Implanted spinal cord stimululator

[Jeaniem130]

Has anyone found an implanted spinal cord stimulator helpful for failed back surgery?

[Debs-000]

Hi there,,, i have had my SCS implant since 2013 and it has been great for back pain ,, i will admit its not 100% pain free with it in but it does take away alot of the pain and makes it bearable ,,, my first one last 10yrs and i just got a new battery implanted last sept and it was a easy op for that done ,, good luck

[Hunter1963 in reply to Debs-000]

Hi,I have had my scs for about 5 years,it helps with the every day pain but does little for the extra pain we all feel sometimes...I was originally on a lot of pain medication but as part of having it I have come off a lot,so I feel more human

[StaticNomad]

Hello to you.I had my SCS fitted in August 2017 after having had 3 previous spinal operations and numerous spinal injections and being on high levels of assorted pain relief including Fentanyl (Durogesic) patches.

My spinal injury is disc injuries to the L4, L5, S1 and S2 discs with now S3 starting to be problematic too .

The SCS has been fantastic for alleviating the level of referred pain, especially the chronic Sciatica I used to experience which was the main aim of my SCS. Since having it implanted my levels of medication needed for pain relief has fallen drastically and most is on a purely for needs basis and in the 7 years since I had the implant, I have only had to go back on Fentanyl twice, for a week each time for breakthrough pain relief.

The surgery is very much specifically targeted so for example the main emphasis with my surgery was a reduction in referred pain relief whereas a friend's SCS was for pain relief in her spine itself.

If you have the surgery, you will be offered a choice of a finite life battery or one that's chargeable through the skin. I opted for the finite life battery after advice and finally had the battery replaced in December 2023. It's a very simple 45 mins or so procedure and I was offered a much shorter wait for the replacement surgery if I was prepared to have it done under just local anaesthetic (long NHS post Covid waiting lists) . So I had the battery change under local anaesthetic, and was able to leave the hospital 5 hours later.

Obviously everyone is different and people's individual outcomes will be different as regards the overall effect but for me it has been excellent and has enabled me to get back to more exercise, especially with my legs, and to reduce the amount of pain meds I take on a daily basis.

Best wishes and keep smiling 😊