Replies

I've been FReepmailing people about TENS. Don't know why I didn't say publically that it can really help, depending on where the pain is. Just don't place it where the current crosses your heart or your brain!

I think few docs really know much about TENS, because the companies that make the things aren't out there with aggressive marketing and kickback/bribes. I've seen receptionists with Viagra pens between their fingers plenty of times. I've never seen anybody holding a TENS pen or writing a note on a TENS stickynote pad.

You are right about TENS not being well publicized. Sometimes I wonder if that isn't because it is used most often in the office of a therapist or chiropracter. Now it is relatively easy to buy one without a prescription, although the maker of the unit we bought required a doctor's order. I used the one my brother had years ago. It was very simple....you turn up the impulse to whatever level was comfortable. This unit is much different. It has 4 pads and can be adjusted to various rhythm patterns and intensities. Because of that, I believe, it is far more effective. My cousin uses one for migraine headaches and claims that she can get rid of them within a half hour. That is pretty amazing! It's worth a try and I wish more people who look into it as an effective option to meds and surgery. Thanks for your response and input.

BTW...it can be worn all day if necessary, and the unit can be easily concealed. It is completely portable and my husband had no problem taking it on a commercial flight.

Most docs are familiar with TENS. I used to give them out (as a physical therapist) quite frequently. I'd say about 25-30% got enough relief from them to make the mess and the trouble worthwhile. There's more to it than just surrounding the area with the electrodes. It can also be used on accupuncture points and with varying frequencies and width of the wave.

Still, follow-through with them on a long-term basis is probably less than 10%. Some people get fairly good relief with an implanted stimulator, but a good number of failed back syndrome patients aren't helped without a combination of therapies, including sometimes OxyContin. A chronic pain patient really needs a pain clinic, and some are better than others. I've worked with patients who were quite functional on OxyContin (large doses) on a long-term basis. Without it they would have been invalids. It does require close monitoring, of course, and most primary care doctors won't prescribe it for long either - preferring the pain clinic to handle it.