the test probe was removed the equipment representative made so adjustments that brought some of its capability back closer to original. I asked the pain management doctor and the neurosurgeon if there were any other options and got response of no.
The surgeon had expressed some doubts if it was a good solution for me, but not real strong and no other suggestions. I told him we can't function like this, so let's try it. We did the permenant implant and things seemed to be about what the first day of test were and improvement originally. They informed me that overtime it scares in and things change, but supposedly can be adjusted. WELL, the adjustment they can make are minimum, the only adjustment is really to turn the output up. In my case, after nine months in order to turn it up enough to reduce the pain in the bottom of the foot, I get an electrical shock up my entire leg all of the way to the spine and possible all of the way down to the other foot. This is not very comfortable and makes it very very difficult to walk. Also, when you are riding in a car and are jostled around from possibly a bump in the road the results are a shock. Their suggestion is to turn it off when driving and not a bad idea when riding either.
The other thing that they aren't exactly truthful about is insurance paying for it. In my case, Aetna only covers it under certain conditions and there is a fine line between yes and no. The doctors office check and supposedly cleared it with the Aetna. By the time the surgery was done and the bills reached Aetna, Aetna requested the diagnose reports and determined it didn't meet their criteria, and it was in their opinion experimental. Therefore I am in the process of trying to get Aetna to review it again and change their opinion. Otherwise, I am facing approximately $80,000+ in medical bills and the thing is becoming less and less effective.
I have some minor looseness backward and forward in the knee because the surgery was to replace the ACL and PCl tendon, which control that positioning. I expressed concern immediately because it causes minor instability. He said it was within the medical accepatable range. I had an appointment with a different knee surgeon the other day to see if he could suggest a different neurological group about the pain. He was shocked and made it clear that this was not acceptable. So, tomorrow I have another appointment with their top surgeon on knee tendon replacement and may have to go through more surgery because he thinks that it is the root of the nerve problem in the first place.
Bottom line is the medical profession doesn't seem to be full truthful about anything. At the moment, I rack doctors with used car salesmen.
Good Luck
How old are you? The pain specialist wants to do this on my mother who is 87 and I'm
questioning it. Any better yet?
Depends on how much pain she is really in and how effective drugs are for her. I don't think my mother would have had it done at that age (she was 93 y/o at death). You have to weigh all the factors.
the pain meds hardly work for her at all any more. We're waiting to see if the procedure will even
get authorized at all anyway but she is thinking of doing the trial to see.
I thnik that what the Op is describing is what Jerry Lewis said fianally ended is back pan from when he was injuried during he and Dean Martins days by a fall. He basically had tried everything for years and years.
have had 5 back surgeries and a BONE simulator (magnet ) to make bone fuse
1 dr said fuse
1 dr said not fused
both recomend spinal stimulaor im 43 and want to work
After Medtronics lower back trial massive pain right away
Hello, I was wondering if anyone has experienced the same problem as I ?
I had the trial stimulator about two months ago. After the procedure my pain level doubled for seven days until I had the doctor take out the leads going into my back. The pain was as bad as the third back operation I had in which I had to go back into the hospital a week later for pain controll.
The moment the wires were removed the pain went back to what it was before the trial. My doctor and Medtronics rep. told me they have NEVER seen this kind of reaction before ( as if I am faking the pain ) and now are talking pain pump which makes me very nervous as if maybe I might have the same reaction ???? Has ANY ONE had the same experience ??
You are not alone... I worked as a nurse case manager for years with a pain clinic. The purpose of the trial is of course to see if this helps at all. It should decrease pain at least 50% to move on to permanent placement of leads and battery.
Ok: There were also some who did not pass trial and those for whom the trial did help, so move onto permanent.
Those that had the trial and went on for permanent, there are some who got great benefit and continue with use. But many, as you are suggesting, had so many side effects that they decided to have the SCS removed.
Such as: leads becoming loose and having to have them re-inserted; battery removal/surgery; placement of battery aggravates certain physical positions/clothing or causes pain; or not enough pain relief overall.
YOU are the judge of how much you feel the SCS is helping you. Yes, they are removed for a great many reasons....quite frequently. The one annoying thing to remember: medicine is a business and SCS is very expensive...
Good luck, do what you feel is best for you
Quote:
Originally Posted by dtaverna46
September 9, 2009 I had Neurostimulation therapy implant and I have been in discomfort ever since. I get constant pinching on my back and where the battery is implanted I am unable to sit due to pain. I can feel the wire on my back and I am unable to wear a bra due to the clasp that is aligned directly on the incision. I have been back to the dr and he gave me 3 choices, move the battery to the right side, NO, not an option for me, go deeper with the implants, or have them removed. I am leaning toward having the implants removed. I am so uncomfortable and unable to sleep since I cannot lie on my back or my left side where the battery is. My right side is becoming very sore due to favoring it for lying down or just sitting. Are there any others who have made a decision to have the implants removed?? dtaverna46@yahoo.com
the pain meds hardly work for her at all any more. We're waiting to see if the procedure will even
get authorized at all anyway but she is thinking of doing the trial to see.
In March my 87 year old mom had the neurostimuator trial done and after the few days it was determimined that it did not work for her. The dr. and field rep. from the company were very surprised but I wasn't, but just hopeful. I think it was difficult for her to use the remote and understand how it works. What's the alternative now? Back to more pills.
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I had pain in the bottom of my left foot making it difficult to wear a shoe or walk very long distances, apparently as the result of nerve damage from some major knee surgery. I had the three day screening test, and the results were mixed. Mostly because they warn you that the test probe is just needle inserted in the proper place and not tied down. It would be tied down to the spine on the permenant implant so that it wouldn't move. They warned me not to raise my arms over my head, lift anything heavy or misalign my shoulders and hip (????? how are you going to do that when you roll over in bed and is difficult when you get in and out of a car) because it could move out of position and not be as effective. The first day was not perfect, but at least 50 to 75 improvement and made things more bearable. Of course after sleeping and moving around all day the first day, it was a little worse the second day and even more so the third. But, after all they did inform me that it was possible and why. The day the test probe was removed the equipment representative made so adjustments that brought some of its capability back closer to original. I asked the pain management doctor and the neurosurgeon if there were any other options and got response of no.
After Medtronics lower back trial massive pain right away
neurostimuator trial
