I did not realise you had the scs, As i posted many times about i had 2 scs trials in the 7 years that failed,

Just finished consult with the pain dr i been seeing now for last 2 years and he wants to try the scs with the newer flat leads and the scs is much smaller then last time i had the trial with a diferent brand,

I had injection to help me make it through the holidays and trial is set up for jan 27 th 2012. I hope to god it helps this time because as i told my dr i reached my limit in 8 years to deal with leg pain that starts every morning,

Maybe 3 rd time is the charm because if it aint, i told dr i will end up in the nut house with this kind of pain, Every man has there limit in high level of pain before they snap,
And stick a fork in me i am done,

Its posible i was expecting too much from scs my 1 st trial before surgery, But now i will take any releif they can give me and not have to medicate myself so much if posible,,

Glad its helping you jim. Maybe the leads moved to a beter position where they belong,

I really don't know what happened. But I think like you. I may have expected to much. And on the trial maybe the leads got better placement. I don't know. I do know the technology gets better every year. I've been told of the 3 different brands St.Jude ANS, which is what I have, Is not the best for lumbar.
But to get that instant relief when my feet hit the floor is nice. Even if it only lasts 2 to 4 hrs. And then i don't think my pain meds have to work so hard.I've also had my hardware taken out after every fusion has fused. Every little bit helps buddy.
Good luck on your trial,
Jim

Yes its the st jude ans he has showed me, This is way smaller then my other trial i think it was like almost size of a hockey puck last time,

Which 1 is best for lumbar if not the St Jude Ans??

I want the best this time, i want the 1 NASA. Would use to shock a monkey ass all the way to the moon without a rocket ship,

I want the top of the line model with sirus radio and wifi free playboy chanels , automatic erection capability option,

This is my last try and its time i get the best in the world in pain control darn it, with multiple option of everything it has to offer, NASA. The eagle has landed!

You've gone over my head. But the real expert on scs is haglandc
Jim

I was just asking because you mentioned the St jude scs is not the best for the lumbar,

Was it told to you that a diferent scs would work beter? That was my question,

Sorry the Nasa stuff i was just joking around about,

I Knew you were joking. And I got a good laugh. But I was complaining about mine and some one on this forum told me that. But....That was 6 yr.s ago. And the technology race changes from year to year.
But it was haglandc who is the expert, She was the one who started this forum on s.c.s. and puts a lot of time into staying current. I would consider her an expert on the subject.
Jim

Of course you will find those who gain good relief from any and all brands of SCS. My research led me to discover that the big differences were that Medtronic makes constant voltage units and the rest have gone to constant current. Although if you read the spec sheet on the two, the constant current sounds like it has more bells and whistles, I have found more folks complaining about lack of coverage are complaining about the constant current units. The big selling points of those, are the are supposed to make automatic adjustments for increases in impedance as scar tissue builds. Not sure where the give and take is in order to build that technology into the SCS but it always seems they are the ones with the most dissatisfaction.

But the key is what works for you, is the best unit available. I would not trade mine out regardless of what someone might try to sell me on.

Talk to your doc and see what he has found to be the most reliable for your situation.

"C"

I believe both of my trials were the medtronic scs, 1 st trial was before surgery so had to be in around 2004. And i think around 2 years ago or so after surgery is wheni had2 nd trial after surgery failed,

Last trial even after i went back and had it adjusted by the rep i came home and even the lowest seting shocked me so bad i had to shut it down, No mater how many times i met with rep it always changed by the next day, It never stayed where the seting felt good while in the office once i got home,

All i can do is keep my fingers crossed same thing dont hapen with the flat leads this time around, I like the fact that the St jude unit is very small and looks to be much easier to implant under the skin then the medtronic unit,

This dr is very much aware of my previous trials that failed along with a pain pump trial which failed mainly because spinal leak for full time of the trial which as he also said should of never been allowed to hapen especialy ending up in er because of it and being sent home with cafeen pills for the head ache instead of a blood patch to stop the leak,

This time around with the 3 rd scs trial i am not going in with high expectations by any means so if it ends up giving me the slightest releif that i already know i cant get from medications i am all in,

I have done everything to beat this thing with exercise going to the gym, swiming, vitamins, tropical creams you name it i have done it, I am not able to get this under control with out some other help for the nerve related issues without some form of boost from some stimulater devise,

Long before i had my 1 st scs trial i read story of Jerry Lewis who through his comedy stunts through his years with Deam Martin and how he suffered with back injury where no dr could help him and he was close to suicide untill scs was implanted for his pain control,

How well i can relate to his situation in so many ways, I always believed in the scs but i know for fact the right dr has to do it that knows a persons pain condition otherwise they just stick it anywhere and hope for the best,

I am just hoping this time i have the right pain dr to have the best results posible,

Ps: thanks for the info C, Best wishes and Merry Christmas and Happy newyear to all,

Jim....
I am so happy to hear your SCS is now wrking for you! That is great news!
You and Alex both have suffered much to long.
Jim....You have been a great support to me since I joined Spine Health. Thank you so much my friend.

Alex...I do hope this next SCS trial works wonders for you and you get the pain relief you need. I am not on here much but I will be checking in daily to see how everything goes. Very best of luck to you.
I always love reading your comments because of your wonderful sense of humor.

Cheers
Patsy W

You have my interest and attention with your comment about St. Judes SCS not best for lumbar pain. I'm having a St Judes SCS implanted any day now and my worst pain is in the lumbar region. My pain MD is also a surgeon and SCS implants is his speciality and he plans to put leads in both my lumbar and thoracis regions as I have severe pain in both areas. If there is a better pience of equipment then I don't want to go with St. Jude. I know you said that your info might be outdated but I'd love to hear more from you please. Thanks for your feedback!

I wonder if the nerves being compressed where you had the fusion surgery were released and freed up your leads. Either way great news to hear. No advice just cheering you on and wish for a complete recovery for you. Hugs. Charry

Here's a link that does a great job of breaking down some of the major differences. Keep in mind that every surgeon or PM doc has their favorite SCS based on things such as availability, representative support, insurance approval and overall ease of getting a patient into a system and out the door.

http://www.rsdfoundation.org/en/UpdateSCS.html

"C"