Hi Felicia,

It's great to see you here! Welcome to the forum ... everyone is so nice here so i'm sure you will fit in right away!! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have - i'm sure people will be more than happy to help you if they can!!

Thank you again for the information that you sent me regarding the TENS - I hope you don't mind me posting it on here, I just thought it would be useful for others as after speaking to both you and my PT's, they said that the information was very informative and useful!!

My PT's at my local Childrens Hospital and yourself told me that sometimes you have to persevere with the TENS unit and try it in different areas to get the best amount of pain relief ... sometimes that may involve putting it on the Spinal Cord even IF the Pain isn't present there as that is where a lot of the pain signals are!!

MomInPain - I DO believe that you can use the TENS machine on any two limbs that have RSD. My PTs told me that I could use it on both my leg and arm when the pain was too bad and a lot of the people I have spoken to with full-body RSD use it all over there body so i'm sure it would be OK but I would speak to your Doctor beforehand. I'm not sure if the TENS would work any different if you had a Spinal Cord Stimulator put in place, again that is something to talk to your Doctor about as I think sometimes they like to try the SCS on it's own without any other meds or therapies to see if it helps (or so I have been told by other RSD'ers on another forum).

I hope the TENS helps any of you that decide to try it. I am still looking into getting the TENS but my PT's don't think it will help as I now have Independently Maintained Pain and my RSD is in the CNS.

I think that is a very sensible approach Lori. Do you have a physiotherapist? Perhaps he/she can provide some guidance for you on different machines. Before I purchased mine my physiotherapist loaned me a couple of different TENS models to try out. Ultimately I decided on the EPIX VT (by EMPI) because it can function on many settings. You want to be able to adjust it so you can overcome the effects of accommodation and to have a machine that varies the signal being delivered to the nerves.

The TENS is simply one of the tools to help with pain management, it really is no big deal. If the signals are too strong simply turn it down or change the signal pattern. Some people don't like it or don't find any relief form it. In some cases the reason for no relief is when someone is exposed to the same signal for a long period of time the nerves accommodate to it. This means the patient has to turn it up in order to get some degree of relief. Eventually the machines cannot be turned up any higher and the TENS machine loses its pain relief effect.

I use it on my shoulders too to help with my TMJD and relieve the stress I carry in my neck shoulder areas. There are a few spots one should not place an electrode according to instructions from my Physio.
Not on the over the spine,
Not over a bony point,
Not on the soft side of the neck,
Not on my RSD foot (only because I still have 1 metal screw inside)

I understand that there are new improvements to the one that I purchased some years back so perhaps you could find the new improved deluxe model.

MsL

No worries Ali about posting it here , where it may be useful dont hesitate, I just thought since I was responding to the same post I would say where the info had come from (I was about to repost it myself till I realised what it was lol).

Also, a good way to try and use it for two limbs (two lower limbs for example) is place both electrodes, one either side of your spinal column. This way they are intercepting the pain signals before they enter your spinal cord from both limbs. Make sure you place them on your lower back, or even try placing them just above where you sit on the back of your hips (kinda your bottom). But having a machine that can take several pairs of electrodes is also helpful.


As far as the centrally maintained pain (this is my understanding of how the TENS works in this situation) TENS relys on the gating theory so it targets the faster conducting nerve fibres whereas pain signals travel along the slower fibres, but in centrally maintained pain (same as independent pain, pain in the CNS) the body is still translating pain signals are coming from the periphery even though there are none coming. So, if you use a TENS, all of a sudden there are these signals coming from that limb that are NOT pain signals and they are the faster nerves too so the brain starts to deal with those signals that are really coming and it doesnt have time to continue the pain ones is has created in itself, the gating theory still applies. This is why it is still ok to try using the TENS in chronic pain situations as almost everyone with chronic pain will have these central changes in the brain.
This is actually pretty hard to understand and a lot of medical people dont really get it either as they haven't studied the relevant pain science.

Hope this was helpful

I have also been using the Jai, for about 7 years. It's a spectacular technology that helps with pain, fatigue, depression, stress and sleep. It's worth renting one to try it out.

yep, w.c. bought my TENS.... again, temporary relief, but hey, ok. my pain's gone 2 my foot! (from hand & wrist) good luck!

I suffer from CRPS and use a tens unit myself. I do like the feeling of what it does to massage the back in a setting that pulsates in and out. I have had this tens for a long time and now it is getting to be less productive but I will use it all the time.
Take care and remember pain free days ahead.

Hi Lori Lee,
I'm so excited for you. I'm sure that was rough-MSContin strong stuff. I asked my Dr. to go off 3200 mg of neurotin. I had gainsed so much weight. Was on 400 mg. of Lyrica after the neurotin. We gradually went off, and I didn't get the electric shocks, jolts, spasms back. I've had a couple in 7 months. Lost 30 lbs and working on my 2nd 30 lbs.
After having RSD 4 years and not being diagnosed, I flew back to Oregon to orthopedic sports injury Dr. and was diagnosed in 1 minute. He ordered Tens Unit and P.T. The Physical Therapy lasted 100 treatments. I liked the Tens Unit. It has batteries and can be controled as to strength of vibrations and length of vibratons. It has two lead wires with patches on the end. Your can choose where to put the patches. Insurances pays for the unit and also replacement patches. I liked it, took my mind off pain.
I have recently been going thru horrific lack of sleep. Wouldn't get to sleep until 5-6 a.m. then sleep till afternoon. My life was passing me by. My Dr. took me off Ambien CR, which obviously wasn't working and started 300 mg. of seroquel. He is just finishing up a 200 person study of seroquel. It's a low dose and for fibromyalgia patients. High doses of seroquel is for bi-polar and schezophrenia.
Had to stay in bed 3 days. It's a miracle drug for me. I take it at 7 p.m. and sleeping by 10 pm Get up at 8 a.m. feeling absolutely great with restorative sleep. My pain level is way down. Dr. left it up to me. I used to take 6 vicodin a day. Now I take 2-3. Lorazepam, an anti-anxiety med had gone down from 6 pills a day to 2-3. I feel like I'm going into remission. When he writes regarding his trial, I'll let you know. I just can't believe it- I feel like a new person. I am gradually getting my strength built up and energy level is going up.
So I guess what I'm saying is yes, to the tens unit. and sleep is imperative-keeps the pain level down. I believe in anti-anxiety meds- it keeps the sympathetic nervous system calmed down. Also anti-depressent meds work well on nerve pain. I'm on cymbalta.
That's exciting going back to work. Low dose seroquel was a miracle worker for me.
Hope all works out for you going back to work. Take care, loretta

Before I was diagnosed, and we all thought I simply had a badly sprained knee, I had TENS therapy and ultrasound. The ultrasound (I guess it was) heated my knee up, and it helped a little bit. Very little. Ok, straight up, it felt good while it was being run, as soon as it was turned off, it was as if it nothing had been done. But the TENS deal, well, I didn't know why, but it did work, nothing like a total recovery, of course, but it knocked the pain down probly by half for at least half the day, and sometimes I was 'cured' for the whole day, into the next. Frankly, I had forgotten all about it until I read this thread. I cannot thank you enough, a good friend of mine has one I can try out, so fingers crossed, I pray it helps. RSD's spreading down my leg, every now and then it's popped over to the opposite leg, so I am really hoping this stops it. Thank you. Later, Smoke

Hey Smoke
read the other thread [stimulator friend or foe] what galen said make sense and others here like fmike and others told me the same,,,i think im in sip pain and not smp anymore,it makes a difference on how a stimulator or TENS will react on you, IF your smp,,then you should get relief,,but if its progressed to sip,,then it will agravate your symptoms,,,,,youll know about acouple of hours after you take the unit off,,,i had terrible flares,,,,some are telling me that a stimulator will make it spread worse for me,,,,,either way,,,take care brother,,your in my prayers as well, also my condition mirroed from one leg to the other too;;;But dont worry stay calm, and stay active,,,,and if you have access to a pool to swim or aqua jog,,,do it,,its been making my condition recede, , God is good and does answer prayers,,,,,,,,,,,,,your friend in Christ Jesus,,,,,bobber

Well, I'll give it a try, and hopefully it'll work. He is indeed good, and does answer prayers, however, I think I musta done something to desearve this, or maybe I needed to be taught humility some. Dunno, but The Man knows what He's doing. And yes, we are friends in Jesus, no bout adout it.