11 replies to this topic

[Cathelena]

I am T4 complete for 16 months and have tried all the usual medication for back pain at the point of and below my injury level...gabapentin, progabalin, oxycontin, none of which seem to be of any real benefit. When i saw my pain
consultant yesterday he asked me to think about havung spinal cord stimulation with electrodes and a small box
planted in the stomach. He said it is done under an epidural and has more than a 90 per cent success rate. I
wondered if anyone has had this treatment and what the outcome was.

[Soryfam]

I haven't been able to use it because I have a pacemaker and it would interfere with it. However, my physical therapist highly reccommends it and has seen it be very helpful in a lot of patients. Let us know what you decide.

Sandy

[Cathelena]

Soryfam, on 02 July 2011 - 10:41 PM, said:

I haven't been able to use it because I have a pacemaker and it would interfere with it. However, my physical therapist highly reccommends it and has seen it be very helpful in a lot of patients. Let us know what you decide.

Sandy

Thanks Sandy, i will do. It seems very invasive and quite a big decision. Thanks again for your imput

[InfiniteE]

Sounds painful just to get it. Lol.

Edited by InfiniteE, 13 July 2011 - 02:06 AM.

[wheeliebear75]

I use a TENS unit which does the same type of thing. With a TENS there is NO surgery needed & you place sticky electrodes on the area where your problems stem, & control it with a box that you'd wear clipped onto your pants or in a shirt pocket & the wires would then need to be ran under the clothes from electrodes to the box which is powered by a 9v battery. I LOVE my TENS unit....goes with me wherever I go & I always make sure (90% of the time) I bring it along when I take my purse. For the DUDES....the control box, lead wires, & electrode pads would all fit in a SMALL fanny-pack or other pouch that you could have tucked under the chair.

[Cathelena]

wheeliebear75, on 13 July 2011 - 02:35 AM, said:

I use a TENS unit which does the same type of thing. With a TENS there is NO surgery needed & you place sticky electrodes on the area where your problems stem, & control it with a box that you'd wear clipped onto your pants or in a shirt pocket & the wires would then need to be ran under the clothes from electrodes to the box which is powered by a 9v battery. I LOVE my TENS unit....goes with me wherever I go & I always make sure (90% of the time) I bring it along when I take my purse. For the DUDES....the control box, lead wires, & electrode pads would all fit in a SMALL fanny-pack or other pouch that you could have tucked under the chair.

Thanks. will definately give one a go

[KayDub]

Cathelena, on 02 July 2011 - 07:53 PM, said:

I am T4 complete for 16 months and have tried all the usual medication for back pain at the point of and below my injury level...gabapentin, progabalin, oxycontin, none of which seem to be of any real benefit. When i saw my pain
consultant yesterday he asked me to think about havung spinal cord stimulation with electrodes and a small box
planted in the stomach. He said it is done under an epidural and has more than a 90 per cent success rate. I
wondered if anyone has had this treatment and what the outcome was.

I was just about to come on here and post the same thing Cathelena! I'm not an SCI complete but I have extensive nerve damage and paralysis (it's almost the opposite of an SCI). I've been on a methadone pain management treatment that has been successful. It's long lasting and lets me sleep, go to PT and enjoy life without the nastier side effects that some pain killers have. I have minor nausea with my dosage but if I split my all my meds up throughout the day I can manage it. But obviously as a 23 year old my docs don't want me to stay on drugs my whole life. (And I'm sick of having to convince the pharmacies all over the city I'm not a drug addict!

My pain doc diagnosed me with chronic regional pain syndrome and wants to do bilateral lumber nerve blocks. I had the right side done a few years back and it was pretty successful but they wear off over time sadly. If another round of blocks don't get the fix my pain doc wants me to go this route. He said it's worked on all of his patients so far eliminating 60-80 percent of the pain. I'm nervous, last lumbar block I had worked but my neurological system was never the same. I don't want to be any less mobile than I am. But I don't want to be in pain either.

Let me know if you chose to go this route with treatment! I'm supposed to have a scheduled procedure by 17 August so we'll see. Good luck!

[Cathelena]

KayDub, on 21 July 2011 - 10:29 PM, said:

Cathelena, on 02 July 2011 - 07:53 PM, said:

I am T4 complete for 16 months and have tried all the usual medication for back pain at the point of and below my injury level...gabapentin, progabalin, oxycontin, none of which seem to be of any real benefit. When i saw my pain
consultant yesterday he asked me to think about havung spinal cord stimulation with electrodes and a small box
planted in the stomach. He said it is done under an epidural and has more than a 90 per cent success rate. I
wondered if anyone has had this treatment and what the outcome was.

I was just about to come on here and post the same thing Cathelena! I'm not an SCI complete but I have extensive nerve damage and paralysis (it's almost the opposite of an SCI). I've been on a methadone pain management treatment that has been successful. It's long lasting and lets me sleep, go to PT and enjoy life without the nastier side effects that some pain killers have. I have minor nausea with my dosage but if I split my all my meds up throughout the day I can manage it. But obviously as a 23 year old my docs don't want me to stay on drugs my whole life. (And I'm sick of having to convince the pharmacies all over the city I'm not a drug addict!

My pain doc diagnosed me with chronic regional pain syndrome and wants to do bilateral lumber nerve blocks. I had the right side done a few years back and it was pretty successful but they wear off over time sadly. If another round of blocks don't get the fix my pain doc wants me to go this route. He said it's worked on all of his patients so far eliminating 60-80 percent of the pain. I'm nervous, last lumbar block I had worked but my neurological system was never the same. I don't want to be any less mobile than I am. But I don't want to be in pain either.

Let me know if you chose to go this route with treatment! I'm supposed to have a scheduled procedure by 17 August so we'll see. Good luck!

Hey Kaydub,

Good luck and please let us know how you get on. My next Pain Consultation is not until October, so wont be discussing it again with my Consultant until then

Cathelena

[sherbs]

Cathelena

My pain Consultant has asked me to consider going down this route, but with having annual MRI's it may not be possible.

Also i am really scared of more invasive surgery, 10 hr op was enough to bear, and the thought of more surgery makes me want to vomit.

I also use a Tens Machine, which is pretty effective pain relief for back pain,but does not help my nerve pain.



i hope this helps

[Cathelena]

sherbs, on 22 July 2011 - 08:17 PM, said:

Cathelena

My pain Consultant has asked me to consider going down this route, but with having annual MRI's it may not be possible.

Also i am really scared of more invasive surgery, 10 hr op was enough to bear, and the thought of more surgery makes me want to vomit.

I also use a Tens Machine, which is pretty effective pain relief for back pain,but does not help my nerve pain.



i hope this helps


Thanks Sherbs,

It does help. Thats exactly what I was thinking, the thought of more surgery fills me with dread. Think I will definately try the tens unit and see if i get any joy with that.

Cathelena

[Cathelena]

After much research on the internet and especially on you tube have decided to not go down the route of spinal cord stimulation. Know there are no guarantees with anything but some people actually saying it made their pain worse and just not willing to take the ris on something which seems so invasive.

[RioBlaze]

Cathelena, on 17 September 2011 - 01:45 AM, said:

After much research on the internet and especially on you tube have decided to not go down the route of spinal cord stimulation. Know there are no guarantees with anything but some people actually saying it made their pain worse and just not willing to take the ris on something which seems so invasive.

Glad to hear that you didn't do it. I have used a TENS unit before but it had only minimal effecacy. I have talked to doctors about the surgery and for me, the risk of infection and more pain made me leary.

Hope you can find some relief, keep looking!!!
Rio