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  • Bone Stimulator anyone?

    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*
    .: St@ci :.
    28 years old
    Mama to two daughters
    Diagnosed at 12 with double curves.
    No treatment.
    Decided on surgery 16 years later.
    Thoracic curve - 65
    Lumbar curve- 63
    Surgery was on January 15, 2009.
    Fused T2-L3
    No more curves now!

    Happier now than ever!
    http://www.lifeiscrooked.blogspot.com

  • #2
    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
    .: St@ci :.
    28 years old
    Mama to two daughters
    Diagnosed at 12 with double curves.
    No treatment.
    Decided on surgery 16 years later.
    Thoracic curve - 65
    Lumbar curve- 63
    Surgery was on January 15, 2009.
    Fused T2-L3
    No more curves now!

    Happier now than ever!
    http://www.lifeiscrooked.blogspot.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Excuse my ignorance, but what is a bone stimulator and how do they work?

      Signed
      Curious
      Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
      Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
      T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
      Osteotomies and Laminectomies
      Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free

      Comment


      • #4
        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
        .: St@ci :.
        28 years old
        Mama to two daughters
        Diagnosed at 12 with double curves.
        No treatment.
        Decided on surgery 16 years later.
        Thoracic curve - 65
        Lumbar curve- 63
        Surgery was on January 15, 2009.
        Fused T2-L3
        No more curves now!

        Happier now than ever!
        http://www.lifeiscrooked.blogspot.com

        Comment


        • #5
          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.
          Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
          Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
          T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
          Osteotomies and Laminectomies
          Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free

          Comment


          • #6
            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.
            __________________________________________
            Debbe - 50 yrs old

            Milwalkee Brace 1976 - 79
            Told by Dr. my curve would never progress

            Surgery 10/15/08 in NYC by Dr. Michael Neuwirth
            Pre-Surgury Thorasic: 66 degrees
            Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 66 degrees

            Post-Surgery Thorasic: 34 degrees
            Post-Surgery Lumbar: 22 degrees

            Comment


            • #7
              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.
              -Jo

              Diagnosed at age 12
              Milwalkee Brace worn Faithfully 1971-1977
              Posterior Fusion T-9 to Pelvis- April 28, 2009
              Dr Frank Rand, NEBH, Boston

              Comment


              • #8
                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
                .: St@ci :.
                28 years old
                Mama to two daughters
                Diagnosed at 12 with double curves.
                No treatment.
                Decided on surgery 16 years later.
                Thoracic curve - 65
                Lumbar curve- 63
                Surgery was on January 15, 2009.
                Fused T2-L3
                No more curves now!

                Happier now than ever!
                http://www.lifeiscrooked.blogspot.com

                Comment


                • #9
                  JO,
                  You and I must have had the same kind. We all called it my panda
                  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.
                  2 60* curves, DDD, left trunk shift, some rotation, rib and lumbar humps, annular tear at L5-S1
                  surgery 5/08 planning fusion T3 or T4 to sacrum with iliac fixation
                  Dr. Anderson at Rothman Institute
                  5/16/08 ALIF L1-L5
                  5/23/08 fused T2-sacrum w/fixation and I'm all Titanium
                  6/4/08 open all back up to clean out for Staph infection
                  (left open with just clear dressing)
                  6/6/08 recleaned and closed
                  3/30/2012 revision planned, broken rod and removal of iliac bolts

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    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.
                    -Jo

                    Diagnosed at age 12
                    Milwalkee Brace worn Faithfully 1971-1977
                    Posterior Fusion T-9 to Pelvis- April 28, 2009
                    Dr Frank Rand, NEBH, Boston

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      JO thanx I'll try that
                      2 60* curves, DDD, left trunk shift, some rotation, rib and lumbar humps, annular tear at L5-S1
                      surgery 5/08 planning fusion T3 or T4 to sacrum with iliac fixation
                      Dr. Anderson at Rothman Institute
                      5/16/08 ALIF L1-L5
                      5/23/08 fused T2-sacrum w/fixation and I'm all Titanium
                      6/4/08 open all back up to clean out for Staph infection
                      (left open with just clear dressing)
                      6/6/08 recleaned and closed
                      3/30/2012 revision planned, broken rod and removal of iliac bolts

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Same company

                        Originally posted by Jo 71-09 View Post
                        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!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          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
                          Chemist, 30

                          1998- 18 degrees
                          2003- 33 degrees
                          2005- 37 degrees
                          2006- 44 degrees
                          May 2007- 47 degrees
                          December 2007 - 50 degrees X-ray

                          Surgery May 27, 2008
                          Fused T1 to L2
                          Curve corrected to 15 degrees X-ray

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by briarrose View Post
                            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. It is small potatoes to what you have already been through.
                            Sally
                            Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
                            Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
                            Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
                            Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
                            New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
                            Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

                            "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by loves to skate View Post
                              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. 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
                              Chemist, 30

                              1998- 18 degrees
                              2003- 33 degrees
                              2005- 37 degrees
                              2006- 44 degrees
                              May 2007- 47 degrees
                              December 2007 - 50 degrees X-ray

                              Surgery May 27, 2008
                              Fused T1 to L2
                              Curve corrected to 15 degrees X-ray

                              Comment

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