NeuroTalk Support Groups - Medtronic AdaptiveStim Spinal Cord Stimulator

NeuroTalk Support Groups (https://www.neurotalk.org/)

- SCS & Pain Pumps (https://www.neurotalk.org/scs-and-pain-pumps/)

- - Medtronic AdaptiveStim Spinal Cord Stimulator (https://www.neurotalk.org/scs-and-pain-pumps/175404-medtronic-adaptivestim-spinal-cord-stimulator.html)

Prayin for ya and for mother in law, hoping all is well with the both of you!!
Yup,

Mark56:hug:zzzzz[in a guy kind of way] and :grouphug:

I haven't disappeared for good - I'm now entertaining my two sisters from Michigan...hope to be back Monday or so.

Quickly: I'm having a huge BLESSED response to my stim working well, automation turned, programming not quite as perfect as immediately post-op (despite the stuttering then) and, since he excluded the 2 bad leads, no stuttering.

Thinking and praying for y'all as I go through my days...

Probably for good, this time, since I'm out of vacation time!
:)

Will try to catch up on the threads...

So as mentioned in the other threads I'm almost to 9-weeks. Yesterday I really 'unloaded' to (not ON) my doctor at how frustrating it is to see Medtronic charge my insurance such a ridiculous high 5-figure amount of $$ for something that has 1/8 malfunction. She said I would be completely within my "right" to file a complaint to the company but - really, what good would that do? I certainly don't want to repeat the surgery to have them put in a non-defective unit (MAYBE!).

Haven't seen many folks come out here saying they have this model but have noticed a lot of views to the thread.

Hi Andy,
I have been reading and wanting to post...no one can procrastinate like me!!

I have a Metronic Adaptive Stim Spinal Cord Stimulator….implanted March 2012…a motor vehicle accident in ’09 caused severe chronic pain @ L4-L5- SI…along with a shattered ACL in my L knee (it was a roll over @ 80 mpg…hit a tree…not my fault) and OMG was I purple from the seat belt! The usual facet; rhizotomy
routine led to the AS... looking back I do not think I was a good canidate for the AS...yeah I know---20/20 vision now.
I did experience the 'stuttering " about 6 weeks post op. I have ample room in my R bumm to accomadate the battery...it moved about a bit and then settled in a bit lower when all the swelling was done. That is when it stuttered and my rep was able to re-program. Has not done it again. It does stop when I enter some automatis doors...starts up in a few seconds...also when I lay on the R side ..on the battery ..it will stop or really get mild. I enjoy the sensation of it,,,if I do have any lumbar pain the Gizmo buzzes it away.
Now I do however suffer terribly from the AS surgery...it hurts!!!...all the time between my shoulder blades and sometimes just like a knife in my back. It hurts to have arms at my side...to rest my arms..the rods feel like brooomsticks. I take more meds now than before the AS implant. I want it out...I know that is easy to say now as my lumbar pain is practicaly gone...there was a time I was willing to put rods and a battery in me to get rid of pain that was debilitating.
So there is my little story...mine was also the first AS my surgeon implanted.
Hope this helps s:Good-Luck:ome
all my best
Johanna*

Andyroid has been looking to find others with his adaptive stim model, so your experience corroborates his frustration. Seems as though it is a little wonder which leaves manufacturer and physician alike wondering at its function, as the patient grows IMpatient.

Even so, once the stuttering evens out and stim is more "even handed" Andy felt some better although your story is definitely hard for you. Prayin for you to somehow have relief from the awful post op pain!!! May you have peace and sleep.

Lots of gentle :hug:z:grouphug:
Mark56

Hang in there Jo!

Johanna,

You definitely have quite a story there, thanks for sharing!

Now that my rep removed the stuttering (by bypassing 2 of the 16 contacts - one on each probe) I am getting fantastic coverage...(though I have to sheepishly admit it improved after I did something that I'm 99% sure did a tiny migration on it! Go figure, I make a momentary mistake and it moves things in the RIGHT direction!) but it does seem a little finicky sometimes - it'll suddenly jump to a setting that's much higher. Sometimes I have to 'fuss' with it a bit to get it to remember what setting I want for, "Upright" (as an example).

Sometimes new technology has bugs that need to be worked out...I do love the ActiveStim feature despite it's oddness. I often put the MyStim unit aside for an entire day or even more and just let ActiveStim manage it all day/night long. That part I REALLY like!

Again, thanks for sharing your story!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark56 (Post 923608)

Andyroid
Mark56

Andyroid?? Am I being a pain in the behind, Mark?
LOL!!

:Scratch-Head:

:D :D

Not HEM orrhoid, the lower portion of a dress, bound up with thread and folded over to look sorta decent........

Andy roid, a fella what is NOT an android, but a fine young man who has electronix stuck in the back side and can charge a cell phone if it needs juice.

How about just good ole Andy?
Yup,
Mark56:grouphug:

Hi Andy...

So I followed your link here that you included in your reply to my post- First, thank you for your reply/info! I'm so happy to hear from someone else w/an ActiveStim SCS, as I have been researching it and reading all I can on my own, but that only goes so far. It's great to hear how it really feels, and opinions from a 'real' person, (not just Medtronic's website and my docs biased opinion, as Medtronic is all they use).

I'm sorry to hear that you got a semi-lemon model, but eh, your insurance only paid approx 60K, right? What a steal! (note the sarcasm)... But I am glad that they were at least able to program it to fix the 'stutter'.

So my worry continues to be battery (i can't remember what you've called it) placement... mainly because I tend to go up/down in weight, and am currently on the heavier side of my 'normal' weight range... so when I inevitably lose weight again, I fear that the battery will stick out and/or become painful... Maybe I should request it be placed deeper rather than shallower? But I know it cant be too deep or else the remote/charger won't work (i think I've read...)

That and I live alone, with a dog that hides under the couch when it's time to go to "bed" (whether at night or when I leave), forcing me to go under the couch and grab him/pull him out... This worries me for post-surgery. I worry that the first time I go to get him, everything will move out of place. It sounds from the other SCS thread that at first it's not super hard to pull things out of place if not careful... I wonder if he's going to have to be on a leash 24/7 for the first week or two, then at least I won't have to bend over/climb under the couch to get him... but I digress.

Thanks again for your story- the info has been very helpful!

-Colleen:grouphug: