Bone Stimulator anyone?

[twistedmama81]

Just curious if anyone else is wearing or has worn a bone stimulator?

My surgeon prescribed this contraption that I have to wear for 30 minutes a day, for 9 months, at the same time everyday. It looks like a steering wheel attached to a belt with a little button controller. Not really a big deal, except remembering to put it on each night (i do mine at 9pm)...I set my alarm on my phone to help remind me.

Just wondering if anyone else was sporting these attractive belts? :)

*beam me up scotty*

[twistedmama81]

oh and these are expensive little boogers too...i got the insurance form showing where they paid for it...$5300! and once your done with the 9 month treatment, it can't ever be used again.

just ranting :D

[JenniferG]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a bone stimulator and how do they work?

Signed
Curious
;)

[twistedmama81]

well...truth be told...i didn't really know what it was either.

a well-dressed man came into my hospital room about 5 days after my surgery and told my mother, "she is to wear this for 30 minutes a day, at the same time everyday, for 9 months" and handed over this briefcase thing and inside was the bone stmulator and a supply of 9 volt batteries to keep it alive.

i went home to recover and started wearing the belt, THEN i called my doctor to ask what it was and what it was for.

it helps the fusion fuse more effectively...stimulating the cells in the bone by use of like magnetic waves. the waves bounce from the plate thingy to the rods and back and forth. ok that is a total laymans term of what it is. if you google it, you'll get a more precise description...i'm from texas and i just keep it simple :)

the plate is about the size of a dinner plate, and you wear it on your back, at the base of your incision. the controller snaps onto the belt, and you're free to walk around, do chores, exercise, whatever. it has a timer on it, and beeps when 30 minutes is up and gives you a smiley face. it shows how many times you've done the treatment and how many more days you have left.

all i know is that i have read the benefits for it, and that it'll help the fusion process...

hope that answered a little bit :)

[JenniferG]

Thanks Twistedmama. I hadn't heard of one of these things but it must do the job if your insurance covers the cost of it. Sounds like you're getting the premium treatment.:D

[debbei]

I heard of other people wearing them, and I asked my surgeon prior to surgery; however, it's not something that my surgeon uses on his patients. It's probably one of those surgeon personal preferance things.

[Jo 71-09]

I have to wear my bone growth stimulator for four hours a day! It's a large rectangle that covers most of my back from my bra-line to my hips. It wraps around the front with a strap, then the front rectangle goes from below my chest to my hips. I've been told my control box looks like a panda's face and it beeps when my time is up as you said. When I wear it over my brace I'm quite a sight! My sister called me a Jo-bot the first time she saw me in all my gear :) . I'm not sure how I'll fit all the time in once I go back to work, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I just know I won't be wearing it there! The brace will be enough of a distraction. I guess these are things we will look back on and laugh about ...some day.

[twistedmama81]

jo-bot lol..thats cute. i am glad mine is only 30 minutes a day. i would hate to have to wear mine for 4 hours! bless your heart! well i am glad someone else is lookin' spiffy in the stimulator belts :D

[Sharshe]

JO,
You and I must have had the same kind. We all called it my panda:p
Mine was rechargable which was nice. I was to initially wear it 2 hrs a day(broken up any way if I wanted) but with all the drains from the debridement surgeries the bottom of the back piece pulled on the tubes so I hadn't started to wear it the 1st couple of months until they were removed. I found it more comfortable to wear while I was up doing things, sitting seemed to make it put pressure on tender spots. Boy they sure are expensive!!Our insurance only paid for 1/2 of it saying it was under DME which is a co-insurance thing, even though telling us it was 100% covered at first mad:
From what I understand pro sports people use it on their injuries and it really speeds up the healing process.

[Jo 71-09]

Sharshe,
I'd check with the company before paying the difference. A man from the stimulator company called me and said that insurance would pay some of the cost and that his company would pick up the difference. He prepared me that I would receive a couple of bills and a notice from insurance stating that I am responsible for the difference. He told me to ignore the bills for two months, and then to call him if I received a third bill. Maybe yours is the same. So far, I have only received one bill and the insurance notice.

[Sharshe]

JO thanx I'll try that

[campunclejoe]

Sharshe,
I'd check with the company before paying the difference. A man from the stimulator company called me and said that insurance would pay some of the cost and that his company would pick up the difference. He prepared me that I would receive a couple of bills and a notice from insurance stating that I am responsible for the difference. He told me to ignore the bills for two months, and then to call him if I received a third bill. Maybe yours is the same. So far, I have only received one bill and the insurance notice.

We must have the same company - I have to wear mine 4 hours a day and I was told, too, not to pay any bills from the insurance company. I wear the thing religiously 4 hours a day - without the other brace - and hope it's doing SOMETHING! :)

[briarrose]

I only wore mine twice. The second time I wore it I had this horrible pain between my collar bones. I'm not sure if the stimulator caused it or not, but my surgeon just said to not worry about wearing it. He said there was no proof as to whether or not they worked.

Mine had a panda face too. I called it my Panda Power belt.

Shell

[loves to skate]

I only wore mine twice. The second time I wore it I had this horrible pain between my collar bones. I'm not sure if the stimulator caused it or not, but my surgeon just said to not worry about wearing it. He said there was no proof as to whether or not they worked.

Mine had a panda face too. I called it my Panda Power belt.

Shell
Hi Shell,

There is proof that they do work. They work especially for older people and people who have lumbar fusions, since they mainly cover the lumbar area when you wear them. Since your fusion doesn't go below L2 and you are young, your Dr. probably thought that for you, it didn't matter whether you wore it or not. I just don't want other people to think it is optional to wear them. Everyone, If you have undergone spine surgery, wear that silly, awkward, annoying bone stimulator, or brace if your Dr. tells you to wear it.:D It is small potatoes to what you have already been through.
Sally

[briarrose]

Hi Shell,

There is proof that they do work. They work especially for older people and people who have lumbar fusions, since they mainly cover the lumbar area when you wear them. Since your fusion doesn't go below L2 and you are young, your Dr. probably thought that for you, it didn't matter whether you wore it or not. I just don't want other people to think it is optional to wear them. Everyone, If you have undergone spine surgery, wear that silly, awkward, annoying bone stimulator, or brace if your Dr. tells you to wear it.:D It is small potatoes to what you have already been through.
Sally

Hi Sally,

I should I thought that post out a little more before I wrote it. Sorry! Yes, you should wear them if your surgeon tells you to!

Shell

[skoshi314]

I have an internal bone stimulator implanted at the top of my hip bone. There are two tiny wires that go up the length of my fusion. The stimulator is very easy to see on my x-rays so I'll try to get them posted here. The stim has a battery that lasts 6 months then stops so basically it's a useless piece of hardware now. My doc said if it's bothering me he could do a minor procedure, make a small incision, get ahold of the body of the thing and fish the wires out. I told him it's just fine where it is!

Just out of curiosity does anyone else have an internal device?

[twistedmama81]

Wow I have never heard of an internal device, I would like to see your x-rays to see what that looks like.

[karena]

I know this thread is a year old, but in comparison to '09 bone stimulators:

the new ones are a compact 2"x4" unit you clip to your waistband and two electric stim pads attached to both sides of your spine. We were told to wear it 24/7 for 9 months. I will recheck this time when I see my surgeon on Monday, but seems a small price versus pain issues for correct healing. Pads stay on thru' showering, and change when they start wearing out. They have rechargeable batteries and you just keep an extra recharged and switch them out.

[Mojo's Mom]

Thanks for posting this. I inspired me to email my surgeon's patient coordinator to ask if I will have one of these, and she emailed me right back and said yes. I'm glad to know they are smaller now.

[jChris]

I wear two stimulators. I wear a cervical stimulator four hours a day for my neck fusion and a spinal stimulator for two hours a day for my spinal fusion. Will wear both for nine months.

[backissues]

I will have a bone stimulator as well. Can you feel it? Is there discomfort? Does it feel like electric stim in PT?

What about getting dressed? How much room does this take up under your clothes?

I will also have a brace for 10-12 weeks. It is good that this will be winter.

[jChris]

I wear both of mine over my clothes so no issues with fittings. I do not feel anything when wearing mine. I do hear a continuous clicking sound while wearing mine and talking on the phone. Some callers hear the noise as well, while most do not.

I must wear mine at separate times as well,,,,,bummer,,,,,cuts into 6 hours per day.