Hi Bobber,

I had a stimulator implanted in November of last year. I have RSD in my arms due to rib removal a few years back. First, the surgery is not easy. It takes a long time to fully recover from it. For me, I first needed a trial of the stimulator. It's where they insert the leads, but the battery is taped to your back (or whereever) and not implanted. You try it out for a week and then you have it removed. Typically a psychological evaluation is required by insurance companies also.

The feeling that the stimulator is not for everyone. You can get a jolt if you have it up too high and for me is greatly affected by my posture. My leads are at the base of my neck so any movement by my neck or my posture increases the stimulation.

I'm happy to say that I'm a success story with the stimulator. It has greatly decreased the pain and am no longer on narcotics all day/every day. But, I do want to mention that it's not a "miracle" cure. I so still have muscular pain.

Whether this will help/hurt your situation, unfortunately nobody can answer that. Everyone is so different and reacts different to treatment and medications. My RSD didn't spread because of the implant. Does the normal course of RSD spread - maybe. Has this helped me and am I glad I had the implant - absolutey.