Wow I wish I had read these posts sooner. I have been suffering from chronic back pain in lumbar and sacral area for almost 15 years. I have had a ton of cortisone shots and of course the full gamut of prescription pain meds. I then went the route of radio frequency ablation in my facet joints. And let's not forget months of physical therapy and even lumbar traction. During this window I also added intensive sessions of chiropractic manipulations. I got significant relief so that most nights I could sleep pain free but I still couldn't stand or walk for long. In order to do anything besides sitting or laying down I needed moist hot packs and a TENS unit or lidocaine patches.

So when my PM doctor told me about PSTIM I jumped at the opportunity once my insurance was checked and approved the treatment. As I write this I am on day 2 of my 8th cycle so I guess you could call me a fan. For all the cycles, having the unit installed is a piece of cake. A tiny pinch that only hurt when my Doctor pressed tape over the electrode to secure it. I felt the flicking immediately and found it mildly annoying. After an hour it faded to me barely noticing. Only twice in the 8 cycles did it wake me up. I have found my ear to be sensitive and don't sleep on the side with implant unless I sleep on my arm so no pressure on the ear.

Cycle 1, I experienced tremendous pain relief to the point I stopped taking my narcotic pain meds.... color me super happy. I also noticed I just felt good and happy. Cycle 2 I used the same ear and once again had pain relief but not as good as Cycle 1, I also felt the stimulation was less. My pain relief was good enough that I reduced my pain meds in half which is where I still am at Cycle 8. Cycle 3 was again the same ear with even less noticing of any stimulation.

Although my doc insists it doesn't matter which ear I use, I decided to switch ears for Cycle 4. Once again the stimulation was more intense just like Cycle 1. I then figured I should alternate ears for future cycles. Cycle 5 and Cycle 6 were similar. Less intense feeling on my ear from start to removal. I felt like maybe I was at a standstill and seemed to have maximum relief after 4 cycles. Since I still had difficulty with standing and walking my doctor felt I should complete all 8 cycles. Cycle 7 and now Cycle 8 are a huge disappointment. Even continuing alternating ears I feel absolutely nothing. Ear tenderness is still there if you put pressure on that side but I haven't felt the stimulation at all. I asked my doctor if perhaps the device was defective. Apparently other patients have reported the same thing. He assured me that the company claims the units are fine and working even if you don't feel a thing. I noticed that during these last two cycles I am sometimes needing to use my pain meds full strength along with needing NSAIDs and muscle relaxants to function. I still believe the device in Cycle 7 and 8 is defective but can't prove it. Sure wish the units could be tested as my insurance is paying a small fortune for this treatment.

Will I do it again? Yes, 100% yes!!! Despite my disappointment with Cycle 7 and 8, I am still in less pain than I was in at the start of my treatment, I am still taking smaller dose of narcotic pain relief most days and I have delayed having additional cortisone shots. The nature of my pain is better as well. Most days it is just one area of my spine that really gives me grief and it is radicular pain from low back to hip and then front of thigh. My plan is to try trigger point massage to see if that resolves the pain.

So all in all, I would say mine is a success story with the exception of two cycles where I am still convinced the two devices were defective, perhaps a bad batch were shipped? If trigger point massage resolves this one area of pain left, I would repeat another round of PSTIM in six months and probably do 4 cycles on alternating ears. .

Sorry this reply is so long, but since I went through 8 cycles I hope my results will encourage others to seek out this treatment. By the way, my electrodes have all been placed same spots. Inside top fold of ear (always the most tender spot), along the outside cartilage and inside bottom fold and these two are not sensitive areas.