[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.

[Rrae]

OH my Lord! I just spent some time reading thru the links MrsD gave us! Those 'reps' sound like a bunch of BAR FLIES bantering at each other - the 'Rated R' version even!

Not ONE of them even hinted at being the least bit concerned about the people receiving these units!

Yep, it's all about the

[ElizaJane23]

Originally Posted by Rrae

OH my Lord! I just spent some time reading thru the links MrsD gave us! Those 'reps' sound like a bunch of BAR FLIES bantering at each other - the 'Rated R' version even!

Not ONE of them even hinted at being the least bit concerned about the people receiving these units!

Yep, it's all about the

Say Rrea - can you direct me to where these are? I'd love to take a look -

My reps, well, the jury's still out. They both seem very nice, and competent. You all know that I didn't get a trial - my trial was on the operating room table and they did the implant at that time. The one rep set me up with some programs while I was in the recovery room - then that was it for 10 days. I didn't hear from anybody until I tracked down the second rep - never did hear back from the first rep. The second one was at my post-op appt and all went well. I don't have anything to complain about - but I think one of them could have given me a call. The surgery was my trial - and I was supposed to wait till my post-op appt 10 days later, to hear from anyone? They could have called me once to see how it was going. Hopefully things will go better now.

[mrsD]

Yes, Cafepharma is not for faint of heart!

ALL of their boards are like that too. The drug boards are actually WORSE!

The salespeople in the past for drug companies were mostly pharmacists and a few doctors here and there.

Then when the blockbuster drugs started...Big Pharma found that
pharmacists were not easily persuaded to deceive the doctors they called on. So the sales teams shifted to business majors or those with some college (typically not medical sciences). They are confident types, well groomed and very persuasive (like politicians IMO)...now.
They have little to say about how they are trained (which is very limited and circumscribed), and have no problem dishing the hype that management chooses to use to push the drugs.
The Vioxx scandal is one case in point. 60minutes obtained memos from management to the sales force, in how to deflect serious questions from doctors. The marketing of drugs to doctors does involve doctors, but in a different way/format...journal publications and conferences. Our PD board here even has posts about a FAKE journal created in Australia to persuade doctors!
http://www.lifescientist.com.au/arti...ical_journals/


these two videos illustrate Merck's tactics in regards to Vioxx marketing:

That 60minutes was a great show!
This is not the 60minutes video, but it is very revealing as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfNULvGcMsc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQYxZ...eature=related

So on the boards you see them for what they are. Some of course are trolls. And some like to go on the competitor's board and cause trouble and say flaming things.

This is the medical device listing:
http://www.cafepharma.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=9

These are the drug company boards:
http://www.cafepharma.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=4

I've posted on a few drug boards a few times... general questions about drug availability or recalls...and most times I get flamed. Occasionally one will see a layman post there, and it is NOT pretty. The words "respect" and "compassion" do not exist on any of the boards there IMO.

In general the sales reps are not really helpful type personalities so when the mask comes off (the mask you see), the real person can be quite surprising. Not all of course, but if you read the boards there you will see more mean types than helpful ones. I've a suspicion that the management may also be reading and posting there.

[Nanc]

Originally Posted by ElizaJane23

Say Rrea - can you direct me to where these are? I'd love to take a look -

My reps, well, the jury's still out. They both seem very nice, and competent. You all know that I didn't get a trial - my trial was on the operating room table and they did the implant at that time. The one rep set me up with some programs while I was in the recovery room - then that was it for 10 days. I didn't hear from anybody until I tracked down the second rep - never did hear back from the first rep. The second one was at my post-op appt and all went well. I don't have anything to complain about - but I think one of them could have given me a call. The surgery was my trial - and I was supposed to wait till my post-op appt 10 days later, to hear from anyone? They could have called me once to see how it was going. Hopefully things will go better now.

WOW! That is terrible, but I guess there are some out there like that who handle things differently. My St Jude reps here were not like that at all. One of them called me prior to the trial to explain the entire trial process to me. Before the call ended, she made sure I had her cell number and told me to call her anytime. Then, when it was time for the permanent, we went over it in detail so I was comfortable. I have three reps, there was one that was in the OR for each procedure, he is the hardest to reach but my favorite. But they all told me to call them anytime. If I need a tweak, I call them and see when they are available and email my dr to let him know so we can meet at his office.

I sure hope things go better for you now and you are doing well!
Nanc