Interstim
- Thread starter Archives1
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Archives1
Staff member
@AlasSouth Sites like this have to use sponsors to pay for things. It is important to remember this and take things with a grain of salt.
I'm on a Medtronic email list pushing this, my choice to join the list mind you. I'm really not interested in it for myself at this point, my issues just aren't that bad, but I like to learn about things.
As always with these things you need to evaluate them for yourself, using your doctor as a resource, but there are plenty of other resources available too. Just always keep in mind the who is behind the source.
You may get good information from a manufacturer's website, but it's going to be skewed in their favor as much as they're able to skew it. Anecdotal information, i.e. stories from the internet, can be useful, but I have noticed the people motivated to post are usually the dissatisfied ones.
That's why it is important to do a little work and not just accept the first thing you read or hear.
I'm on a Medtronic email list pushing this, my choice to join the list mind you. I'm really not interested in it for myself at this point, my issues just aren't that bad, but I like to learn about things.
As always with these things you need to evaluate them for yourself, using your doctor as a resource, but there are plenty of other resources available too. Just always keep in mind the who is behind the source.
You may get good information from a manufacturer's website, but it's going to be skewed in their favor as much as they're able to skew it. Anecdotal information, i.e. stories from the internet, can be useful, but I have noticed the people motivated to post are usually the dissatisfied ones.
That's why it is important to do a little work and not just accept the first thing you read or hear.
Archives1
Staff member
I’m on my second one. The first one decided it was going to try and come back out and I had a hole open up about the size of a nickel so they removed it and replaced on my other side. No luck. 3 years into interstim I’m still totally incontinent and still in diapers. My back hurts bad where the implant is and burns all the time.
Archives1
Staff member
I have a stim, and I think they implant them at L4, between it and L3 or L5. My short term memory isn’t very good due to a stroke. I posted a comment about it somewhere on this site yesterday.
During my trial period, the temporary unit worked like a miracle, I was super pleased. By the way, mine is for fecal incontinence. Every time I got the urge to have a BM, I would suddenly get this gentle vibratory feeling at my sphincter, and the more I needed to go, the stronger the feeling became, therefore it really held my sphincter closed until I could get to a toilet. I absolutely loved it, and my dr’s nurse told me that was what it was supposed to do. Then, I got my permanent unit, and it didn’t do the same. I was told that both units operate the same but their settings are different, as far as comparing intensity sensations at same level.
For me, I am happy & pleased with my unit, but it’s still a work in progress with finding the best ultimate setting, and mainly just because I’m still trying to get mine to work like the temporary unit, and that may not even be realistic. I was recently told that what I had felt during the trial period wasn’t the way they operate.
Each unit has 4 different programs to choose from, so you can change programs, change levels of intensity, turn unit on & off. For parameter changes of each of the 4 programs, as far as wave length / rate / etc, only the Medtronic Rep’s can do those, and they are done at the dr’s office, at no cost. I’ve had changes done once and plan to return for minor adjustment. A big thing to always remember, is that no one knows, in terms of having a stim unit, what sensations you have or how effective your unit is, except for you, so people need to be very verbal about things with their Dr’s and the Rep’s.
Well, that’s my thoughts
During my trial period, the temporary unit worked like a miracle, I was super pleased. By the way, mine is for fecal incontinence. Every time I got the urge to have a BM, I would suddenly get this gentle vibratory feeling at my sphincter, and the more I needed to go, the stronger the feeling became, therefore it really held my sphincter closed until I could get to a toilet. I absolutely loved it, and my dr’s nurse told me that was what it was supposed to do. Then, I got my permanent unit, and it didn’t do the same. I was told that both units operate the same but their settings are different, as far as comparing intensity sensations at same level.
For me, I am happy & pleased with my unit, but it’s still a work in progress with finding the best ultimate setting, and mainly just because I’m still trying to get mine to work like the temporary unit, and that may not even be realistic. I was recently told that what I had felt during the trial period wasn’t the way they operate.
Each unit has 4 different programs to choose from, so you can change programs, change levels of intensity, turn unit on & off. For parameter changes of each of the 4 programs, as far as wave length / rate / etc, only the Medtronic Rep’s can do those, and they are done at the dr’s office, at no cost. I’ve had changes done once and plan to return for minor adjustment. A big thing to always remember, is that no one knows, in terms of having a stim unit, what sensations you have or how effective your unit is, except for you, so people need to be very verbal about things with their Dr’s and the Rep’s.
Well, that’s my thoughts
Archives1
Staff member
Lee, I have an Interstim implant, actually my second one. When it gets adjusted in the Urologist’s office, they do charge for it. My insurance covers it so I don’t complain. I have about a year left on this one and I do not plan on having it replaced. Just doesn’t work for me.
Archives1
Staff member
@Kathylp Can you discuss why you got a second one? Was the first one showing some signs of having an impact so you thought it was worth getting a second one? What has happened that you don't plan on getting another one? How long does each one typically last for you?
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Archives1
Staff member
Stuart, I went with getting a second implant because I changed Urologist’s and thought/hoped that the second one would be implanted and connected more accurately. The implants last 5 years before they are replaced because the battery planted inside you wears out. I have Interstitial Cystitis (IC) as well as OAB. I don’t feel that it has helped my OAB in the least. It was never intended to help with the IC, that’s where the Botox comes in and has helped my pain immensely. Only wish it was a permanent solution that wouldn’t require repeating.
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