Re: Spinal Cord stimulator

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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