This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

My insurance said they would cover it 100% and my husband's insurance said (80%) but I still had to front the money or wait for the insurance to actually come through. (Hanger must have been unsure as insurance coverage is new.)

Anyway my sample one which I had for a week worked right away.

After a day with my own I started having troubles but thought it was due to the use of muscles that had not been used much for 6 months.

When I actually paid attention to what was happening I realized my foot was twisting and my toes were hitting the top of my orthopedic shoes.

There is a very useful post in another area here by someone whose last name was Brandisi. I have printed it out to bring to Hanger on friday.

That post by Brandisi made me think that the problem was the transfer of the electrode placement from sample walkaide to my own walkaide.

LUCKILY, I have the template of electrode placement on the cuff made by the Neuroscience person who had met me at the Hanger facility and done the original work.

I compare/measured the template with the electrode placement on my new Walkaide. There is a 3/8 inch difference. If I had not read the post here about electrode placement I would not have even looked.

I hope this is the whole problem because my sample week was perfect.

One other thing...I paid $4500 for my Walkaide including the box of electrodes you buy with it.

I'll post again after friday as this could be a smple problem to fix. You can not imagine the joy of the week I was testing the Walkaide.

Linda

Great news Linda that your insurance company is paying for the WalkAide!!

The electrode placement is important. Also, you may find that towards the end of the day, you may need to set the impulse down a number.

Sharon

Well, I printed the great post by Brandisi that memtioned before and brought it with me.

My Walkaide did lift my leg every time but seemed to be twisting my foot which caused pain and the muscle running up my leg was also quite painful.

The technician said that I needed to adjust to it--which i would have accepted but now I wanted to match the electrode placement to the template.

I was lucky that a neuroscience rep had fitted me and had drawn the template.

Sure enough, the Hanger rep had transferred the electrodes from my practice cuff to my new cuff a little incorrectly.

I walked half a mile with the corrected electrode placement. The pain that comes after walking is much less and seems to be what I would expect from exercising muscles that had been stagnant for a few months.

The technician was just great and wants me to come to a training session that Neuroscience is giving to technicians working with the Walkaide device at Hanger facilities in Connecticut.

I guess I will be a useful demonstration.!

I think the discomfort I have now is caused by spasticity and non use working against the new found ability.

By the time spring has arrived I plan on being able to continue my work as a farmer. Can't wait to show off my leg 'jewelry' at farmers' market!

Linda

Linda You go girl. I hope to get going soon with either the walk-aid or bioness 300. Ya !! I would love to show off a new step or two... at the farmers market here. Right now I spend a fair amount of time tilling the soil with my toes. When demoing the l-300 I could move the patches in and make my foot move in all sorts of directions. Weird It was like robotics. Moving my foot with remote control sorta speak. I think one will find that in time you will be able to adjust the device yourself to suit your needs. Peace Mark

Looks like I am probably going to go for the walkaide due to it being available locally which I can do vs going to Seattle with someone else driving ferry fares etc etc to get the ness l300.

Here's the deal though: i could go through all that if it is a better machine, but having more parts is not necessarily better, yet I can see that a machine that responds to a heel movement then fires off might be better vs something that simply fires off at a set rate, it is more physiologically correct.

Here's my question for walk aide users: if your walkaide died today, would you make a point of trying the ness l300? Just to see how the sensor angle felt to you?

Does anyone think I am really missing out if I don't at least try the ness 300? And maybe since it senses your foot it does not require all those recalibration visits? DOes anyone have any idea of how often these recalibrations are needed for these two machines?

It is big purchase, many ramifications, one wants to be certain! I am looking for Marks comparison too, BTW. they also told me 45oo for the walkaide. Better than I was told before! Never thought I'd see the day I'd be happy with a price of "only" 4500
thanks so much for sharing:D

The walkaide does not fire at
a set rate. It has a tilt sensor that fires when you go into stride. It will therefore adjust and work adapting to a change in stride.
Linda

Oh cool a tilt sensor! That is better than it sounded! I am not mechanical so I am glad you could clear that up for me.

I am excited to get the actual trial unit and see how it goes........I really don't want to make that big trip that's the truth.
thanks LInda

Hello

I live in Canada and asked my neurologist about bioness 3000. He said it would be a waste of time (for me at least) because "the problem is in your brain not your leg." He preferred a muscle relaxer to deal with foot drop which, looking at the side effects, I am not too keen on. Has anyone tried things like muscle relaxants, massage or other ways to treat spasicity and then tried bioness and been very happy?

Thanks

dawk, magnesium is required to relax muscles, so that might be an option for you to explore. there's lots of information dealing with that topic to be found here on TIMS. i have not tried bioness but personally my spasticity is usually felt in my arms not my legs.
JL

I don't think most MS people have the problem "in their leg", but in the signal sent to their leg. I think your Dr is wrong, and that sounds like the glib comments we would get from our ex-neurologist.

Here's what I would recommend for that neurologist - whack his leg with a sledgehammer, and tell him the pain he's feeling is all in his head.

Yeah Dawk that is good advice! What a bone head!

Well, I wasn't actually looking to bash my neurologist. The bioness is only available in the US so he wouldn't have any way of knowing whether it works or not. PATIENTS (me) can go south though. What I am looking for is a testimonial from someone who has spasicity in their leg and who has tried both muscle relaxing drugs (the one he suggested is called Baclofen) and the bioness. I am probably asking for too much but hey I'm new here.

Thanks in advance

Sorry, Dawk. I've had a dim view of neurologists lately.

Sorry, I don't have any experience with either of the things you're asking. But if you start a new thread with your question, you might get some responses.

Well, I am not bashing him, but it's like you said, he isn't familiar with it, so why doesn't he look into it, before saying it won't work....I am concerned when people, not just doctors, say no, because they don't know. Where is that going to get us?