Re: Spinal Cord stimulator

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On 2/18/08, Guy Bodemer wrote:
> On 2/02/08, Carolina wrote:
>> One day in January of 2007 I had an appointment with my
>> doctor for injections for lower back pain and pain in my
>> legs. I also got prescriptions for medication on these
>> visits. I walked to the room I was sent to and there were
>> all kinds of different displays advertising Advanced
>> Neuromodulation Systems Inc. (ANS) Spinal cord
>> stimulators. The doctor then proceeded to tell me how
>> wonderful these things were. He said I would be out of
>> most of my pain and would have a better quality of life if
>> I had the surgery to put it in. He said I would be able
>> to travel and visit my grandkids. I trusted this doctor
>> more than any doctor ever. I also liked him as a person.
>> I believed everything he said. Before I had the surgery
>> to implant the spinal cord stimulator he said that he had
>> to put a trial stimulator in and that it would have to be
>> done in his office. The trial stimulator was done in
>> February. The wires were connected to the stimulator
>> which was on the outside. I was very excited that it
>> worked so well. I found out later that the trial
>> stimulator always works and that is why patients get the
>> surgery to put the permanent one in thinking it will work
>> like the trial one did. An appointment was made by the
>> doctor's office for me to go to the doctors office to have
>> the permanent one put in. I had never met the doctor who
>> put in the permanent one. He was 6 hours late arriving
>> for the procedure. Everytime I said I wanted to leave the
>> nurse said "wait 15 more minutes he said he will be here"
>> He finally showed up and said he worked with my regular
>> doctor. Although I was very upset and in a lot of pain, I
>> thought because he worked with my doctor and I trusted my
>> doctor so much I would go ahead with the surger. What a
>> mistake that was. He was rough with me when I cried and
>> told him how bad he was hurting me he wouldn't even
>> answer. He stapled my back and nobody stopped him. I
>> prayed for god to let me die because the pain was so bad.
>> All I was to this doctor was money on the table. I
>> thought the spinal cord stimulator would work but even if
>> i turned it on and walked across the floor it would shock
>> me and I would have to turn it off. I could not move or
>> do anything with it turned on. The rep from ANS wanted me
>> to keep trying to use it. He said I had to keep trying to
>> get used to it. He even reprogrammed it but that just
>> made it worse. While laying down I turned it on low the
>> way he told me to and I injured my legs doing this. My
>> legs now shake all the time and tingle. I also have
>> trouble with my kidneys since having the surgery. I am in
>> the bathroom every 20 minutes. I will have to probably go
>> out of state to find a doctor who will even be willing to
>> look at it. I had the thing taken out and the pain that
>> it caused me is awful. My hip still hurts and thobs all
>> the time. I get very little sleep. I went through all of
>> this because of greedy doctors and a greedy corporation.
>> Nobody explained risks of this thing to me such as loss of
>> sensation, loss of limb function, stroke, cardiac arrest
>> or permanent damnage to other body organs even death. I
>> found this out after I had it removed! Can anyone please
>> respond who has had any similar experiences. Fed up with
>> doctors in SOUTH CAROLINA