FAQ for spinal cord
stimulation patients

Many insurance companies cover the cost of spinal cord stimulation (SCS). However, as with many pain treatments, your doctor will need approval from your insurance provider before you can receive treatment. Talk with your doctor or insurance company to find out what your coverage includes. Most workers’ compensation carriers cover neurostimulators if approved before treatment.

The SCS trial is designed to mimic what you’ll experience with the implanted device. Once your Medtronic neurostimulator is implanted, your doctor will adjust your Medtronic neurostimulator to optimize your pain relief.

Many people experience significant pain reduction in regions such as their extremities, legs, and/or back with SCS.¹ However, because the therapy doesn’t treat the source of pain, the degree of pain reduction will vary from person to person.

Your doctor will program the settings based on your needs and preferences, but you can adjust stimulation levels using your handheld programmer, which works like a remote control.

Yes, you can travel or move within the United States. Because your treatment-related information is stored on your device, it’s with you wherever you go. This means you can be treated at any clinic that uses the Intellis™, Vanta™, or Inceptiv™ platform. 

For international travel questions, contact your physician or Medtronic Patient Services. 

The wall chargers for the Inceptiv™ and Intellis™ patient programmers are universal and can be used overseas.  It supports input voltages from 100–240V at frequencies of 50–60 Hz. All you need to charge your patient programmer is a plug adaptor.

The Vanta™ system does not have a rechargeable battery. The AC adaptor for the Vanta™ patient programmer and communicator must support input voltages from 100–240V at frequencies of 50–60 Hz.

Approximately 82% of patients implanted with an SCS will need an MRI within five years to diagnose an unrelated condition.²  Medtronic SureScan™ MRI technology allows you to have access to MRI scans anywhere on the body.^†

To learn more about getting an MRI, visit our MRI page.

The Intellis™ and Inceptiv™ neurostimulators are rechargeable and have an expected life of 9 and 15 years, respectively. At that point your neurostimulator will signal an alert reminding you to contact your clinician to replace your device.

The Vanta™ neurostimulator does not have a rechargeable battery, the battery can last up to 11 years depending on programmed settings. When Vanta™ is nearing the end of its service life, the device will signal an alert that says, "Replacement Recommended (ERI)." This means your device is still working, but it is time to contact your clinician about next steps.

Learn more about replacing your neurostimulator.

All SCS patients must complete a psychological evaluation to meet insurance company requirements. Insurance companies need to verify that patients go into the procedure with realistic expectations and the understanding that the procedure may not get rid of 100% of their pain.

You’ll find complete details for recharging your device on our recharging page.

Talk with one of our patient ambassadors to hear how Medtronic SCS has helped manage their chronic pain.

Visit Medtronic.com/painambassador to register to speak with a patient volunteer. Or you can call 888-430-PAIN (7246) to schedule an appointment.

Patient ambassadors are volunteers and not medical experts.

Speak with a registered nurse (at no cost to you) who is experienced in Medtronic chronic pain therapies. They can help with answers for what to expect before, during, and after the SCS trial and implant procedure.

Go to Medtronic.com/nurse-scs if you would like to register to speak with a nurse. You can also sign up by calling 888-430-PAIN (7246). Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. CT.

Registered nurses of this program are paid consultants of Medtronic.

Approximately 82% of patients implanted with an SCS will need an MRI within five years to diagnose an unrelated condition. Medtronic SureScan™ MRI technology allows patients to have access to MRI scans anywhere on the body.^†

To learn more, visit our MRI page. 

Use care when approaching theft detector and security devices (such as those found in airports, libraries, and some department stores). When approaching these devices, do the following:

1. Show the security personnel your patient identification card for the neurostimulator and ask for a manual search. Security personnel may use a handheld security wand, but ask them not to hold the security wand near the neurostimulator any longer than is needed.
2. If you must pass through the theft detector or security screening device, turn stimulation off, approach the center of the device and walk through normally:
   • If two security gates are present, walk through the middle, keeping as far away as possible from each gate. 
   • If one gate is present, walk as far away as possible from it. 
   • Some theft detectors might not be visible.
   
   

   Illustration showing that if a double security gate is present, you should
   walk through the middle, but if a single security gate is present, you
   should walk as far away from it as possible.

3. Proceed through the security device. Do not linger near or lean on the security device.
4. After you pass through the security device, turn stimulation on again.

Medtronic field staff are available to provide support for you and your device.  Ideally, an appointment with a Medtronic representative is scheduled through a physician’s office. 

• Please call your managing doctor’s office and request to make an appointment.
• Medtronic representatives are not medically trained but may provide technical support for your device.
• The protocol in place between a physician office and a Medtronic representative may vary.
• Medtronic patient services does not have access to invite a representativ to your doctor’s office.
• Doctors can call 1-800-MEDTRONIC (1-800-633-8766) to contact a field representative on your behalf.
• Request to have a Medtronic representative call you back by completing the online form found here.

Your therapy will be adjusted to help manage your pain. One therapy setting your clinician may choose to use is called AdaptiveStim™ technology, which personalizes pain relief by sensing changes in your body position (in any of seven unique body positions programmer) tailors stimulation to manage pain.

If your neurostimulator has the closed-loop technology, which responds to changes in your body, it can provide consistent stimulation for personalized pain relief for any body positions you are in.

To update your contact information, please visit the Medtronic manage your ID card page.

To find a doctor in your area, please use the physician finder. To download a patient user guide for one of Medtronic's SCS devices, please visit the SCS product page.

For lost or stolen equipment call Medtronic at 800-510-6735, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. CT.  If you no longer need your external equipment, here are some options:

• Offer to donate the equipment to the managing doctor’s office.
• Dispose of this product according to local regulations.
  • Visit this page for instructions on proper disposal of the product(s).
  • Do not dispose of the product(s) in the unsorted municipal waste stream.

Visit our product page for useful information and tips.

Charging the Intellis™ or Inceptiv™ SCS implant from empty to full can take approximately 1 hour with excellent recharge quality on recharge speed mode.⁴

Charging sessions for the Restore™ implant can take from a few minutes to more than 12 hours, depending on the charging efficiency, how often you charge, and your therapy needs.  

Implant charge frequency will depend on your settings. For example, the higher the therapy settings are, the more frequently you may need to charge your implant. Check the implant battery status and charge the implant when you notice it is low. 

Additionally, it's important to keep in mind that:

Battery capacity will continue to drain, even if stimulation is off.

If the neurostimulator battery becomes completely discharged, therapy will turn off. You must turn therapy back on after recharging the device.

Your power supply cord should display a green light on the top when plugged into the outlet. If it is not displaying the green light check the following:

• The connection to the power cord might be loose. Reposition the power supply cord into the electrical outlet.
• The outlet might be controlled by a switch or not working. Consider trying another outlet.
• The power supply cord might be incompatible with the electrical outlet. Obtain an adapter for the type of electrical outlet you are using.
• If the green light is displaying on the power supply cord, try resetting the controller by removing and reinserting the battery pack.

If you have a Restore™ implant, when the implant battery nears depletion, the implant will go into a discharge state and therapy will not be available. If more time passes without charging, the implant may go into over-discharge. This means the battery has been sitting depleted too long and you will not be able to charge on your own. You will need to call your doctor.

If you have an Intellis™ or Inceptiv™ implant, therapy will eventually be lost if you don't charge the implant battery. Follow the given instructions to recharge your implant.

The warning screen guide will help troubleshoot warning screens that might appear on your therapy programmer.

If you have additional questions after reviewing the guide, contact the patient services team at 800-510-6735 Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. CT.