Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced any of the same issues that I have had with my SCS. I had my Medtronic SCS implanted about 5 months ago and the first few weeks were amazing, I was receiving so much relief I really thought I was out of the woods and could get back to a normal life. After a few weeks my stimulator started to act up, it would surge with so much intensity it was painful then just by standing up or shifting weight from one leg to another I would suddenly feel nothing. When I would look at my remote it would show that my unit wasn't even on! When this started, the site where the battery is also started to get extremely hot and extremely painful. The unit was also not recording my charging times correctly or at all. In the beginning I could charge for several hours at a time but as the unit when crazy, I couldn't charge as long because it got too hot too fast. Now that months have passed, my battery gets hot just from walking or sitting and the pain just keeps getting worse.

So..has anyone else experienced any of these issues with their Medtronic (or any other brand but Medtronic seems to be the worst) permanent SCS implants?[/INDENT]

I have had my Medtronis SCS for over 4 years now and have NEVER experienced anything that you are describing. You need to contact your Medtronic Rep and/ or Doctor immediately!!!!! This is not normal. I wish you continued success with your SCS as I ahve had for many years. Fondly-Carol

I would definitely contact your doctor and/or rep. I've had mine about the same time, and that does not sound right at all! I have a St. Jude model, but I assume they are all similar. I sometimes feel a little surge when mine ramps up when being turned on from the magnet, but never like you describe! Hope all turns out well for you!!

TK

When I read your post I think "infection." Definitely get in touch with your doctor if you haven't already. Clearly something, big or small, isn't quite right. Let us know how it turns out.

I have seen 3 different Medtronic Reps and the surgeon who put the unit in and they all agree that there is NOTHING wrong my unit! My surgeon even accused me of lying about the issues I'm having.. =( Sadly my case is Workman's Comp one, so the help I get is limited to what they feel I deserve. I'm trying to get my unit out and I think I will once again persue alternate options for treatment.

I have issues with overheating with charging, which causes me not to ever get to 3 bars, but I don't have problems with overheating any other time. I have a Boston Scientific unit, and two different times with the charging issue my rep has downloaded the data from my unit and charger and sent it to the company so they could analyze if there were any problems. Have any reps done this for you? Someone needs to take you seriously because that's not normal. Have you tried calling customer service and maybe talking to someone there?