Originally Posted by MDinpain

Yes paddles are a bigger deal! But my
Paddle is stuck down. I had percs originally but they were misplaced. Then mega scar. Then paddle rescue. Plus to paddle is they are bulky and if done right aren't going anywhere. If paddles are done right off the bat it's usually easier too.

My opinion is if you are highly active- paddles. If not try percs. A recent article showed that the 20 lead 5x4 has best results - most options. Bs has a 32 lead ipg. I have a medtronics 565 - one very good program.

I bend, have lerched hiking, etc. etc. etc. They have been in 2 + months. I have no fear of dislocation. Pain is down >50%. Walking range doubled. Biking range up 500%+. I sleep better. Life isn't perfect but it's not bad. It was bad before.

If the trial leaves you with a WOW feeling, get it in! If not, be Leary.

Originally Posted by MessyMark

Thank you for getting back to me about my questions. I Think I am going see what this doc that I have to see Sept 4th prefers to use then go from there. I consider myself very active person. I have my photography business I have focused a lot of my energy as of lately to get it off the ground. My little girl looks to me for help with her activities in school. I would love to be able to go biking again especially now that my little girl is able to ride her bike very well.

Originally Posted by MessyMark

I'm looking for those of you that have had a scs by medtronics installed recently I would like to pick your brain if you don't mind.

Here is a little background on myself.
More than 20 years ago I fell 40 feet from a rooftop hit the ground and bounced about 2 or 3 feet in the air I was told. After about 45 minutes or so I was able to get up with some help of course taken to the hospital x rayed for broken bones and they found nothing supposedly.
Fast forward 20 years.
I had enough of the pain and back problems such as back would go out and would take about a week to 10 days before I was able to move properly again.In May of 2009 I went to see a nuero doc told him everything that happened 20 years ago and all the problems I had been dealing with since. He immediately set an MRI up that day for me it was on a Friday and Monday at lunch time while I was at work he had called and said he found my problem and needed to see me as soon as possible told him I could see him after work today. I was working in a factory here in western pennsylvania and the job required a lot of heavy lifting it was working with large sheets of steel this was in 2009 and layoffs were very prevalent at the time and I had been informed I was going to be laid off this was right after I had met with my doctor. I went into the office at work and told them I would take an early layoff because I needed to have surgery anyway. I was laid off at the end of the week and had surgery the following week.
When the surgeon went into my back it was worse than he thought I had been living with a ruptured disc for 20 yrs at L4-L5 and it had been like that for so long that calcification had formed on one of the nerves my to left leg which he had to cut away. Surgery went well and a couple of months went by and I went back to work but this time I decided to put my CDL back into use and found a small trucking company privately owned and was doing really well.
Then the morning of December 28th 2010 I was getting ready to go back out on the road after being home for Christmas Vacation My wife had taken me and my luggage to the truck and I was on the top step of my tractor trailer and my wife was passing me my last duffel bag of clothes and I slipped on some ice that had formed on the top platform where I was standing and fell to the ground onto my right side. Instantly I knew I had re injured myself I had pain in and around the surgery site radiating down my left leg. My wife helped me up off the ground she reached in and shut the truck off dialed my dispatcher from my phone told him what happened and that she was taking me to the hospital were my surgeon worked so he could take a look at me. She then called my doctors office who paged him and he met us at the emergency room he had already arranged for me to have another MRI as soon as I got there. After reviewing it he came in told me I was going to need another surgery I had reinjured the same area but this time it was pinching some nerves. Post op 2010 I did not fair so well. Was still having a lot of pain in my lower back at L4-L5 and down both legs at times .
I have tried facet injections,water therapy,regular therapy,nerve blocks,steroid injections the whole gambit of things that doctors want you to try before they tell you that there is nothing else they can do for you and send you to a pain management office . Since then I also have been told I will never drive truck again and had to turn in my CDL . I was put on disability. Then I met Dr. Zimmerman of the pain clinic we had been over all kinds of different drug's and most of them do not work if they do I look and feel like heroin addict and told him I will do without. So he finally suggested a medtronics scs device but up till now I was not able to do anything about it because my disability insurance had not kicked in because I had not been on disability for 2 years at the time. As of June my insurance kicked in and he brought up the scs device again for me . So in September I am scheduled to see doctor down in Pittsburgh at upmc to set up a trial. I would like to know how your trial went ? and if you decided to have the implant down permanently? if so how has it been compared to the trial ? I'm sure I will have many questions if you don't mind ?

Thank you for taking the time to read all this.

Originally Posted by Yasmina

Hi Mark,

I just had a St. Jude SCS implanted both in my lumbar region, and for my legs.

Sorry I can't help you with Medtronics, but I'm in W. PA also! Near Monroeville. Where are you going in Pittsburgh? Who is your dr.?