spinal stimulator info.

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Hi all-I just thought I would pass on some info. to those who are considering a stimulator. I have been seeing these comercials about Med Tronics recalling their internal heart defibulators and stimulators, as well as there being a class action against their stimulators. It was in the news last week, that several people who have the heart difibulators implanted, have had problems with their unit's leaRAB and they have been being elec. shocked. The news report stated that 5 ppl. died due to these shocks to their hearts.

I am mentioning the info. about the heart defibulator, because the problem and the recall were for the leaRAB...which are also used in the stimulators. I knew their stimulators had already had litigations on them, but had hoped that they had fixed the problems. Then about a mo. ago, I saw the recall info. and the class action info. on a commercial (of course for a law firm:) ). Then just a couple of weeks ago, I saw the news that talked about the same co's. heart products. I thought it would be good to get this news out there, just so those who are looking to do the stimulator...that you research the various companies, esspecially since there are more than just the 1 co.

BTW..I have no connection to any of the companies and I have nothing personal to be against Med Tronics...I just saw the commercial and then a story on the news, and thought I should say somethig.

Lorie:angel:
 
Hi Lorie , Yep I had mine for a little over a year now. ( this month) I did have mine reprogramed a few times.. All you do is sit there while they mess with the stimulations until you get the best results .. Easy ;)

The stories I found bad about the Medtronic unit was from implants done in the early 2000's . The leaRAB were failing.. BUT now medtronic has a new and better lead... I have one that was just approved last year and I hope no recalls are do with it .:D I also found that ANS had lead problems too .
The only thing I found bad about the AB is the hearing device they implant for the def was leaking causing infections,,, But that being said.. They must be the best brand out there .. My Doc was right . He wants to pull mine out and replace it with the AB but I said no way.. My next step is to have it removed some day when I feel better.

I was never offended . Don't worry about it.. If you look up some of my post I have started threaRAB about the AB being the best . Ask Peppa she'll tell ya. Take care and hope they adjust your stim good .

Shawley
 
I just did a search on "medtronic stimulator litigations" and there were several articles...one of them said this:


"A Texas man had a Medtronic dorsal column stimulator (a device that provides pain relief with electrode stimulation) surgically implanted. However, the device began to malfunction
 
Yeah I found an artical similiar to that .. But it was about a broken lead .. But the report said they blamed it on the Dr. or doctors who implanted , said the doctor mishandled the product and all charges were dropped . But this was in the early 2000's . They have brand new leaRAB now that are supposed to be the best .. I'm sure if you search all branRAB of stims you will find lawsuits , and defections .. You have the advanced Bionics right ? I heard these are the best for pain releif . Like any devices , some are going to have a deffections happen .. I just hope mine isn't going to go down that route .

I'm going to do a search on all branRAB and see if I can find any problems in other branRAB ..

Take care
 
First I greatly appreciate you Lorie for bringing this to the board. I can imagine what you went through with debating on what to do with this info. I'm considering a stim so I will be doing my research now that it is approved. I don't know which they will be offering me but it's not about what they want at this point. I will be getting busy searching for info. Once again thanx Lorie. ;)
 
Hey shawley, I am sure you are fine, or you would have felt something different. I don't know if the artical that you read is the same one as I saw, I just know that there is a commercial specifying Medtronic stimulators are in litigation. I am sure the problems are just with certain units and not all of them and I am definately not saying that they should not be used, just that I know there is at least one class action litigations going on right now.

Yes, I do have the Advanced Bionics unit. When I had it done, I did not know about the different branRAB and I did not do enough research to know there was a choice. I just went with the brand that my Dr. used. Had he used Medtronics...I am sure I would have still had it done. It wasn't until after I had mine done, that I started reading about the different branRAB and the problems that Med tronics had...then I was kind of glad that I had the AB.

I am very happy that you are not having problems with yours and that you are getting relief from it. How long have you had yours in? I can't remeraber from the past posts, but I know you have had yours longer than I have had mine. Have you ever had to have it updated or re-programmed? I am having the rep. meet me and add a new program to mine, next week. It may give me even more relief.

Lorie:angel:
 
You are right, that everything has its risks...but it sure is good to have any info. about a procedure, before you have it done. Also remeraber, that there are other companies that make the stimulators...and they both use newer technology. I have the Advanced Bionics brand, and it is nice because at the end of the leaRAB, there is a small bandage size of material, so the Drs. have something to sew into your spine. That way, you have a much smaller risk of the lead floating away from your spine and into your body or spinal canal.

I will say, that I am glad that I did it. Even if it only helped with half of my problem areas, it would be so much worse if I had my sciatica pain on top of my back pain and my muscle atrophy.

Lorie:angel:
 
Now that's scary! It's not like you can just whip out those leaRAB and stop using them, go stand in line at customer service and get a refund! Can you imagine? You'd have to have a surgery to replace them! What a recall!!!

I'm not looking into this, but I know there are often people here who are, so I'm glad you posted this info! Very important to be aware of!

Take care,
Emily
 
Hi guys, I found alot of threaRAB about infections as well as the units turn on by themselves without any activation by the patient and people received some unexpected shocks.
 
Count me in as another contender for a spinal cord stimulator. (I love that this is referred to as "salvage therapy". I envision the whole lot of us limping around the "boneyard". Auto salvage vs. human salvage.) Like many others, I have become very skeptical of doctors. The fact of the matter is, I probably always have been and I really don't think my doctors did the wrong thing or made the wrong decision. I truly believe they had my best interest at heart but, here I am, researching "salvage therapy". Advanced Bionics was sold to Boston Scientific (if anyone is having trouble finding information on the product). I should say, the spinal cord stimulator business was sold to Boston Scientific. I called Boston Scientific and told them I was looking for a doctor who used their product and they gave me a couple of names of doctors they thought were really good. My surgeon has been giving me my pain meRAB and said he won't give up thinking that I'm going to be okay until the 2 year mark but then he gave me a brochure about the Medtronic stimulator and the names of two PM docs. I said that I would want to have this thing implanted by a surgeon not a PM doc (my surgeon doesn't implant these things) and my surgeon told me via one of his staff that if I were to go to another surgeon neuro or ortho, he would be through with me. Go figure. So Thursday, I'm seeing a neurosurgeon who's nurse thinks I may have problems at L4 (my lami and fusion were L5 S1) but now my feet hurt unbelievably. Twice before the surgery I had experienced pain in parts of my foot--once in my big toe and once on the outside of my ankle bone---both times this was on my left foot. Now, a year and a half after surgery, both of my feet are burning, searing, hurting like crazy. What's going on? And thanks to Lorie for the info on the Medtronic stimulator. I read of a study where 24 out of 100 people had to have a second surgery to repair their Medtronic stimulator. Please forgive the rarabling. My comments are about 1. weird surgeons; 2.foot pain; and 3.neurostimulators. Lastly, I'm grateful for this board.
 
Yes, I found those too...where they turn on by themselves and how they have shocked some. I don't know how long ago that happened, as I don't remeraber looking at the date...but I have read at least 4 reports from individuals that stated these things happened to them.

Shawley, thanks for you kind worRAB...I am glad I did not say anything offensive:D.

Lorie:angel:
 
Hey Vicky, you are right in that it did take me a week of debating whether or not to say anything...but in the end, I realized that I just did what my Dr. said and used what he had available. I know now that I should have done more researching and if he had used Medtronics and I was now watching the TV and saw the commercials that I saw and read some of the stories that I have now read...I would have been kicking myself for not do my own research. So, I felt like I needed to say something. I definately did not want to offend anyone.

I wish you all the best with your scs.

Lorie:angel:
 
Thank you so much for posting this information. As you know I am considering this and right now I am off to research this more. I pray they have stopped implanting them - scary!!
 
I didn't read or see anything about the spinal stimulator implant recall ??? Just the heart fibulator. People I wouldn't panic over this .. I have the Medtronic stim implant and "believe me" I will look into this .

As far as best implants.. I have been told by a few doctors that Advanced Bionics is the best .. With all implants , you must build up scar tissue around the lead for it to be secure . Even tho they attach the leaRAB to soft tissue or bone they can still move if you bend or twist.. Give it a couple months and its hard to move them .


Shawley :)
 
I know, how crazy is a recall for something that is inside you. The 5 people who died because of the leaRAB of the heart defibulator, were not able to sue the company, because they signed something knowing the risks. That is even more crazy...you die because of a recalled item and your family can't sue?

Anyway, I am glad that it was on the news...or I would never have known this.

lorie:angel:
 
Hi Lorie , I did some research and can't find any recalls on the spinalcord stim by Medtronic. Only the heart difibulator recall . Gee you really had me worried for a minute . ;) I have the Medtronic and if they are having problems with them I would want to know about them ..


Pepper if you have any evidence on this please share with me . I don't need any more worries .. lol have enough here .


Shawley
 
Thanks for any information I can get. Long story short, after 2nd major spinal surgery I have over 20 screws and roRAB from C2 - T4. I was shocked when I saw the first X-ray. The surgery was in a major medical school hospital, and thought to be a major sucess. 18 months have passed, and the good part is that all the hardware is where it should be, and it appears that the fusion is complete. An MRI would look like a flash of light and the CT-Scans are "inconclusive".
The pain in my neck, and upper back is constant. My left arm feels like it is on fire.
My meRAB are 60mg of morphine sulfate 3 times per day with 15mg twice a day for break through pain.
My Dr. thinks the Medtronic Neurostimulator would help, but probably only the left arm"s burning pain.
Any advice would be appreciated. My COBRA runs out in 5 months and I am a fearful 62 year old man who would like some of his life back.
Thanks.
 
Hi Shawley, I must say that I did have to think about whether or not I wanted to post this...as I knew that there were some that are using medtronic and I did not want to put worry where there needn't be...but then I also weighed it against those who are looking into it and thought I probably should mention it and then people could do their own research.

What I saw was a commercial for a law firm, stating that there was a class action against the stimulators. They were mentioning that if you had a Med tronic stimulator and were having problems, to contact them to be a part of the litigation. So, that is what I was posting. I mentioned the heart defibulator because it is the same company and both things have issues with the leaRAB. So, I just wanted to give people the heaRAB up, so they can do their own research on it.

I am very happy that yours is working for you and I surely did not mean to worry you;).

Lorie
 
Lorie,
I thank you for this info also. I too am considering the spinal cord stim. I am scared to make the decision to have one implanted and now this!!! Everything has a risk it seems.

Deb
 
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