I'm glad you have found our group, but I'm very sorry to hear that you are having problems with your SCS.

I have a Medtronics unit, and I had my first surgery on December 24 of last year, but it was with percutaneous leads. Unfortunately, the leads migrated, and in June of this year I had revision surgery to have the thoracic laminectomy and paddle leads.

The first thing I noticed in your post is that you just had the surgery at the end of October. Having had two SCS surgeries now, I can definitely tell you that your body is still healing - and the bruising, swelling, etc. from surgery will have an impact on the stimulation that you feel - it will be changing for a while, and you will need reprogramming as the swelling goes down and your body heals. It might take three or four months (maybe more) before your body is healed enough to find a program that can hopefully work long-term, so don't be discouraged with the reprogramming - it is just part of the process. I have found, too, that one thing that is KEY is having a rep who is experienced and willing to work with you to get the coverage you need. A knowledgable and skilled rep is worth their weight in gold.

As for the pain being worse when you turn the stim off - I guess I am wondering why you turn it off. Has your doctor instructed you to only use it sporadically in these first few months after your surgery? I leave my stim on pretty much 24/7. Of course that means I'm charging every other day, but I always recharge when I drop to a 75% charge, since it tends to takes so long.

I don't know if your rep has done this, but I have four different programs that I can choose from or combine differently to hit my pain no matter how it might change throughout the day. If my lower back is worse, I tend to combine my programs 1 and 2. If my legs are really bad, I use my programs 3 and 4. Make sure your rep has you set up to where you have options.

Hoping the best for you as you continue your journey. Please feel free to share, ask questions, or just vent if your need to. This is an amazing group of people who have incredible strength, knowledge, and experience!

=Becky