Spinal Cord Stimulators Work Best When Implanted Early!

Just a quick update on the fiasco with my pain management. I still have not be able to get the MRI. My insurance company blames it on the doctor not getting them info and the doctor blames it on the insurance company. I lose! I had them send in another request and I will pay for it myself if need be but it is rather expensive. They did put me back on Norco because I told them the morphine was making me a total zombie and I refuse to take it. So, as of now I have an MRI scheduled for 06/04/2015 but who knows.

I have come to realize that these doctors and insurance companies just do NOT care! I am going to call Brooks Rehab Facility in Jacksonville, FL. I haven't had an MRI in 16 years and would like to know if any changes have occurred and if so is there something we can do to get rid of all pain meds. The PM doctor looked at me yesterday and said "you do know there is no cure for an SCI don't you?". I said, well DUH! I lived this for 19 years and I am beginning to think I know a little more than the doctors here in Florida. She wasn't impressed.

Am I asking to much here? I have done very well since my injury but things have worsened over the past 6-12 months and at 47 years old I am not ready to just say that is it, nothing can be done. The PM doctor just looked at me, did not touch me or ask any pertinent questions and said I was lucky because I look just fine. I said thank you but I am not worried about how I look, I am worried about how I feel!

kilg0retr0ut,

She almost had me feeling like I was just asking too much to feel semi-normal for a change. This is the first appointment that my wife had been to in a while and she could not believe it. She was more livid than I was. We spent over two hours for a 10 minute speech. I am too old and head strong to give up so everyone be prepared for my rants over the next few months LOL

It is amazing what some of the doctors say these days. It pissed me off but the wife was about to come unglued LOL. I am hoping I can get the MRI this week and then I will work on the referral to Brooks Rehab Facility in Jacksonville where people actually know how to deal with SCI patients, or so I hope LOL

I wanted to share a couple of links that I found while doing my research

painsandiego.com/2014/08/06/spinal-cord-stimulators-paralysis-adverse-effects/

Spinal cord stimulators, abbreviated SCS, can cause many more problems that paralysis. They can cause pain, tethering of the cord, scarring of the battery pack that can slide across the back, infection that may cause death, and many other complications. Electrodes may not always be able to be removed and remain permanently scarred into the cord. Deeply troubling is that an MRI can never be done again even if the patient has cancer or stroke —none of my patients remember being told about this. Where are the five year studies that show benefit? Even with no complications, how long do they continue to relieve pain? Electrodes move and/or they malfunction. There is little to no federal investment in medications that relieve pain, but these devices are garnering sales of $1.5 billion annually without showing lasting benefit. This is a very big source or income for pain specialists, but what is the gain for patients? How can we weight the pros and cons of this money generating device?
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So many of my patients that have failed the small handful of medications now available for chronic pain were given only one choice by every major pain center: spinal cord stimulator. One choice. This is a very big business but where is the five year data?

www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304512504579493843647492538

www.cure-back-pain.org/spinal-cord-stimulation.html

Spinal Cord Stimulation Results

50% to 70% of patients who have screened positively for this treatment report substantial back pain relief. Very few patients enjoy complete symptomatic relief, but the majority report a significant reduction in the severity of their pain.

About half of the patients who report positive initial results from SCS suffer a relapse in their pain within a year. This shows that the pain relieving qualities may not be long-term in many patients and the entire feeling of pain relief might actually be the result of a placebo reaction.

Symptomatic recurrence or escalation may also elude to a nonstructural source of pain, since the mind can alter psychogenic symptoms in reaction to treatment attempts. Basically, the mind will merely move the symptoms elsewhere to avoid the symptom blocking mechanism of SCS.