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, . 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.

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