Spare Remote or Charger for SCS
 

One month, two days post Boston Scientific Precision Spectra spinal cord stimulator implant, I had already on two occassions seriously misplaced the remote.
I am the typical old widow woman who lives alone by circumstance, so there is no, "Hey honey, have you seen the remote". I obviouly need a spare. Also a spare charged-up disc charger to take on trips (hopefully someday) would be convenient. I'm thinking a couple of hundred bucks for each, right? Maybe even five hundred dollars for the remote. I am already mentally budgeting the cost.
So, I called the Boston Scientific (BS<--unfortunately choice of letters) rep who gave me the BS company number and was then provided a third party number. A pleasant woman told me that yes I could order a spare remote and a spare charger. Now I am reallly reallly excited!! Politely she says "I don't know how rich you are but the remote is two thousand dollars and the charger, not including the charging station is three thousand five hundred dollars."
Alrighty then, at least I know that owning a spare is possible.

Whoa, that is really pricey!!!!! I'm sure the Nevro rep mentioned a figure that was hundreds, not thousands for a replacement remote. I hardly use mine as the unit is on 24/7 and generally doesn't need touching.

Phil

That would make it a trifle difficult to sit down. :D:D:D
I wonder if the Health Fund covers replacement remotes? Won't be game to ask them for a while considering how much they shelled out for the implant. :eek:

Phil

Just an idea
 

:Good-Luck: Hey Mims do you remember the key finder thingys they used to advertise? Is there a way you can attach one of those to your remote, but, then you have to remember where the other bit is to activate it... Or for a super cheap but possibly effective method visit a pet store and buy a cat leash. You can then attach the light brightly coloured cat leash to it so it's rather obvious to see with the lead trailing? I'm assuming there is a way to attach something to your remote in these instances. But I've just had a look at my remote and can see there is nothing that anything can be attached to. If yours is similar, maybe get some strong adhesive duct tape and wrap it round the cat lead and unit to keep them together. Cat leads are generally thin, light weight and BRIGHTLY coloured with pink, green or purple (no idea why so bright) and very distinctive. With one of those leads trailing your chances of finding it much much easier. :Deliberate:

Our Nevro units are different to the Boston, Medtronic and St Jude's, in that we don't have to constantly adjust the levels. Also our remotes are ginormous in size, think TV remote and kinda hard to misplace :eek: Actually I wonder Phil n Wingy why you carry your remotes around with you? I rarely take mine anywhere far from the top of the chest of drawers (where it lives) have I missed out on some key instruction from the nevro rep? Maybe I'm supposed to carry it with me in case I have an accident and it needs to be turned off ?

Anyway Mims, I have established a routine so once I've finished charging my unit in the mornings, I return the paddle charger to my bedside table, plug it in to recharge and when I go to bed at night I disconnect the paddle from the power source. That way my paddle charger is always fully charged up and ready to go once again every morning. It also means it's not in the kitchen or near other household items that can potentially drain the power.:D

Phil, how much did your implant cost? I've never seen my bill...

Never saw the actual bill, but Rae was looking on our health fund site and they keep a list of what they have paid out. If I remember correctly, between the trial and the implant it was close to $50k. That includes hospital stay, xrays, anesthesia, etc. So I guess I shouldn't complain about the amount we had to pay out as well. :D

Phil

Too Funny ! A cat purple at lead (or leash in the states). But not a bad idea. I am getting into more of a routine and have become very careful with the remote. The BS remote is large, bulky, white and black and boring. A belt holster came with it but I don't wear a belt and the design is very poor, the remote not fitting well into it.
Thanks for the suggestions, especially those about your routine.
Peace,
Mims

The main reason I carry mine around with me is to save battery power and therefore frequency of charging, there are times in the day when I can knock the power down a bit and night time too. According to my consultant, using lower power settings when possible stops the nerves getting used to the high levels, this way you have higher power as a reserve for when you really need it.

Also I love the beep noise it makes and the pretty lights are like having a little bit of Christmas with you at all times :)

Wingy

Some people are easily amused. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Phil