[Mark56]

THIS IS THE REP THREAD
IF YER POSTIN HERE IT HAD BETTER BE ABOUT EXPERIENCE WITH YER REP
I STARTED IT SAYING TO MYSELF, "SELF, YOU WERE TAUGHT IF YOU HAVE NOTHING POSITIVE TO SAY, THEN KEEP IT TO YERSELF."
TRUTH BE TOLD THERE ARE other THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT REPS, SO HERE YE BE! HAVE AT IT, HANG THE LAUNDRY ON THE LINE, BEING CAREFUL TO KEEP IT IN THE SCOPE OF THREAD TOPIC AND RULES OF THE FORUM

Since I have something good to say about Mike, I offer up my first comment, because it is this wonderful young man who, facing me down, allowed me after brief discussion to take the wheel on my programming foray two weeks after permanent implant. Wherefore, I submit, since pain is subjectively known, intimately measured by the sufferer, NO ONE is better at setting the parameters within which the spinal cord stimulator or face pain stimulator, or any other stimulator operates THAN THE PATIENT THEMSELVES with the due and appropriate supervision of the REP.

Having benefited thus, I have NEVER had a tweak session, have NEVER called my Rep asking to be fixed, given new or different programs, or even to suggest there was a problem. I HAVE called my rep to share messages of GRATITUDE with him from time to time and to ask for help when my stim remote control went wonky.

I have the highest regard for my particular rep.
There you have it,
Yup,
Now the floor is the world's,
Mark56

[Rrae]

Way to GO, MARK!
Now we have an 'official' thread to 'Rip' the Reps!
.......Let the Rep-Ripping begin! ......

Actually, I can't really rip my particular rep. She was a sweetheart. But I can certainly see where reps have missed the mark for quite a few other people. The unfortunate thing is that they hold the pinnacle position (besides the physician) for the success or failure of the implant!

Ok, let's see what our fellow SCSers have to say about their experiences with the representatives of the manufacturers of the SCS's in which they now own....

[Saffy]

I actually don't even have a Rep. It's just a nurse who has been trained by the area to use the doodle pad she has to activate whatever bit she touches on the screen. It's rubbish.

[CoralToe]

My rep from Boston Scientific is Charmaine, and she is AWESOME!! I met her a couple of months ago, prior to starting this whole process, and during that entire time she has made herself available to me for all questions, concerns etc. I had questions before my trial - and regardless of whether text or phone call, weekday or weekend, she always got back to me. By the time I got to my trial implant surgery, seeing her in the room and talking to her before the process set my heart at ease - as she was another familiar face. During the trial I texted her daily, and she always responded. During the process of getting approval from my insurance - again, she has kept and touch and eased my mind. Now my permanent implant surgery is scheduled for this Fri - and again, I feel at ease knowing she will be there, and she knows me. We have already discussed the programming process following my permanent implant, and she will be letting me "drive" and program myself - just as Mark was allowed to do. I, like Mark, truly believe this is the way to go. As she has told me numerous times, "no one knows your pain like you do!" I am thankful that she is my rep, and hope that everyone gets a chance to work with someone who they can work with in such a way

[Nanc]

I really have three reps, Kevin is my main guy who was in the OR during my procedures, so he is my favorite. There are two others (Aaron & Leslie) who cover the surrounding areas and fill in when Kevin can't be there. They are all great!!

They really try their best to help when I keep throwing them curve balls with my recovery

Nanc

[JoanB]

Well hey, my new rep today was pretty good! She listened to me and really seemed like she wanted to help. And BTW, she said that she wouldn't have any problem with me taking the controls should I decide that I want to go for the permanent one.

The other guy acted like I was a major PITA--and I only texted him twice (one back and forth each) and called him once (ten minute conversation) over the span of three days.

Of course there are good ones and bad ones, but one thing I have realized is that you see this person walk in wearing scrubs, but you have to recognize they are not health care professionials, they are primarily salespeople. They are not even high-level techies. I got a peek at the interface she was using today (didn't see it the other day), and maybe I'm missing something, but it just didn't look that complicated. And judging from the range of sensations I've felt compared to a TENS/muscle stim unit, i.e., they're just adjusting width, frequency, burst/modulation mode and such until you tell them that it's working for you. I could be very, very wrong about this, but I'm thinking at this point that the basic technology is similar, it's just delivered directly to your spine instead of transcutaneously, so it works better. If I have that wrong, I will eat my humble pie, honest.

And it obviously works wonders for many people, but the real skill lies in the knowledge and dexterity of the doctor who puts those leads in--heaven help you if they don't know what they're doing!

I don't know how I got off on that tangent, but anyway, I suspect that sometimes reps kind of bamboozle people, especially older ones, into believing that they are some kind of neuro-technology wizards, when they could very well be selling pharmaceuticals next month, which they also don't know all that much about. But the ones who are good, who really do care and help people, well, I say good for them and for us. I'm just not intimidated. As you've seen.

[Sandy Kay]

I am glad to say that the three reps in my area are amazing. All three are young caring professionals. Jonathan was the rep who was there for my trial. He called me before the trial and then a few times during the week. Always happy to answer any and all questions and reminded me he is available 24/7.
Jonathan was out of town for my implant and Eric stepped in. Very reassuring and helpful with questions and initial programing. At another follow up with my Dr. I met CJ who just wanted to be there I case there were any questions. I'm 5 months post op and have gotten follow up calls to make sure things are going well. I am thankful for a good experience but know that there are bad apples in every industry no matter what position or education they may have.

Sandy Kay

[Rrae]

Now THAT'S the way it SHOULD be!
I'm glad to hear you've been treated so well Sandy Kay - Hat's off to those reps!

[yellow]

My reps are great as well. There are 3 that work with the hospital I go to, and I have mostly worked with 2 of them. They are both very sweet and smart girls. They also call me to check in and always tell me I can call them at any time, and they're great about returning phone calls. They answer all my questions and explain things well to me. I also feel that they understand I'm a person in pain who wants relief and I feel treated like a human being rather than just a case They constantly tried reprogramming for me when the stimulation was in my stomach and did everything they could think of from their end.

In regards to the cafepharma boards, I wouldn't let it worry anyone too much. It's anonymous and anonymity breeds behavior that people wouldn't normally do, especially when others are doing it already (I'm a psych student ). They probably don't get as many opportunities to really vent about their frustrations with the company on the job, and even so it's hard to sometimes know who you can trust to talk to. So they take the opportunity of being anonymous to discuss the bad things, because the good things they can discuss any time. That's my 2 cents!

[Mark56]

seems the one at a time approach could result in conversion of the game to a plus sum game if those who pharma post might realize there are LOTS more sales to be made when staisfying public results in greater demand, or did the corporate boards of the manufacturers study economic theory far different than my creds carry. Demand is not a myth. Satisfaction is the key.

One by one conversion. One by one. Coral Toe is on tap. Joan with her computer savvy is potentially on board. The more who prove success, the greater the economic impact. It makes profit and loss analysis sense for corporations to turn about and head for success. The pinto stopped exploding decades ago. Someone is working to evaluate transporation modalities. Allright, refrigeration and sanitation have brought post industrial societies into fruition [ok except for stock markets]. Some pharmaceuticals have brought some disease under control.

Gotta start somewhere. Economic reality is one way if profitability is observable.

Legislation is another if one has any faith left in political machinery. Regulation certainly can force reps to yield control.

Fear is another means. Having been an executive of a company employing over 7000 I know the fear the words Class Action strike into any board. No company is too large to be detrimentally impacted by overwhelming evidence of circumvention of patient care purely for profit gain while causing harm. Such actions have occurred before.

So, back to profit where there is patient success. Every ounce of effort poured into TAKING THE WHEEL AT PROGRAMMING SESSIONS WILL DEMONSTRATE MORE ACCURATE PATIENT TREATMENT. Medical technology can demonstrate both the capability of stimulus and response to stimulus. Show me the technology which measures exactly HOW A PATIENT FEELS. Is this NOT the same problem pediatricians in pre-lingual infant treatment experience? No such patient can express how she or he feels either by the illness or the treatment as to which treatment is attempted.

TAKE THE WHEEL, Show patient success to the reps,
Mark56