My dad paid out of pocket for my mom's TENS that I stole from her. I think it cost him about $200 or $300. He didnt bother trying to get insurance to pay for it.

I need to figure out where to buy new thingies that attach to the skin for the one we have. I think the place where I do PT sells them, so I'm going to see how much those replacement pads cost.

I use the TENS for the hug. BUT, if the area is really nervy, meaning nerve pain, :eek::eek::eek:. That hurts. If it's muscular, its fine.

I take Neurontin for nerve pain and it works well as long as I don't up the dose.

I don't take anything for the spasms and just do my best to endure them. If they are really bad, I will take an Ativan. I do take Epsom salt baths and that helps, at least for a bit.

My routine when things get bad . . . Take an Epsom salt bath, do the TENS unit if the pain isn't nervy, and then I put an ice pack on my ribs. Between this and the Neurontin, I am able to get some sleep at night. I sometimes do this during the day, but I tend to opt for the ice packs more during the day. I don't use a heating pad as that always seems to make it worse.

Hope you find something that helps you with the pain.:hug:

:grouphug:Hugs all around for all of your pain, I'm so sorry.:grouphug: