Cervical Spinal Cord Stimulator
 

I was in a car accident that really messed up my neck on October 13,2008. I have had many Radio Frequency Nerve Ablations, in fact I have had two different procedures in the last month for C2,C3,C4,C5,& C6, on the right and left side. I wear an exterior neuromuscular stimulator/TENS unit daily. I still feel terrible. My pain management doctor recommended the Boston Scientific SCS implant. Has anyone had success with this in the "C" section of their spinal cord? Feedback on any brand would be appreciated. I just started using the tool of others who suffer like I do and it has been helpful. Of course the pain meds help but I was told this SCS could cut them down by 50%. I would like to hear some feedback. Thanks.
:confused:

While I am not quite 2 weeks post-surgery ( I got both lumbar and cervical SCS's put in), I was told that the cervical area is the easiest to do and usually gets the best coverage for the patient. The lumbar area is harder as there's more area to cover (lower back, hips, legs, feet etc.). The drawback with the cervical is that since it's such a more flexible part of the body, you really have to be careful during post-surgery until your leads/paddles are really scarred in well. Usually 2-3 months to get the leads/paddles scarred in well. The cervical area also has the benefit of not using as much battery power so you don't have to recharge your battery as often. Good luck!!

Welcome spord!
 

Glad to see you found your way over here to our little neck of the woods!

I'm so sorry about your accident. You aren't alone, however, several here have received their implants because of some pretty serious car accidents.

Several of the latest SCS'ers have received the Boston Scientifics and are getting good reviews. The Reps seem to work wonderfully with the patients in getting the right programs to cover the area in need of pain signal interruption via the stimulaltion.
I think you'll be pleased with what you read, although not all implants are for everyone. It is a very individualized form of pain therapy and there is quite a process in getting the unit, but you can get a pretty good idea of what patients are saying by reading thru some of the threads.

Others will join in on your new thread and be of great support and gladly answer any questions and concerns you may have.

Meanwhile, here's a good information piece on the basic frequently asked questions:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post689330-12.html

The best part of the process is the fact that we get to do a 'trial period' with the implant to give an idea of how well it may work for us before making the commitment of getting one. I'm sure your Dr has explained all this to you, but feel free to ask anything!

It'll be good getting to know you! You've certainly found the right place.
We continually learn and grow from one another and the support here is wonderful. People from several different countries have jumped aboard our forum!

Glad you're here!
Rae
:hug:

Welcome Spord
 

Welcome Spord...:)

Good to make your acquaintance.....Very pleased indeed to see you here on this website. I only found it two weeks ago and the amount of knowledge Ive learned in that time is so valuable.
Im very sorry to hear about your accident and how you are suffering. I have an SCS since 5th Aug and its for my lumbar region and legs. At the moment Im waiting to see the rep for some tweaking, but having said that where it is covering is doing a great job. At times I feel like I'm in a jaccuzzi if that makes sense. Thats the feeling I get when Im lying down anyway!!! :cool:

You will get great feedback from the great people on this site and make sure you ask plenty of questions because someone will always have an answer for you. Its just terrific

Take care

Jackie :grouphug:

Welcome Spord
 

Hi Spord- Fiona is a good resource for you as a recent cervical recipient of her Boston Sci unit!

All the best with your decisions!!
Mark56 PJ :)

Fiona,
Please keep me posted on your progress, ecspecially the cervical part of your SCS. I wish you the best of things and I look forward to hearing good results. Thank you.
David.

Waiting for Workers Comp second opinion
 

Fiona, I was wondering how your SCS has been helping. I have my referral from my PM doctor for the trial, but workers comp wants me to go to one of their doctors for a second opinion. I am hoping they act quickly so that I can get the trial done. If you get this let me know. Others, if you have had experience with workers comp and can give me direction, please respond. I'm getting a little anxious about the waiting.

It's Good to Hear from you!
 

Hey Spord!
Thank's for the update! I was hoping you'd stick around.....but gee I'm sorry about the work comp frustrations.......
I've heard they can drag it on......

Not sure if you knew there is a forum here that has alot of info on WorkComp.... here it is...

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/fo...aysprune=&f=30

Hopefully you can get some good feedback and maybe some tips on how to keep the process moving along......:hug:

Fiona will give you an update soon
Hang in there and stick around with our little family! We're always learning and growing from one another......

Rae
:grouphug:

Having both a lumbar and cervical stimulator, I am finding the cervical the easier of the two. The only challenge there is with the cervical SCS is that due to one's moving head/neck area so much more than one's lower body, they say to allow 9 months for complete scarring in of the leads (that is, if you get leads...if you get paddles there may be a different timeline). I was having great success with the cervical SCS until my last reprogramming when I asked them to give me a program that covered some different upper back areas. Unfortunately it turned out to be a bad idea and after having used it for a short time it has caused me to have a shoulder spasm/neck spasm that's taking some time to calm down. So, plan on it possibly be a matter of trial and error when you get the permanent in and are trying to find the best program to give you the best pain relief.

With the trial, I had about 80 pain relief and was ecstatic. Gone were the vision problems, the dizziness, the nausea, the throbbing temples, the sore/stiff neck and sore/tight upper back. However with only being 5 weeks post surgery (and having two implants put in), I am still dealing with post-surgery pain.

I've had to take some pain meds. occasionally, mainly for lumbar pain (having issues there finding the right stimulation for the right areas, too). If I hadn't played around with a different setting for the cervical area I don't think I'd be having the current difficulties with my shoulder/neck that I currently do. But, that is what it's all about...finding what settings and stimulation coverage works best for you. And, keep in mind, that during recovery from the permanent implant, the settings and stimulation needed may change as your body is healing from the surgery. But, again, the lumbar is the more complicated of the two, so I'd jump at the chance if I were you. The trial is a breeze and will give you a good feel for what percentage of pain reduction you could expect from the permanent implant.

Hey Spord
 

Work Comp can be daunting and fearsome; that is, unless you have sought help from an attorney whose practice is involved in helping clients through the process. I did that not right away, and probably slowed things down because of it. My guy is the one who jumps on the carrier when things go awry, like the infection I had at the Trial SCS site with pus and the whole enchilada of ick. The carrier balked at paying for prescribed meds [antibiotics] to combat the infection and keep me kicking on this side of the grass.... SO, I got my attorney informed of such shenanigans and the meds were finally approved. Of course, I had paid the expense out of pocket up front so I would not succumb to post surgical infection, but, the attorney made it right for me after all.

Going it alone without someone batting in your corner can be a lonely prospect. At least I have someone to whom I may turn.

Food for thought, in addition to Rae's and Fiona's advice,
Mark56:)

Thank you all so much for your support and help. I'm glad that Fiona's SCS seems to be coming along. Like I said, my doctor referred me for the psycological part to get the ball rolling, but WC is in heavy review of my records. I told my adjuster that I would go and get a second opinion from their doctors. This is really the first time WC has hesitated so it hasn't been too bad. I do have an attorny, my case involves a rearend collision where I was stopped and the other vehicle was traveling 45mph. We were merging in the business route of I-40 at around 5:00PM, two cars where stopped in front of me so I stopped on the onramp. They started to move and all of a sudden, BAM. The other car said they never saw me, so obviously were looking to merge instead of looking ahead. At least they were honest and its all on the police report, so I decided to get an attorny. It will be two years this October, but it's great to have y'all as a sounding board and inspiration. I'm gonna sign off before I get the keyboard wet. I'll keep y'all informed. THANKS!!!

Cervical spinal cord stimulator
 

Welcome to this site.

I had a spinal cord stimulator implanted in my cervical spine in June. It was implanted for facial pain. The leads entered at C5/C6, but I think my doctor set them up higher in my spine. I am having great relief and the recovery has gone smoothly. I am now off all of my anti-siezure medications that I was taking for the pain. I still take a Cymbalta at night time.

My stimulator is a Boston Scientific SCS implant. The program that the rep set in the operating room has been the most effective.

Let me know if you have any questions - we are here to help.

Emelie

Thanks for the input. I'm still waiting on WC. They want to send me to one of their doctors for a second opinion. I'll keep y'all informed.

Bumping this to the top!
 

Not sure if you saw this thread, Treca, but I thought of you as I ran across it!
Good stuff!

Spord!! Let us hear from you! How are you doing?
:grouphug::grouphug:
Rae

Yep! :)
 

I sure did see this one. I've read all of fionab threads that I could find. Thank you for bumping it up for me Rrae! I've been keeping taps on her threads so I can see if she has anything new to say about her implant and how it's going for her.:)

Hugs,
Treca

Fiona.....
 

Yep, I recently spoke with Fiona via email....
Hopefully she'll be posting here again soon!

:hug:

OK, that's great! I hope her recovery is coming along nicely for her. Like I said before, her post have helped me a lot in finding the information I was needing about the Cervical side of things :)

Rae,
It is now the end of April 2011 and I just got approved for my SCS trial. I am so sorry for leaving ya'll hangin'

My trial is May 3rd and I'll get back and look you up to let you know how it went. I have not been good.
Spord.

Thank you Spord!
 

Congratulations on getting approved for your implant!
I know you've been waiting a very very long time.

Your update really means alot to us! :grouphug:

I'm sorry you haven't been doing well :( I hope things turn around for you!
Just know how much we care. If you ever need to vent or just to talk things out, feel free.....that's what we're here for :hug:
You can send any of us a PM if you don't want to talk out here on the main boards.

But PLEASE let us know how your implant goes!

Truly Caring!
Rae
:hug::grouphug::hug:

For Spord
 

May your Trial on 3 May be done with great care and precision, may sterility of the OR be paramount as you receive your Trial device, and may you feel exactly what you need to feel as your Trial commences so you may evaluate it with care and due consideration for whether it will aid in your pain management. All of this I pray for you from now and through your Trial.

Blessings on you,
Mark56:hug:zzz

I need some help
 

HI. I am new at this but I need to get some info. I broke my neck a couple yrs ago in a sledding accident and have been suffering since. They have done surgery and pain meds. Yest. my Dr suggested the BS precision Plus for the pain of my pinched nerves in my neck and I'm trying to find out if it is worth doing or not...so I really need some feed back please!!!!! The pain is horrible! My other issue with it is that I have a heart murmur and palpations and was wondering if anyone has put one n with a heart condition? I'm just scared and dont know what to do so someone please help me soon.

Welcome Dear Christy
 

Fiona on here has actually had two implants of the BS Precision Plus variety... one for cervical issues and one for lower body issues. One is here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ghlight=fionab

and another here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ghlight=fionab

still another here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ghlight=fionab

I messaged her to see whether she would come kick this around with you, but she has been a little inactive the last couple of weeks.

Regarding heart issues, the absolute BEST people to know of this and whether any issue is presented would be your doctors. They may even want to consult a cardiologist or research whether there are reports of heart detriments to the SCS system and any risk it poses.

PoohAC may even chime in here, as she is a RN who practices in an OR assisting surgery quite a bit, she may have some thoughts, AND she is VERY active hereabouts.

I have a Boston Scientific Precision Plus for lumbar and radicular peripheral neuropathy of the legs and I and Thrilled and Blessed to have it, as with it and my cushion on which I sit, I have withdrawn from all pain meds since last August. Even when I have turned it up to its maximum to address pain spikes, I have never felt any interaction with the heart, as my paddles are attached to the spinal cord at T8 and address the L5 S1 nerve bundle.

If I can help you in some other way, please drop a question here, and I will see it, endeavoring to provide some solace. I do hope your Trial surgery answers questions for you as well, since it is only a temporary application of the technology through your skin to allow a test drive of it as it were so as to determine truly whether it can help you and/or produces discomfort or no help at all, especially with these heart issues you mention.

Prayin [I have a long list],
Mark56:hug::hug:ZZ

Spord,
I had my cervical medtronic SCS implanted on 3/1/2011. Unfortunatly I was robbed on 3/2 and my paddle lead was jolted out of place. I am only able to use about 30% of the paddle lead and it is still amazing. There have been many complications, and its not an easy process. The most important question to ask your doctor is how many cervical SCS that have implanted. I saw someone mentioned earlier that the cervical SCS are easier. My doc is one of the top in the neurostimulation field. He says that the cervical is one of the hardest surgeries to perform, especially when they have to go in for a fix. So make sure you have a good doc, that has lots of experience.
Best of luck,
Eli

Hi Christy
 

My heart goes out to you, as I can imagine what this pain must be doing to your quality of life :(

Mark is OH SO VERY helpful :hug: Thank you !

Also another very dear friend here is.....TCHR012 (Tara)
....didn't she have some issue with her heart?
She is so warm and friendly, very easy to talk to. She'd be great to connect with......
Geeeze :o, I've been out of 'touch' here lately.....how IS Tara doing?!
We can probably find some of her posts for you...

Try to relax the best you can Christy.....there is always hope around every corner. You've found a wonderful place for support....
We all care very much for each other.

Rae
:grouphug:

Eli! I'm so SORRY! You were ROBBED?! This is terrible :(
Thank you for your input.....you seem like a real trooper....

It's good to have you
Rae
:hug: