So in my voting I selected both "Worked well" and "Worked somewhat" which obviously contradict - so I added, "I'll tell ya about it in a post"!

Basically, my wiz-bang, high-tech Medtronic ActiveStim system is only 19 days in and at first it was ROCKING with wonderful performance and pain relief - then it started "stuttering" (well, it was doing it from the beginning but it has gotten MUCH worse) where it would sometimes push full power then it would just mysteriously drop, then back up, then down, up-down-up....etc. I'm not moving, not changing my breathing, nothing....it just stutters. Now at almost 3 weeks I see my Rep tomorrow morning and I'm not letting him off the hook this time...he's either going to call the pulse-generator defective and start whatever process he needs to get this fully analysed (or whatever) or he's going to have a GOOD explanation as to why this is happening. With it getting worse I really suspect the PGen is really bad and I'm looking at another surgery. I'll do it in a heartbeat because of the relief I got but...I'm not very amused.

Hi there!

I'm so sorry to hear about the trouble you're experiencing with your scs! I'm wondering though, what your outcome was after meeting with your rep. The reason I ask is that I am getting scheduled for my trial stim any day now, and then (if successful, obviously), I too will be getting a Medtronic unit- the same as yours, I believe. However, your experience has me concerned that maybe Medtronic hasn't perfected their newest unit yet (the activeStim).... Also, I'm wondering (and will probably post a new thread/survey on the topic) where your battery "pocket" is located and if that placement is working well for you. I have read about issues w/the most common placement (high buttocks region) causing pain, but have read the same with some people with abdominal placement. So I'm trying hard to decide where I'm likely to have the best success w/the 'pocket' should I have the perm SCS implanted.

Thank you for your help, and best of luck to you!

Colleen

p.s. Sorry if I've rambled... it's a bad habit

Colleen,
I see you've found your way down below where all the active posting is and you've started a thread there. Good! You're sure to get great feedback, as we are a very caring and friendly group.
Please keep us updated on your thread as you go through with your trial!

It's great to have you!

Rae

A big, Texas, "HOWDY" to ya, Colleen!
You didn't ramble one bit, I can assure you - if you were to read through my various entries out on this wonderful forum you'd see real quick I'm a really BIG RAMBLER!

Lessee if I can answer your questions.
The problem with my wiz-bang stimulator is - they decided to put defective parts into my body. Yep! You heard right. Insurance initially got hit with $80,000 for hardware alone (they "negotiated" it down to a measly $59,000) but in the end the rep finally found that BOTH Probes (my doc likes probes, not paddles) had one defective lead on each. The probes have 8 total leads on each one so out of a total of 16 leads in my body (she put in 2 probes) TWO are defective. How has it affected my outcome? Very negligible due to the Rep being able to 'program around' the 2 defective leads.

In the end, Colleen, I am VERY happy with this technology. I can't tell you how NICE it is to set-it-and-forget-it (almost, I still have to make adjustments here and there depending on my pain level) but I spend HOURS each day AND all night w/o having to mess with the settings....all because of AdaptiveStim. I lay down and INSTANTLY it turns down...stand up and 20-seconds later it jumps up to my standing comfortable setting. Same with the rest of the settings (mobile, upright, laying on back, left side and right side). It's just, plain C O O L ! !

Having said that, if you go with this, I recommend you go ahead and ask the Rep to program a secondary channel (the B channel) with identical settings that are NOT adaptive. There are times when the Adaptive kicks in and THINKS I'm laying down when I"m actually in my recliner relaxing - I don't want it going to the Laying Back setting. This has worked out WONDERFULLY.

Battery placement is ZERO issue. I was shocked at how little this thing bothered me, right out of implant surgery. I expected to be writhing in pain...I am not, nor have I been. She placed this pack in te PERFECT location where I do NOT hit it. Sure, before it healed, if I leaned up against it, or layed directly on it, it'd let me know with a JAB of pain but it was N O T H I N G compared to what I expected. I took one week and 1.5 days off work and was right back in the saddle - I expected to have to take at last 2 weeks off then come back barely able to do much - no way. The battery pack/PGen (Pulse Generator - my abbreviation!) is much smaller than older models....another "plus" about this newer technology.

Anyway, high buttocks, off-centered more towards your side than your back, is perfect placement for me.

I hope this answers your questions. I actually started a thread on the AdaptiveStim - feel free to check it out.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread175404.html

God bless!