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DRG Stimulation - The Dubious Implants Could Become FDA-Approved for MRIs Very Soon


DonRocks

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On 5/3/2017 at 10:51 AM, DonRocks said:

If you're a chronic-pain patient reading this, I have very good reason to believe that the St. Jude's DRG Stimulator will become MRI-compatible within a year. 

Change that from "a year" to "a couple of months."

Unless you're so desperate that you can't wait until August, get the test procedure now, and if it helps you, try and gut things out until later in the summer to get the full implant - I've now heard from two independent sources (who don't know each other) that the St. Jude's DRG Stimulator implant will be FDA-approved for MRIs this summer (their Spinal Cord Stimulator already is). 

Maybe I'm not supposed to share this information, but quite frankly, I couldn't care less - people are in desperate need of relief.

This is an informational message for chronic pain patients *only*, and may not even be correct.

Please do your own research, call St. Jude's, write me if you need help, and hang in there.

---

One other thing: The implants most certainly don't work for everyone (trust me on this one). By all means, get both the SCS and the DRG *tests*, but think LONG AND HARD before committing to the permanent implant - it's fairly major spinal surgery (especially the DRG implant), and surgeons (as well as the St. Jude's salesman (who now work for Abbott (*) - the very same company who peddled Oxycontin (**) as a "safe, lifetime treatment for chronic pain, with no theoretical upper limit to the dose")) are being very coy about the prospect of removing them down the road. In fact, I think both of these implants are being completely oversold to the public, both in terms of safety, efficacy, and the option for future removal. My assumption is that surgeons will conveniently say that "removing" them consists of the battery pack only, and the leads will be there to stay, with plenty of scar tissue fixing them in place for the rest of your life.

I know as much about this stuff as anyone in the world who isn't a doctor or a human scientist, so you need to take me seriously about what I'm saying here.

(*) Jan 4, 2017 - "Abbott Completes the Acquisition of St. Jude Medical" on abbot.mediaroom.com (***)

(**) Sep 22, 2016 - "Secret Trove Reveals Bold 'Crusade' To Make Oxycontin a Blockbuster" by David Armstrong on statnews.com

(***) Why do you think Abbott bought St. Jude? Could it be that they saw the writing on the wall about opioids, and now they're going to be selling you a, [cough, cough] "surgical cure" to the pills they got you addicted to? That would be like Phillip-Morris selling you spinal implants to cure you of nicotine addiction ... and would you *really* put that past them? Would you trust them if they did?

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On 6/14/2017 at 2:26 AM, DonRocks said:

One other thing: The implants most certainly don't work for everyone (trust me on this one). By all means, get both the SCS and the DRG *tests*, but think LONG AND HARD before committing to the permanent implant - it's fairly major spinal surgery (especially the DRG implant), and surgeons (as well as the St. Jude's salesman (who now work for Abbott (*) - the very same company who peddled Oxycontin (**) as a "safe, lifetime treatment for chronic pain, with no theoretical upper limit to the dose")) are being very coy about the prospect of removing them down the road. In fact, I think both of these implants are being completely oversold to the public, both in terms of safety, efficacy, and the option for future removal. My assumption is that surgeons will conveniently say that "removing" them consists of the battery pack only, and the leads will be there to stay, with plenty of scar tissue fixing them in place for the rest of your life.

I know as much about this stuff as anyone in the world who isn't a doctor or a human scientist, so you need to take me seriously about what I'm saying here.

To all chronic pain patients: 

Listen to what I say here.

Both the St. Jude SCS and DRG Stimulator have *no effect* on nociceptive pain; they only work on neuropathic pain (and even then, they may not work very well). If you've had a neurectomy inserted into a muscle, the DRG current *might* irritate the proximal nerve very badly (something really bad happened to me several days after, and it feels just like a neuroma, and I know what neuromas feel like - coincidence?)

If you think your pain is orthopedic in origin, DO NOT get either one of these on a permanent basis. If you want to get the test procedures done, go right ahead, but they won't work unless your pain is neurological. If you have the test procedures performed, and somehow talk yourself into believing that 'maybe they work a little bit,' then I urge you to do a 180, and run like the wind.

I had a St. Jude rep tell me, in private, that these do *nothing* for nociceptive pain. Nothing. And I can verify that the person is right (I've dealt with numerous St. Jude reps, so the company will have no way of knowing who I'm talking about, and I would never rat the person out).

This may be the most important thing you ever read.

Not to mention that as of right now, the DRG Stimulator uses hardware and software that seems like it's from the 1980s. Yes, it will become iPhone- (and MRI-) compatible very soon, but it doesn't matter, because it doesn't work; if you have *a true neurological primary*, then your results may differ, but don't get your hopes up. These things do not "cancel" pain signals; they layer electric current *on top of* pain signals - that is a *big* difference.

I was also told that the primitive DRG battery pack isn't even St. Jude's own hardware - it's absolute crap. At the minimum, I urge you to wait for the next version of the battery pack and remote control (the current one only works if it's about one inch away - I can't believe they're peddling this antique piece of equipment). My only goal in saying all this is *your* best interest. 

Hang in there.

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