Tens Units
#1
03-05-2016, 12:55 PM
Tens Units
Considering how many people on this forum deal with chronic pain I thought this would be worth sharing.
My wife has been dealing with chronic pain for over a decade and at one point years back Medicaid paid over $300 for a tens unit for her. Then she still had to pay over $30 for a set of generic electrode pads for it and some other ridiculous price for the special skin prep pads. The unit got lost during a couple of moves and after a few years we were starting to consider buying one at Walmart since they started carrying them a little while ago.
Fortunately we found it recently. It still appeared to work but was now missing a set of leads. I decided to go online and see if I could find replacement leads and some fresh electrode pads while I was at it. It turns out that the company that made it (TensCare https://www.tenscare.co.uk/) is still in business and now has a large selection of tens and ems units for sale. I had no idea there were so many kinds of electo-therapy units available. I was able to find replacement leads, pads and wipes for MUCH less than what she was charged before and these are OEM parts, not generic mostly fits. In fact, most every complete tens unit they sell costs much less than what Medicaid paid for her old one. Now it's true that this manufacturer is in the UK and shipping gets added which brings the price up but they sell direct and overseas transactions with a Visa or Mastercard are fairly painless now(no pun intended). (Not to mention the dollar is doing fairly well against the British pound right now)
We're actually looking at getting one of the tens/ems combo units with the sock electrode now.
/rant
It really bugs me that in the US they have historically made it so hard to get effective (but possibly addictive) pain management drugs but have made tens units an almost secret therapy that was expensive and hard to find. Obviously something's changed now that Walmart has started selling them at retail. The problem is the ones at Walmart are either bare-bones basic and/or overpriced. Even when I researched online for other tens units by other manufacturers for sale it turns out that the American suppliers price theirs much higher than this UK supplier. Why must Americans be made to suffer like this??
/end rant
My wife has been dealing with chronic pain for over a decade and at one point years back Medicaid paid over $300 for a tens unit for her. Then she still had to pay over $30 for a set of generic electrode pads for it and some other ridiculous price for the special skin prep pads. The unit got lost during a couple of moves and after a few years we were starting to consider buying one at Walmart since they started carrying them a little while ago.
Fortunately we found it recently. It still appeared to work but was now missing a set of leads. I decided to go online and see if I could find replacement leads and some fresh electrode pads while I was at it. It turns out that the company that made it (TensCare https://www.tenscare.co.uk/) is still in business and now has a large selection of tens and ems units for sale. I had no idea there were so many kinds of electo-therapy units available. I was able to find replacement leads, pads and wipes for MUCH less than what she was charged before and these are OEM parts, not generic mostly fits. In fact, most every complete tens unit they sell costs much less than what Medicaid paid for her old one. Now it's true that this manufacturer is in the UK and shipping gets added which brings the price up but they sell direct and overseas transactions with a Visa or Mastercard are fairly painless now(no pun intended). (Not to mention the dollar is doing fairly well against the British pound right now)
We're actually looking at getting one of the tens/ems combo units with the sock electrode now.
/rant
It really bugs me that in the US they have historically made it so hard to get effective (but possibly addictive) pain management drugs but have made tens units an almost secret therapy that was expensive and hard to find. Obviously something's changed now that Walmart has started selling them at retail. The problem is the ones at Walmart are either bare-bones basic and/or overpriced. Even when I researched online for other tens units by other manufacturers for sale it turns out that the American suppliers price theirs much higher than this UK supplier. Why must Americans be made to suffer like this??
/end rant
#2
03-05-2016, 01:12 PM
I'm right there with you, jamnar. My wife has had 7 back and neck surgeries and has been suffering with pain for over 20 years now. She also has a tens unit and it's very frustrating tying to find good prices on the pads. She recently had to change her insurance after we moved to hell (FL) and we're waiting for approval from them before she can get any more pads. It sucks, but it's just another way the insurance companies and suppliers screw you out of money. Capitalism at its finest. And we the poor, just keep getting screwed harder and harder.
#3
03-06-2016, 03:52 AM
Indeed, welcome to capitalism. You took the word right out of my mouth.
I'm not sure I'd classify it as a secret treatment; physical therapists use similar stimulation methods and are the ones that are tasked with determining if a tens is an appropriate treatment and usually teaching you how to use it properly. Other doctors of course can also approve tens units.'
As for availability at Walmart, I'm going to guess that the tens lobby in DC lobbied to have the low power ones available w o a script. I'll also guess that their power output is sufficiently weak such that you would receive little benefit from it. Also, it's likely made so that there is no way you can hurt yourself with it.
I'm not sure I'd classify it as a secret treatment; physical therapists use similar stimulation methods and are the ones that are tasked with determining if a tens is an appropriate treatment and usually teaching you how to use it properly. Other doctors of course can also approve tens units.'
As for availability at Walmart, I'm going to guess that the tens lobby in DC lobbied to have the low power ones available w o a script. I'll also guess that their power output is sufficiently weak such that you would receive little benefit from it. Also, it's likely made so that there is no way you can hurt yourself with it.
#4
03-06-2016, 07:59 AM
@Derf
What you said about the Walmart versions is probably correct. It would not surprise me at all if the manufacturers here saw an opportunity to fleece the customers by taking advantage of their expectations and selling them a lesser product at an inflated price. This UK company sells the same level of device direct to customers that was originally provided to my wife by prescription. If there's some reason they shouldn't be able to do that based on US law, I don't know and frankly I don't care.
What bothered me the most is that even the pads and wipes cost half when buying them direct from the UK even with shipping.
What you said about the Walmart versions is probably correct. It would not surprise me at all if the manufacturers here saw an opportunity to fleece the customers by taking advantage of their expectations and selling them a lesser product at an inflated price. This UK company sells the same level of device direct to customers that was originally provided to my wife by prescription. If there's some reason they shouldn't be able to do that based on US law, I don't know and frankly I don't care.
What bothered me the most is that even the pads and wipes cost half when buying them direct from the UK even with shipping.
Last edited by jamnar; 03-06-2016 at 07:59 AM. Reason: typo
#5
03-06-2016, 02:59 PM
Jamnar, would you mind sending me a link to that company? Just PM it to me, if you don't mind. I have to find something for the wife and it looks as if the sorry insurance company she's with now don't cover durable medical supplies. Bunch of sorry.............Duuuuuuhhhhh. Never mind. I went back to your first post and found it. Brain fart!
#6
03-06-2016, 03:26 PM
It's utterly shocking the way Walmart zaps you where it hurts the most, and then your money just transmits out of your wallet and you're left grounded without a positive feeling but plenty of negative resentment. An alternate plan is a must, because the current way of doing things is direct piracy. Maybe we can jump-start a grassroots movement to break the circuit of continually getting burned.
#7
03-07-2016, 02:12 AM
Excellent idea in theory.
Problem is, at least 1 person will join for the sole purpose of making profits from the sales of t shirts advertising the movement. And unless he or she shares or donates the money to a legitimate cause (which contains at least 1 person skimming money off the top), then technically we are, as a group, hypocrites.
Problem is, at least 1 person will join for the sole purpose of making profits from the sales of t shirts advertising the movement. And unless he or she shares or donates the money to a legitimate cause (which contains at least 1 person skimming money off the top), then technically we are, as a group, hypocrites.