Nevro HF10 spinal cord stimulator charging / battery issues tips and tricks

mark,

I just posted a link to an article on SCS, i believe its waiting to be moderated, as this one probably is . i had a scs implanted 4 years ago. worst thing i ever did, but dont want to go thru another surgery to have it taken out. i got some relief in the beginning and in the trial (which mine was only 3 days because my trial unit malfunctioned, i guess i should have learned something from that) the majority of people i have talked with have complained of the insufficient care from their reps on programing it after. i just had xrays to see if all my hardware was in place because of the increase in pain ive been having......so bad im vomiting on a regular basis....everything was ok i was told. i also have an artificial disc, with a cage in above at L4-5 S1, degenerative disc disease, and now arthritis in my back. my level 3 disc is now also bulging. mine gives a buzzing sensation even when turned off, or the battery is dead. pain management drs are really pushing these now, along with injections, since they stopped prescribing opiods. they make ALOT of money off these. also, steroid injections are not approved by the FDA to be given in your back. i would never get another of those either.

Do some research on adhesive arachnoiditis. ive talked with people that have had that develop from scar tissue. there is no cure for it, and with the cut off of opiods, is pretty unbearable to live with.

i live most of my days in bed, and only leave the house for dr appointments.

I apologize for the lack of proper punctuation and capital letters. i dont know why, but this forum always does that.

Hi Mark,

I had a Nevro HF10 implanted about 9 months ago and I know what you are saying. There is a lot of information that is not told to you during the period that they are trying to convince you to get the unit installed. And then, once it IS installed, the level of support goes WAY down. The reason, of course, is that there is no longer any money to be made off of servicing you. And as for the idea that there are many, many combinations of power and program settings you have to try - that is SO true. Indeed you may find another annoying aspect of the stimulator as you try different settings, which is that the stimulator, at certain setttings, can induce a type of "phantom pain," meaning pain throughout your body caused solely by the signals sent out by the stimulator. Be sure to tell your tech about that, he can find other settings to avoid it.

All that said, the unit HAS been helpful to me. It has reduced (but not eliminated) my back and leg pain. I've been able to reduce my medications. I am glad that I had it installed.

Now as for your questions about charging. Yes, if you go more than two days without charging you are likely to run the battery down to zero (it depends on what power setting you are on - higher power settings run the battery down faster). It will still blink one-light on the remote but the power is gone. So bottom line is - don't let the battery discharge completely. I don't think it hurts the unit but it WILL bring back your full level of pain.

As for the question about a burning sensation. Yes there can be a bit of a burning sensation if you leave the paddle on your skin for a long time, as you would need to do if you were charging the unit up from a full power-down. Again you can avoid that by not letting the battery fully discharge. It's not a real burn but you will feel a burning sensation after about 30 minutes of charging, so don't let it power down.

Simple rule of thumb - you can perhaps skip one day of charging but don't skip two.

Hope that helps.

I feel for you, I have the Nevro- HF10 also,( Why a second stimulator?) They love to sell them at a very high cost! I have had the reps, to change my programming several times, and to avail, or of very little help. When you have one light on, It is not working, so I am told. You need to charge every day, plus it takes less time to bring it back to a full charge, I had to have the battery moved from the right side to left side because it was laying on the 11th rib, and causing a lot of pain. I have had 7 back surgeries and just three days age I had a CT scan because I stay in a lot of pain. You know that you can not have a MRI , with the Nevro HF10. only CT scans or an X-ray. I have have my stimulator about 2-1/2 years I think, I wish it helped with the pain, I am taking Oxycodone 20Mg up to 3 times a day if needed. As for programming the Nevro, try starting with program 1, at 3 light bars, do the for 24 hours, record it, and the go to 3 light bars, and record that one, and then 5 bars and record and so on, when you get through all levels and light bars check your notes to see which one helped the most. If you did not find a program that helped, call the rep for a new computer programming that they can put in your stimulator. Good luck to you, Keep us informed on your progress.

Hello Mark69155,

Yes had to be programmed a couple of times, but understand everyone programmed is not the same for all. I've had mine installed a little over a year, and glad I had it done. In the beginning I had to be adjusted, but I had to learn on my own, how to adjusted to the level that worked best after the install. But later I understood from trial and error. The trial is to see if it works for your pain, some people it do and some don't. After the second one is installed, is when you have most of your adjustments and it took (Me) a couple of months.

Now when the battery is low, you need to charge it, and never let it completely go dead. I've heard others say that they had problems. I charge mine about every two months, that's because I use it daily. I don't drive with it on either because of the vibration, I just don't feel comfortable doing so. You not only charge the battery, with mine charge the remote also. I normally charge them both at the same time. (JMO). I have two light bars, and I try to charge when only one bar light is on. with both. No matter how low it gets the power is still the same.

As far as the battery, I have not had it to burn me, but it stays warm all the time, and if it is burning you, I suggest you see your Dr. but mine is always warm and it don't bother me at all. The only time I think about it is when I charge it. I try not to bother it, because it is sat at an angle for you. It don't work extra hard when it is low, the power stays the same.

I say relax make the adjustments as needed, until you find what works for you. ie... up, down, right or left. and when having it program pay attention to what area you feel relief at.

I hope I helped you some. I was never told it will take all my pain away, it will however give me about 50% relief of my pain. Don't look for a miracle, that won't happen 😃 But yes for some relief of the pain.

Good luck!

Mark

Here are a couple of other tricks and comments for the Nevro HF10:

First, the HF10 can sometimes act in a counter-intuitive way. Most of us (especially us guys) have the natural reaction that if we want an electrical device to do something for us we have to turn it up to the top setting - i.e. more is better. For some folks with the HF10, less is more. For example if you have it at a higher power setting and a lot of pain returns, turn it down to a lower setting for a few hours or even a day. It's possible to become "overstimulated" from the electrical signal and your body can need a break for a few hours or a day. Experiment with that when you get disappointed at high levels of pain with high levels of power.

Second, be aware of what the tech can do with his program changes. They can not only rescale the power levels of your power settings (i.e. make them all higher or all lower), they can make other changes too. They can pulse the charge (e.g. 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off) which for some people let's the body recover for a moment from the charge. They can "light up" different areas of your spine or (if you have a two-lead model) one side or the other of your spine. They can change the frequency or amplitude of your charge. There are literally thousands of combinations they can try for you and each one affects each individual differently. So keep pestering your tech, and tell him EXACTLY what you experience, because they have things they can do for specific known situations.

Another thing to be aware of is that if the battery is causing you aches due to pressing against your ribs, it can be relocated into your butt. Mine is in my butt and causes me no problems whatsoever (having a little extra "meat" in your butt can be helpful there!).

Oh and folks have mentioned that you CAN'T have an MRI with your Nevro. This is true but I've also heard that Nevro is in Stage 3 trials for the FDA to convince them that the HF10 is safe for MRI usage (at special power settings). It hasn't been approved yet but there is hope (I think my tech said that folks in Europe can get MRIs with the HF10 just not, at the moment, in the US).

Also, do you know if you have the "paddle" type or the "percutaneous" type of implantation? If you have the percutaneous type of implantation you can be at risk of "lead migration," which means the wire leads that go up you back can move lower due to your normal body movements. When that happens the electrical signal stops going to where it should be going and you lose pain relief. The tech can make adjustments for that but he needs to know it has happened. If you have the "paddle" type of HF10 implantation you aren't at risk of lead migration.

Hope that helps!