Re: SCS works less over time???

November 22, 2008

It happened to me, but all they had to do was change the programs on my

stimulator. They can turn them up more so they help with the pain better. It

worked for me.

Take Care,

B. in TEXAS

SCS works less over time???

Hey guys

I was reading what Dorothy wrote about her neuro said that patients came in and

that SCS did not work on their leg pain after some time.

Has anyone here noticed this?? I have not heard anything about this before now.

Thanks to anyone who can give me a heads up on this.

Kim

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November 22, 2008

This is interesting as I was told something completely different. I think that I

may have mentioned when I first joined the group that I am one of those people

who doesn't accept things on face value and I want to know how and why something

works especially if a chunk of metal is going to be stuck inside me! LOL.

The way that it was explained to me is that the nerves have a " memory " and pass

these " memories " on to the brain and can beÂ illustrated by those cases where

even after having a limb amputated individuals can still feel their missing limb

and get phantom sensations like an itch. The idea of the SCS is to transmit

elecrical impulses along the effected nerves which in effect block out the pain

signals. As we all know from experience with pain medication after a certain

length of time their effectiveness decreases so we either end up on an increased

dose or a different type of drug. The same can be said for an SCS. If we stick

to the same strength of signal the effectiveness can wear off after a while as

we get used to it and the original pain starts to break through again.

I consider that I have been very lucky in having the technician from the implant

company that I have. He has been so helpful all the way through and unlike the

surgical people has always been there for me. Especially when things started to

go wrong, he tried to compensate for the ineptitude of the surgeons by thinking

of ways in which the signals from the generator could be modified to try and get

at least a bit of relief. I think that my geographical location had a lot to do

with it too, as I can't get to see anyone locally most of the adjustments were

done over the phone (I have his cell number so there's no escape for him LOL) so

I was shown how to reprogramme the generator. He has gone a lot further with me

than most people that he deals with and I now have a large arsenal of different

types of stimulus at my disposal which I can also adjust in intensity. What he

did say to me however was that over time if you keep changing signals on a

regular basis

it has been found that in some cases the original pain signalsÂ are blocked

permantently and when time comes to replace the unit (rechargeable ones) it may

not be necessary to put one in at all and that you can do without it altogether.

We live in hope but I'll believe that when I see it! LOL

I think that the over-riding factor though is that we are all individuals and

our make-ups and circumstances are very different, what works for one may not

work for another. Again I know that to a certain extent I have been very

fortunate in being able to talk with the technician but my advice is that if you

have any questions or queries then speak to your pain specialists, even if you

have to make yourself a nuisance. Its your life that you are dealing with and

that is so important

Take care

Â