Thank you for the response! I had to go out of town (7 hrs away) for the work-up, trial, surgery & programming. I worked with 3 different tech/reps in Las Vegas where I had the surgery. They seemed to know what they were doing but, just as it was with the trial (per-cutaneous leads), they are unable to hit the parts of my left leg that need it without having some type of nuisance stimulation in other parts of my body (abdomen, buttocks, SCS battery location in top of left hip, my other leg - especially my knee). My pain is worse in my lower leg & top of foot (left side only) but also hurts in my left thigh & groin. Any adequate stimulation in my lower leg/foot comes with over stimulation to my thigh & other knee. The thigh gets so much that if becomes uncomfortable.

I recently switched to a tech/rep in Reno (4hrs away) who was excellent! He has been able to come close to getting it right. Medtronic does have a tech/rep that comes to my doctor's office here locally once every 6-8 wks so hopefully I won't have to travel just to get it reprogrammed. I normally leave it on 24/7. I was charging it once/wk but since the last reprogramming (he turned everything up), I have to recharge every 3 days. As for shutting it off, as long as I have my pain meds & muscle relaxant (which really helps with left thigh spams caused by stim), then I'm fine & don't mind the increase in pain when it's off because I can keep it on 24/7. My biggest issue is getting the proper dose & type of meds. My pain specialist doesn't want me on muscle relaxants long-term and only allows three/day. If I was able to take both pain med & muscle relaxant every 4 hrs as needed (and not fear running out before the end of the month), I would be in great shape & with time, hopefully I can reduce or rid myself of the pain meds/muscle relaxants once all the healing has occurred and the stim is working properly. I have a friend who had a SCS implanted last May & she also said it took several months to settle & work properly. I guess I have no choice but to wait this out & hope for the best! Meanwhile, I have appt w/pain specialist on Monday & maybe I can get the med situation corrected. That in itself would be a blessing & great way to begin the new year! Thanks again for the reply!
...Todd