My PM now has Company!

A companion for your pacemaker

by Gemita - 2021-06-28 12:47:06

Hello Beattie,

So nice to hear from you and that you are the proud owner of two devices.  I hope you recover well.

Did you have a trial run with temporary leads before implant to see how well the new implant would manage your pain?   If so, how much did it help you?  It would be interesting if you could tell us a little more about the process you went through leading up to your nerve stimulation implant and what discussions you had with your cardiology team, for example, to ensure that your pacemaker and you would remain safe during and after the Nerve Stimulation implant.

I hope, once recovered, you will experience good relief for your painful symptoms and that both devices will continue to work well together.  If I recall you had intractable migraine.  Was the implant solely for this or for spinal pain, or can it treat multiple sites?

A few more questions.  Are you able to adjust the settings yourself, depending on level of pain, or does the new implant work without any input from you once your doctors have adjusted the settings to suit you?

Where is the device placed:  abdomen, chest/other?

Are you able to confirm the manufacturer and type of device you have received?

Anything else you can tell us would be welcome too! 

Cannot help with an online Chronic Pain "Device" group other than to suggest you look for, or join a support group for your specific medical condition and then post a message asking for any info on the device you have received.  Alternatively ask your Pain Management team for further help or for a contact number for a support group you could join at the hospital or in the area.

I hope your new device provides good pain relief and that your quality of life improves

More Info 🙂

by Beattie - 2021-06-28 16:12:40

Thanks Gemita

Yes i underwent a weeks trial of Tempory Leads and the response was amazing my pain more dropped to about a average of 2 out of 10 from 10/10 pain on some of the days the week before. I then had to go through a evaluation period where they review the pain diary and what benefit you got etc and they have to wait for trial insision to heal .was about a 4 week wait from Trial to Permanent Implant. I had this done solely for Chronic migraine its stimulating the Occipital Nerves from what i gather its Spinal Cord Stimulation is more common.  ... i had several discussions with my both my EP and Cardiology drs beforehand made sure they were happy first and certainly didnt rush in to anything. They seemed to think it would be ok having the two devices as they work differently one is stimulation nerves and the other is doing electrical activity on the heart. I had 4 insisions 1 in my head where the leads are implanted , and 2 small ones down my back and the larger one the where the actual pulse generator is which placed low at the bottom my back. Its far enough away not to interfere with my PM... its actually about the same size as my PM but a bit thicker.. i got to keep the trial leads so i will take a pic of them along with the remote and charger and post it in the gallery. 

My device is a Boston Scientific device not sure of model (Wavewriter or something) as i am still waiting on id card to arrive but i have a remote control that can adjust the stimulation levels and change programs which are preset by a tech,  depending on pain or can turn it right off i need to. It also has a rechargable battery  and will need to charge it with a charging belt ( this is worn around the waist for an hour or 2 a week ) I am only set up with a basic program at the moment as they need to wait until swelling from op goes down and they will adjust further as leads bed in etc and intend to add more programs at my next appointment. They expect the implant to last about 12 years

 During the both the trial operation procedure and the permanent implant op they put my PM into safe mode by using a magnet and they closely monitored my heart rate through out. And a PM tech came after surgeries and made sure my settings were still the same as they were pre surgery. I had to stay in for 2 nights after my permanent implant and the trial was just a day procedure and i had to go back a week later and get leads removed. 

I couldnt beleive the difference in how i felt  on the week of the trial the releif was amazing just incredible technology after trying so many different treatments over the years i find this is a godsend! 

This is really encouraging news

by Gemita - 2021-06-28 19:21:06

Beattie,

Thank you so much for your detailed account of your experience.  You were taken care of and perhaps that is why you have come out of this with such an improvement.  I cannot believe how successful this implant has been for you after all your difficulties finding effective pain relief.  This is the best news possible and you must be relieved and reassured and what a bonus that the implant lasts a good while too.  I presume that is with weekly battery charging?  I wonder what the new technology will be at end of device life and whether they will replace with a better device.

Is the placement at the lower back comfortable as you sit?  I will look at your Gallery pics in a moment.  It is good you can adjust the stimulation levels - what control compared with our inability to adjust our pacemakers settings.

Thank you again for sharing this with us.  Sounds like an excellent pain management course to take and you must be so relieved to have benefited from this incredible procedure.  If my RSD/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome should flare up again in the future I may well be looking for different pain management treatments.  Please let us know in due course how things are.

More

by Beattie - 2021-06-28 21:25:20

Thanks Gemita

Your comments and encouragement are really appreciated😊. Yes its not too uncomfortable to sit the implant its at about belt level it was the spot where i had more fat as i am very slim, yes that life expectancy is with weekly charging. 

Technology is evolving all the time will be intetesting to see what the future holds for implanted devices!