Hi, my husband has a spinal cord stimulator. He did the trial and they did the paddle lead and there was too much play in it- he got zapped when he moved from a sitting to a recline position, etc. Anyways, he went in and got the permanent one put in in March. What they didn't tell him was that they would be cutting into the muscles in his back so be prepared for that! He couldn't lift anything for weeks- the recovery was much longer than anticipated. All in all the stimulator helps a lot but he did a lot of damage to the nerves prior to the surgery. He was bone on bone and he was cutting off the blood supply to the nerve endings. After the surgery the blood was able to flow and the pain is intense. The lyrica helps but it literally makes him brain dead:( He was really hoping to be able to get off of the lyrica once he had the spinal stimulator but no such luck- he was able to cut down though. His surgeon opted for implanting the leads right into the spinal column as there is far less play. Aside from having to adjust himself for various activities, it has been helpful. It has to be the right decision for you. Best of luck to you! xoxoL:yn

Yes a friend of mine's husband had one put in. He had the trial one and it worked very well so he had the permanent one done a couple of months later. Yes he had to be careful with the muscle for a while but he is healed now and back at work and is having great success with it. Worth all the problems, pain of the op and the recovery for the long-term benefits. The one thing he does need to be careful with is not turn it up too high or you lose the feeling in the feet and legs and not know if you have injured yourself. He says he will never go back.

Hi Christi,
I'm terribly sorry that you have to live this way since your surgery. My heart aches whenever I hear of a supposedly helpful surgery gone awry. Please never give up on trying to get relief. Also, please check out this link. It may be able to help you:
http://www.caringmedical.com/media/article.asp?article_id=110

My office-mate at work's husband has a spinal cord stimulator. She reports that it hasn't really helped him. He is still on very high opiate doses and, in order to get sufficient relief using the stimulator, he has to crank it up so high that he loses control of his legs. FYI, he's got some MAJOR pain issues...several spine surgeries and a condition where, as he ages, his spine is progressively compressed. One day, it will be cut off entirely. It's a heartbreaking situation - she lives in fear that he's going to kill himself from the pain.
So very sorry to not give a good report on the stimulator, but I suppose its success depends very much on your specific problem.
Please let us know what you decide! I'll be thinking of you!
With lots of caring,
Orchid

Thank you all for your replies. I have an appointment set for the 27th of January. I am anxious and hopeful. My boyfriend doesnt really want me going this route and is afraid another surgery will only make me way worse. I just know I cant live on all this pain medicine forever and that the pain is too unbearable. I am also having to rely on my cane(also the walker 3 times lately)alot more and it shouldnt be this way so I feel I have little to lose. Anyway we will see how it goes in January.

I also wanna say congrats Orchid on your puppy. We just got a toy Chihuahua today weighing a wopping 4 pounds,lol. He is so cute(10 months). He looks like a miniture pincher but way smaller. He is smaller than my cat,lol. He was a Christmas gift for my teen daughter and he has already chosen her to be his favorite. I am thrilled. We also bought him lots of goodies,his favorite is a squeeky little fox. And yes we will play dress up too,lol. He is also a purse dog for sure(loves to hide under her shirt). Anyway congrats to you too on your new addition too. Hugs all and thanks again!