Removal of Spinal Cord Stimulator

Linda I have had epidural and fact block injections.  Next will try oblation, burning the nerves.  Not going to be pleasant from what pm told me.  I do not handle pain well  so I go into it with great trepidation.  If it helps, then it will be worth it.  If not, I guess back to drawing board for other options.

Good luck to you on our journey to reduce your pain.

Dee

Please remember that happy people don't go out seeking a message board to go proclaiming their happiness with their new device.  It is usually unhappy people who are quite upset about their miserable experience with their device that sucks big time and they want to vent! So, don't let the horror stories sway your decision completely, you need to make an informed decision.  Studies are actually showing close to 90% improvement in some patient populations. That's an awesome number. Certainly worth thinking over....

Ablations are not that bad as long as they give you a local, I’ve had 5 oblations. 1 every 6 - 8 mths.

I am trying to get stimulated out and the leads. It paralysis is a factor!

I am a Very, Very Happy person.

I have never heard of this , unhappy concept before...

I have had seven back surgeries, had a pain stim put in. I have had two batteries replaced.

My pain has Never gone away!

It has Never touched where my pain is.

After six (6) years, it's coming out,!!!

My thoracic area where the leads are, hurts almost as bad as my lumbar.

Coming out... signed,

one very happy person.

That's my question for you and Dee, what's the push to get it out versus just turn it off and leave it in. Now I know Dee's was bothering her and so she needed it out.  But, if it isn't bugging you, how many of you would be wiling to leave it in?  I only ask because it is a major surgery to remove those dang paddles.

Hi there.  With it not working at all, a discussion was had between myself and my pain mgmt. Dr. and Primary Dr., it was not wise to leave it in there if not working properly.  I agreed and poof out it came.  It came out faster then it went in.  Go figure.

As I always say I never my comments, try it you have nothing to lose GO FOR IT.  For the many who have gotten good relief, I couldn’t be happier for you.  

For me, another road to travel on in search of help.  Whatever is to be is okay with me.  So you all have an awesome night.

Dee

If mine hadn't been causing me so much pain, I wouldn't have had a problem leaving it in. It being in there didn't bother me in the least except that it was hitting my spinal cord wrong and ended up doing nerve damage.  If your healthy (Not sick because of the unit) I wouldn't bother having it taken out. Good luck!!

I have Nevro. My pain Dr did the trial. 100% relief. My surgeon did the permanent. And no relief. I found out the both use different surgical techniques. Now you tell me? And you're right. It was a chore to get in touch with the rep for reprograming.  The rep said it wasn't his problem anymore and my pain Dr would be taking over and my pain Dr and my surgeon both said it's the reps job to program. Very frustrating! Now its been a little over 3 months and I'm done! I have new pain now. My battery gets hotter than hades when I charge. And for a while, I was getting electric shocks everytime I turned over in bed. I was told it was a 10 year battery thInking 10 years of charged battery. No 10 years of charging every night. On that alone I would have backed out. The recovery was worse than my 2 back fusion surgeries. Can I just turn it off and leave it? Do I have to have it removed? Thanks for everyone's experiences. It's nice that I'm not the only one.

wow suzzie, im sorry to hear what happened, i also have a stim but mine is from st jude. I was worried about having a different doc put in the perm one so i decided to get the leads done through my pain doc, to have the paddles put in would send me to a different doc. I as you got so much relieve from the temp that i couldnt wait for the perm one. Have you talked to your pain doc to see if he can go in and fix the problem. I was also worried about the battery so i didnt get the rechargeable one i figured it would be easier to just let them replace the battery every 5 years, hoping it lasts that long. I know im in the early stages as i have only had mine in since the 30th of last month. I will say the only thing that i can see so far going wrong with mine is it has trouble connecting to the generator to adjust the power. I also had my rep set it so i have no tingle and the tingle feature. i learned about a lot of info through this site, maybe check some of the other message boards to see if anyone else has the same problem. i know when i went for my trial i had so many questions and what if, i must have drove my rep nuts, she did say however that i must have done my research. I go back at the end of this month to have it adjusted, its easier to do it on med management appts as its a 45 min drive to go. I wish you luck on getting this sorted out

Something Is very wrong if you are getting electric shocks with a Nevro.  I have one for my neck and you feel nada with those, you are having a short circuit, something has come undone.  You have a crappy rep- it IS ALWAYS his responsibility no matter what is the problem, sheesh.  Either tell your doc you want a new rep, or call the customer service and ask for a new one and tell them your battery is "catching fire" LOL that should get their attention.  Just like the cell phone lithium batteries, for all the receptionist knows it might be happening.  But yes, something like that is making your battery overheat.  Quit charging it as something is wrong.  I am hoping you are not getting relief because of your defective battery/generator and your leads are placed correctly and operate just fine.  Hopefully your PM doc can just switch out your current generator for a new one and hook it up to the leads and get it to work.  The rep will have to be there to program the whole new set up, but get a new rep, not MR. "not my problem" when your battery is trying to fry your buttocks.  Yea and they should have made clear to you that Nevro doesn't have a non-rechargeable battery.  There are other companies with really nice units that you don't have to charge, that you can still get an MRI with, that you can't feel the stimulation.  There really is no reason to be stuck with a Nevro rechargeable if you don't want one.  Lots of other choices.

Lynn

Oh Anne,

i had just about decided to go ahead with the Nevro trial and now there have been a couple of ghastly outcomes in the emails today!

You mention another couple of really nice units, could you let me know their names please? I can go armed with all this information! 

Thanks for for your help again.

Linda x

Im sorry but I keep calling you Anne when in fact you are called Lynn! 

Are you in UK or USA? There is def different actions taken depending on where you live. 

Linda x

Thank you. I will definitely get going on getting a new rep and switching the battery out! 

Good luck Suzzie, keep us updated.

Linda x

I really like my St. Jude/Abbott unit, they make both a rechargeable and non-rechargeable that can go in the MRI.  My doc also uses Medtronics and Boston Scientific, so I presume they are reputable because my doctor hates complications LOL.  I am in the US, I live down in FL.  Anne is my middle name, thus my moniker, all around anne, LOL a bit too clever I think as everyone thinks my name is Anne LOL.......

Not to confuse people I have 2 units, a Nevro and a St. Jude/Abbott.

There is a support page on Facebook I just recently found "Failed Spinal Cord Stimulator"

There is a support page on Facebook I just recently found "Failed Spinal Cord Stimulator"

You cannot have an MRI with it in!

Hi ! I’m new here, i am a Nevro implant patient as well awaiting removal on 09/05/18.. My journey has been long..5 back surgery’s 7 including nevro process. Trial was completely different than permanent device. My experience with reps was good at first but the lack of response to implant brought snippiness, lack of communication , and well some colorful statements from my rep to my PM Dr. That are inappropriate at best. And then silence , no calls no communication from nevro in months. I’ve had the implant with wires for 15 mnths and been reprogrammed several times. No success. The odd thing is since the implant i can’t raise or lower  my head , raise my arms even to wash my hair , if i do it’s like some stretching my spine beyond the max. Then major spasms!  I’ve had swelling of the legs , all kinds of weird things. All the rep said was i don’t know !! Never seen that before . So .... it’s coming out and i have to say i really can’t wait. Not for me.  THey are very quick to implant and if all goes well “awesome” if not , well That is a whole different ball game.  I asked a lot of questions prior to implant , i thought i was prepared , i was not close to being prepared at all. I was not clearly informed of a lot of things that were to come  and nevro needs to do a better job training reps for negative reapomses to the implant. Tie dropped like a hot brick. Sounds absurd ... but very true. Would love to hear if anyone has same or similar experiences as i was told this is he most bizarre thing they have ever seen. Thank for letting me vent ... best wishes to all on this journey with pain....

My surgeon said he can remove the battery, but not the wires as they’ve become attached to my spine by now. Has your Dr told you this? Are they removing everything? I have turned mine off again. I’m just done. And now I need an MRI of my head for another issue. The Dr who ordered that will only to a CT scan because of the implant. But I’ve talked to 2 people at Nevro who have said it’s fine to get the MRI. And I messaged my rep about it, but never heard from her. Their customer service really isn’t good.

I have to say it’s so nice to talk to someone about this, so no i wasn’t told that.. yet, my only option with he implant was a ct mylogram, which really wouldn’t be accurate . There are certain parameters to have mri that have to be followed and the question is would that be as accurate or clear as possible. I hear you!! I’m done as well,  i have a lot of hardware and an old bone stimulator battery and leads and ect. It seems like a domino effect you fix one thing but it causes another !!. I refuse to take narcotics so this has been challenging at best , hence the purpose of the nevro.. bad idea 

I I am having mine taken out, it is not working and has never taken my pain away, or relieved it.

I'm I'm having mine taken out, because with it being in there and it not working,

my my doctor has wanted to do several MRI because of health issues I'm having, I need an MRI.

so why not have it removed?

wow wow! I have never heard that you could have an MRI with this implant in. I have always hurt if you have an MRI are are any much Danger. With all that Hardware inside there's no way a person can have an MRI. so I was told by three doctors.

sorry, i was talk texting..

always heard)