Spinal cord stimulator for RLS?

[LanaCSR]

My pain doctor who is prescribing me my tramadol and Lyrica is considering a spinal cord stimulator as a possible way to control this. Does anybody know anything about using a spinal cord stimulator for RLS? I tried doing a search on here but nothing came up.

[Pippins2]

Hi there was a member some years ago who I think has now left had one, she was from Sweden. If I remember correctly it was implanted to help severe back pain but as a bonus it helped her RLS. It isn't a generally accepted treatment for RLS. I guess you would be having it implanted for a spinal problem not specifically for RLS. If it is purely for RLS I would contact Dr Buchfuhrer for his opinion. He can be reached by email by going to rlshelp.org and tapping the small yellow box on the left hand side of the page. He is a RLS expert so would know if there's been any studies etc on this butI very much doubt it. Good luck xCORRECTION THE LADY I AM REFERRING TO HAD A MORPHINE PUMP NOT A SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR

[LanaCSR in reply to Pippins2]

Thank you, Pippins, for your reply. That's encouraging to hear someone got relief with the spinal cord stimulator! I also agree that I should ask Dr. Buchfuhrer about this.

[Bugsycat]

Hi I have had a spinal neuro stimulator for a bladder condition for the last 10 years and it hasn’t improved my RLS, sorry to say. At one time I contacted my surgeon re the possibility of a connection but she was unaware of this

[Franklin123 in reply to Bugsycat]

Hello bugsycat, i have a bladder condition which means I cannot empty my bladder without a catheter, no one can tell me why.

[Bugsycat in reply to Franklin123]

I have Fowler’s Syndrome which is a chronic urine retention problem. I suggest you Google it as lots of information there. I was in your position prior to 2008 but the stimulator has transformed my life with no need to catheterise. Good luck

[Ureshi17]

Hi there,

The research looks promising and here is a link to that person. It seems to be called a spinal morphine pump.

nationalpainreport.com/stor...

Very small research study:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/1...

[LanaCSR in reply to Ureshi17]

Thank you Ureshi!

[Pippins2 in reply to LanaCSR]

These links are to implanted med pumps NOT spinal cord stimulator so totally different x

[Pippins2 in reply to Ureshi17]

Yes that is the ex member i was referring to from Sweden However i was mistaken it was a Morphine pump not a spinal cord stimulator she had -completly different thing to what the poster is asking about x

[Kmoore464]

No I haven’t. Curious to know if it works as I have low back pain too

[Eryl]

Another distractor, but invasive, with possible side effects? A pity that more doctors don't look for the cause, rather than find different solutions for the symptoms.

[Dogdoo]

I have one and it does nothing for my rls.

[jimmcar]

I bought a small, consumer grade TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit. These are commonly used to help with pain and they can work well for some uses. I bought it for my restless leg condition.

The results were interesting. They did control, to a small extent, the uncomfortable feeling of restless legs. But after a short time the jerking, the restlessness and even the uncomfortable sensation came back, redoubled or triple.

I'm not sure on what principle this spinal units work. But if it is anything like the then it will just be working with the symptoms.

[Ert223 in reply to jimmcar]

I read that the tens machine stimulates the endorphins...then your body shuts down

its natural endorphin system...and things get worse.

[LanaCSR in reply to jimmcar]

I, too, tried a TENS unit and it only made my RLS worse...*sigh*

[JakeRLS in reply to jimmcar]

I tried a TENS unit for RLS . The first night I was convinced I found the silver bullet. Whenever it was "ON" there were no problems, and when it timed out after an hour they returned (and woke me up). Small price to pay I thought. So the next night I tried it again, and guess what,. It didn't work at all and made the symptoms worse. Go figure.

[LanaCSR in reply to JakeRLS]

*frustrating* Why does nothing work and when it does it never lasts?

[Neverache]

I have a lumbar spinal cord stimulator for neuropathic pain in my legs following two spinal fusions. I have the burstDR technology that hit the market in August 2016. It is the one where you do not have paresthia (tingling feeling). It has helped some. When I have mild attacks, I only feel the RLS in my arms. Prior to the SCS I never had a single episode where I feel it in my arms only. However, when I get my full body RLS attacks where I feel like I want life to end, I then feel it in my legs too. I had one last night. It didn’t occur to me to switch the setting to the tonic mode (where you feel the tingling). Next time it happens, I will try it and report here. The cost of a SCS is $100,000 (in the US). I can’t imagine getting insurance to cover for RLS. There are risks involved with the SCS and with the modest improvement, I wouldn’t recommend. Hope this helps. If I find significant relief on tonic setting, I will let you know.

[LanaCSR in reply to Neverache]

Thank you so much for your input Neverache! I wish you were going to say you love it and it has completely gotten rid of your RLS.