SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR SIDE EFFECTS

I'm still the same. I m going back to clinic on Thursday. Wasnt due to go back till December. I spoke to the scs nurse who I'm under and told her I now need some answers .

Good luck!   I hope things get better for you!

Good luck to that...prayers hou get better.

YES! Identical post op symptoms. Tell your husband to do very little. Include an anti-inflammatory 3x a day with his pain regimen. AND CALL his rep/tech to meet him and reprogram his stimularo. Takes 20 minutes and is a breeze. Which stim did his surgeon implant? He can have so many programs and modes to target that specific hip pain. 

Yes, it feels as those we choose between evils at this point. Know that is our fear, physical and emotional pain, defeat, and judgements or dismisses from professionals making us think this way. I still have pain. Some nights I get on FB messenger and direct message my neurosurgeon begging him to cut off my leg (nerve damage).. thinking I can't take it any longer. Somehow, either found within or any substance legal or not, I make it through that storm. I have found lately that joining Spinal Prob groups on here has given me purpose and understanding - started to answer the "why did this happen to me" question. Please ask away. I will help in any way I can being realistic, positive, and tricks to be memorable and seen.

Hi there he has the Medtronic device! It has been very effective on his hip pain he has had four hip replacements on the same hip because of a botched hip replacement! He is 12 weeks out on the stimulator and has traded the hip pain for back pain from the lead s! They started him on cmybalta to try and help with the pain he is having from the spinal stimulator! We just weren't expecting the healing process to take so long! Do u still have back pain from the lead placement does it get better with time ! I know he shouldn't over do it but we have to make a living .

Yea it will take some time for his body to adjust to the leads , cymbalta is not gonna work , that medication is for nerve pain just like lyrica, no meds are gonna resolve that pain, what I did was used an ice pack on the area that is hurting , tell him to lay on the ice pack with his feet on some pillows that should do the trick , keep in mind they just went into his spinal canal and I understand the back pain is new but it will subside in and around 2 1/2 month he won’t feel the lead anymore , just tell him it to try to reach his hands over his head when putting on shirts or reaching for thing because the leafs can shift , he should be ok if there is anything else I can help you with just write back 

Every part of this reply to kris is perfection. I was going to respond and you did just that for me. ❤️

Hi!! I was unable to respond as I was working but I am so happy to read Alberts post. Wow! He took basically my response right out of my mouth!! Yes I still get pain from the lead placement. As Albert said, that pain isn’t so much leads it is bc they remove a piece of vertebrae the make and place a “paddle” in his dorsal column. And all those muscles were cut. Ouch! Hell of pain. I totally understand the conflict Witt trying to get healthy, stay healthy and make a living. I am 35 and disability isn’t anything I plan to surrender to this early. 4 back surgeries in 20 months certainly interferes with work and life. I have St Jude.. and my mom in law has Boston which only has 1 lead for her. Mine had 28!! No way would I care to take cymbalta. It works for many, like anything, but that nerve pain- most painful part of this/ will surely demand meds like neurontin or lyrica. He will get to where he asks for them to cut it off! You are doing exactly what I think should be done: research, persistence, support. I am now 6 months out and still reprogramming, researching, trying new meds, and besides keeping a positive attitude and faith, I most importantly keep a wide open, straight forward dialogue with my neurosurgeon.  I start this month on XR meds =!pain patch and 1 immediate release pain pill. I rely so much on the nerve type meds too... I emphasize so deeply with that specific pain. 

Thanks Ellibie, I have had mine for 10 years after 9 surgeries and the only ones that can help are not doctors , is us the people who are living it and I can feel everyone pain on these blogs and I was one of the ones that didn’t understand all the perks to this device but after time we get to understand the pains and the signs and the nueorological feeling like vibrations when the unit is off not even the Programer or doctor can answer that only us the actual patients that have this device installed in them, we are our piece of mind and solution 

Indeed. How interesting it is discovering different pains and understanding them?! Then connecting that with which program needed and level. The beauty is not giving up. Learning and sharing. Remaining optimistic that we figure out how to play this game well after understanding we aren’t out to win or lose this bad hand dealt to us. Never to fold! 

So you still have pain where the leads are placed in your back? The cybalta is giving him some relief actually! The doctor said it isn't uncommon to have some nerve damage after the surgery but it should get better with time! I am hoping that this is true!

I had Boston Scientific SCS implanted one year ago this past December 2016. the battery was in my right upper glute and The healing process was hampered by infection and placement of the battery as waistband kept rubbing the area and infection occurred. Had the unit reprogrammed four or five times and still had pain in the lower back area which was the original source of pain. I then started to have pain in the wire or lead areas pain while sitting or lying down also where they took the the where the panel is in the mid back also was painful while lying down or sitting in a chair. I had issues with the battery trying to get it to charge seem to get hot it was painful to do the charging it seem to use up battery life quickly but that was because I was using a higher frequency, seemed to work better for me. I did have a lot of pain with The Battery area it felt like the battery was trying to escape out of my body or it had broken or was migrating somewhere else. On January 16th 2018 I had my SCS removed. I will be able to get an mri to check for New damage due to falls over the past year. I am going to investigate new or different types of pain management for my back I don't believe the spine stimulator is Helpful it may help some people but definitely is not for me. I have read on this website and other places of many people having similar problems so I know I'm not alone and I'm not crazy well not totally crazy. I am looking to see an anesthesiologist who made put a pain pump in that goes directly to the area of pain and you just have to have the medicine refilled once a month or twice a month I'm not sure exactly how the process goes but it's something to that effect.

sorry so long, they found that in The Battery area there is some infection again , just my luck. So I have to take antibiotics and they're keeping an eye on that so hopefully healing quickly with this antibiotic. Charging the unit was a pain and it seemed to use the juice quickly. Then at the very end I didn't charge it at all and this thing held a charge like a champ I couldn't believe that it still had any power left on it ...... kind of spooky.

Had Boston scientific implant beginning June 2017. At end of July battery site became infected coinciding with my use of Boston scientific 2-way sticker, the doctor that did the implant remains convinced it was the cause of infectio, which appeared to be cleared with oral antibiotics,  on November 10th the battery site spontaneously ruptured draining large amount of purulent discharge, culture revealed Mrsa antibiotics started but site would not heal and lead site also became infected, referred to woundcare and after 6 weeks of treatment the implant was removed.  I currently have a woundvac and 5th round of antibiotics. My back is sore and still large amounts of discharge. My unit did a great job of controlling pain but now I am back where I started And it will be difficult if not impossible to get meds for pain control.

I am so sorry! Was there any signs of infection? Fever or redness at site? Will you be able to have a new in wonse infection is gone?

 The first surgery to have the stimulation device implanted there was a little bit of redness and you could tell it was a little infected because the wound reopened and it had to be cared for again, bandaged,  antibiotics. During the year that I had the spinal cord stimulator in my back I just had difficulty charging when I tried to charge the battery would get hot or it felt like the battery was trying to escape from my body, of course it was a foreign object.   Towards the end it felt like the battery had come apart or was  coming apart under the skin.  Still had pain in the area no redness or swelling.  But when they went to remove battery there was infection already or still?  I'm on 2nd bottle of antibiotics and now those are causing rashes painful rashes elsewhere.  Can't catch a break.  See doc in morning we'll in a few hours.  Had MRI yesterday.  So we shall see.  No they cannot put another SCS in after infection heals, nor would I want them to.

So sorry to hear about your rough experience with scs.  I hear you about pain control my back doc after surgery first visit said no more pain  mess.  Got MRI so I hope we get some answers had a lot of falls with implant in for the year I had it in.

My back sore I'm sure not like yours I feel so bad for you I hope you get some relief soon and healing.  I couldn't take the entire 2nd bottle of antibiotics they darted having a bad effect on me.  Get well soon.