Nevro HF10 spinal cord stimulator charging / battery issues tips and tricks
Posted , 54 users are following.
I had a Nevro HF10 stimulator implanted a few weeks ago (and scheduled for a second stimulator to be installed in 30 days). I am amazed how little tech support is available on this product LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of sales data.... but no FAQS about how this or that works....or what to do if... Found some unhappy people, but no tips and tricks to using so thought i would start a topic and ask some questions from others.I was not aware before surgery how much changing and programing there would be to find the right settings after surgery was over (I thought that was what the trial is for).So I have a million newby questions that I cant seem to find online answers about.I'll start with three, and maybe others will have things to share or add re: best practices. 1) I didnt charge for last few days (bad boy). I was hurting worse today than usual, and wondered if i had let my battery go dead. My remote showed 1 blinking battery bar. Does that mean it was dead? Or just close to dead? 2) is there any logic that if it was extra low (but not dead) that is was working not as well as it does when fully charged? (or is it an all or nothing benefit)3) before I charged when it was deadly low, it felt like the battery/transmitter box implanted was burning me. Is it possible that when low and working extra hard to produce power that it can get hot (like maybe a cellphone would? )
6 likes, 73 replies
vonny11 mark69155
Posted
Hi I'm in the uk and have taken part in a trial in order to have the nevro stimulator fitted. It's only been 6 days and have a question when I'm charging the unit with the paddle the unit is in the top of my buttock it feels really hot I'm not sure if it's the pain from the stitches or the paddle but it felt like my skin was burning . Thankyou
Seafarer123 vonny11
Posted
Hi Vonny,
Just based on my own experience (my Nevro unit is embedded in the top of my buttocks as well), I tend to not feel any burning sensation (there is just the very mildest sensation of heat, I can barely feel it). But I have in fact read a number of people in this forum mention that they thought the recharging process was burning them, so you aren't the only one I've heard say that.
One thing though (and maybe your doctor and Nevro tech do it differently) - after my unit was implanted, they didn't power it up or turn it on for something like six weeks. They had a number of reasons for waiting (I don't remember all that they mentioned) but one important reason was that I had metallic stitches (technically staples) in my butt, so they didn't want me using the charger until after the metallic staples were removed.
You don't by any chance have metallic staples sealing your incision do you? That might be a reason. And also I would imagine that area is very sensitive, having recently been incised - I don't know for sure but I would imagine the area would be extra sensitive even to electrical stimulation, at least until it heals.
Perhaps you should ask your doctor and tech if they are sure they want the unit charged and turned on so soon after your surgery - both my doctor and my tech had reasons for waiting almost six weeks before even showing me how to recharge it.
vonny11 Seafarer123
Posted
Thankyou I seem to be getting better at charging it. Now the stitches have been taken out I find it abit less painful and even managed to get full charge for the last few days thankyou though I have found the helpline number too
rose25231 vonny11
Posted
i have always felt that with the Nevro and he old Medtronics i just put a rolled up towel or something to let air in,
OhSusana20 mark69155
Posted
ive had my unit installed just over a year and a half ago. Four back surgeries plus the added benefit of degenerative disc, etc etc. anyways i had minimal benefit but found out couple months ago the company just got approval to utilize different systems within unit to open up ability to increase the stimulators signals and give us increased options to find a setting that might actually work. that being said it takes alot if time and constant communication (remembering to document your progress, and make adjustments which is hard for me because i can get quite distracted with life ) which leads to my current problem , aside from crappy communcation with my Rep, i forgot to charge myself and my unit is off. but i cant get it to turn back on. and my battery pack wont stay turned on and i dont know why. i texted my rep and asked , she replied asking what the issue was , i texted again and the havent heard from her since. that was over a week ago.
does anyone have any info on how to get my unit back up and on and why my battery pack wont stay on?
thanks !
Seafarer123 OhSusana20
Posted
First off, do you have a Nevro unit or a different brand? I have a Nevro, and I know that if I can't get in touch with my personal rep, there is a general helpline I can call to talk to Nevro staff who are trained service rep. And there is another helpline I can call where they answer more technical questions that the general helpline can't answer. Regardless of the company that makes your stimulator, I'm sure they have both a general helpline and also probably a technical helpline - be sure to find out those phone numbers to call in situations where your rep doesn't call you back quickly enough.
Now as for your battery not recharging - remember it can take upwards of a couple of hours of keeping that paddle touching your body for the unit inside you to power back up from being dead. Also, this may sound like a dumb question, but is your recharger also fully charged as well? You can't recharge the unit inside your body if the recharging unit (the thing attached to the large paddle) isn't also fully charged.
Finally, the recharging unit and paddle should tell you right away whether it is "synched up" to the unit inside your body or not. It will either beep at you constantly and then turn itself off (if you don't have a synch with the unit in your body) or you will see "bars" light up on the recharging unit, telling you you have a good connection and the unit inside you is recharging properly. Are you even getting the lights coming on that indicate a good connection? If they don't synch up then either (a) you aren't placing the paddle on the correct area of your body (I find mine is VERY finicky about being EXACTLY over top of my stimulator unit) or (b) the stimulator unit in your body is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced (which would require a minor surgery).
Double check all those things - does the recharger have a full charge, does the recharger unit indicate it has found the unit inside your body and is recharging it properly and finally, have you left it in place long enough to recharge your unit fully?
Wsquared58 Seafarer123
Posted
The unit is not going to turn on until it has enough charge. If you let it run down to the point where it went in to hibernate mode, you HAVE to charge it back up first. Once it has a couple of lights indicating on the charger, you should be able to turn it back on. But also be aware that the remote may need to be in proximity to the battery pack/processor to get it to turn on, change programs, increase or decrease signal to leads.
vonny11 mark69155
Posted
Thankyou I had a faulty paddle they swapped it and it's working fine now thankyou the 1st time it did take ages to charge but now only about an hour till it beeps. Thanks
Trop mark69155
Posted
Thanks for your replies, It had gone to low and then I let it charge for a day and it fired right up, the charging unit only takes 10 minutes to recharge after 1 use, somebody said it took an hour, just be higher the setting the more the battery uses
Thanks.
kay09025 Trop
Posted
I know when I have been bad and forgot to charge because my leg pain just keeps getting worse and escalating until I charge it. My advice is, if you want to get pain relief recharge EVERY DAY.
Remember, you can NOT charge the battery in hour body if your charging unit is plugged into the wall. as soon as you finish charging your in-body battery plug your charging unit back in so it is ready when you need it. It does make a difference! the unit gives more relied when charges daily!
joseph31182 mark69155
Edited
Hello everyone, i just found this site and reading the comments on the Nevro hf10 have been very interesting. I have a question about how each of the program changes the stimulator. I have had mine for about 5 months and am very happy to say it has helped me a lot! I have searched the internet and cannot find anything that explains what happens when you change a program level and what happens when you increase or decrease the lights?My assumption is that the higher the light, the more stimulation there is - and from reading these posts I believe that is true. But what happens when you change the Program from say, a 2 to a 3? I have settled on a setting of Program 2 with all 7 lights turned on. My pain relief has been good for awhile now and during my next tele-med conference for the prescription refills I am happy to say I will be starting to reduce the pain meds for the first time in 12 years. I report into my rep every couple of weeks via text message and my last message included the fact that I have recently noticed that the more activity I do, the more my pain increases. Her comment back to me was that she thought I may have to reduce the lights back to maybe 5 or 6. My thoughts are that with more activity I might need more stimulation/lights vs less. I know she could change the entire program and that is what I thought she might suggest. So, can anyone explain what happens when you change a program up or down one number and what happens when you reduce or increase the number of lights? Thanks for any input anyone may have!!
kay09025 joseph31182
Edited
More stimulation is NOT a good thing for many people. I cannot go up more than three lights on any program because I get over stimulated and the pain is awful.
As far as what happens with different programs that takes some length to explain but, simply put, you have 16 different programmable nodes in your back. Each program tells which of them to ignite a particular way to block pain signals from getting to your brain. There are potentially thousands of combinations. The levels are the intensity or amount (think volume on TV). more is not usually better.
rose25231 kay09025
Posted
Exactly! Also i can tell when my stimulator is working over time because my legs feel heavy and if i stop whatever i am doing and rest. Then it goes back to normal, I love it!!!
ken2505 mark69155
Posted
I have had It since December 2016
I have so much back, hip, feet and leg pain I have trouble walking without it
It relieves pain from my hips and legs the lower back and relieves the pain from the neuropathy in my feet
you can have an MRI I have had 4 done since 2016
I recently had 1 done 3 days ago and
between laying on the hard surface and having the Nevro off when I got off the table my hips and legs hurt so much I could hardly walk
I have great difficulty walking without the unit
Dr McRoberts recommended it and implemented it.
The day before the implementation I could only walk 1200 steps before the pain stopped me. 2 days after the trial implant I did 5000 steps with a reduction of 80% of the pain
The technicians at Nevro are amazing. they will return your calls in 24 hours
I've received replacement remotes and charging units within 24 hours
if I need the unit adjusted they will do it within 1 or 2 days
they have adjusted it more than a dozen times
they now have a new program that has high and low combined and it works incredible for both my back and my legs and the neuropathy in my feet
kay09025 ken2505
Posted
I have also received good support from the techs. Please make sure you wear a health ALERT bracelet saying "NO defibrilator".