Spinal Cord Stimulator

[Guest guest]

Thanks Mike.

Lexie

[Guest guest]

Tamara,

After back surgeries, I had electrical stimulators implanted (just under the

skin) to help the fusions heal. About 6-9 months later, in a very simple

procedure, they were taken out. I never noticed any 'help' from the stimulators,

except in both cases I had very short recovery and no downtime.

Gretchen

[Guest guest]

For CMT!! Anyone out there have one for this condition.

Tamara

[Guest guest]

I just wanted everyone to know that when I did my trial spinal cord stimulator I

didn't have a single leg or foot cramp. I get the permanenet one implanted in a

few weeks. It was a great success. I have more pain with CMT than I do the

muscle wasting in legs. Perhaps because I am always on my feet at work and have

to climb stairs. I am looking forward to getting off of some pain meds.What it

does is they implant the 2 leads into the spinal cord and the battery is under

your skin. You can adjust the settings. It stop the pain signals from going to

brain.It send electrical pulses. I was very nervous about ir.. But it was the

best week of sleep I have probably had in 10 years.

Tamara

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[Guest guest]

Hi Tamara,

 

Thank you for sharing your experience.  That's wonderful!  May I ask a few

questions?

 

- What type of CMT do you have? (CMT1A?  Sorry I don't recall for sure.)

- What type of doctor inserted the device? (what is his/her specialty?)

- Where is it inserted exactly? (lower or middle back?)

- Did you have any issues with it being covered by insurance?

- Is there a more specific name of the device?

- Do you have to be careful doing things? Any limitations?

- Can it get wet? Can you go in a pool?

- Can you sleep on your back?

Thank you!

 

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[Guest guest]

,

My pain man. doc did the trial that lasts for 5-7 days. That one you cannot get

wet. The permanent one is insert by a PManagemaent doc that does surgery. It is

definetly covered by insurance. It is very expensive but I am covered 100% right

now. The perm one you can do anything that you would normally do. The temp one

you just have to be careful and not bend or stretch too much. It is made by

Medtronics and the other one is made by ANS. You can google medtronic spinal

cord stimulator. You have to under go pyshcological testing first. Which is

weird but easy. If you don't have insurance I'm just telling you it is very

costly.

You can control the level of the stimulation. I slept on my side but you can

sleep on your back. It takes a bit to get use to.It was inserted in lower back.

It also helps with the blood flow in my legs somehow. I just had noticed some

improvement with the numbness. Mostly it helped me with the cramping and pain.

Tamara

[Guest guest]

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I just had a spinal cord stimulator

inserted. It helps block the pain signals and replaces the pain feeling with a

vibration/massage feeling. For the first time in years, I walked around

Walmart, then walked around the mall, then came home and walked my dogs.

I truly feel like I have my life back. I have had 22 surgeries in my life but

this is truly the best thing ever. Check into it if you want pain relief.

Feel free to ask any questions

Jen