Alvin,
I have a tel# for Neuropace. That's the name of the company for the RNS (Phone number can only be seen by the question and answer creators). Tell them You want to speak with the Medical Team. Write out Your questions first. This product also does EEG's when You plug it into Your laptop and send the results to the Neurologist anytime. It's made of titanium and it's placed under Your skin behind the ear

You are welcome! I hope you make the decision that is right for YOU!

I've had a VNS since 2001. For me, it works. First, as you've probably been told, there's no guarantee it's going to work on everyone; they say it's about in thirds; one third that works well, one third that works fairly decently; and one third that works barely or not at all. But we don't know whether it will or won't until it's implanted. It's surgery, outpatient surgery for most of us, so after a couple of hours to put the lead in (for the first time) and the VNS itself in, you come out of the anesthesia, and your ride takes you home. There's some pain, but it's not bad. At first, you'll notice it. Your neuro-doc will work with you to find a good setting for it (done with a laptop/tablet and paddle) that is enough to help you and to be comfortable. The longer you have it, the more you get used to this little baby in your chest. Oh, it's on the left side, btw, so if you're left-handed, as I am, you'll be a bit challenged after it goes in until the little suture heals! It goes off on a particular cycle, and you can often feel it, especially at first, when you're speaking for a long time, or singing. If, suddenly, you sound like Kermit, that's the Gizmo going off! It's no biggie after awhile. However, you can't have an MRI, hug starters or alternators if you're working on a car (because of the magnets in them). And speaking of magnets, you get a wrist magnet and a pager magnet, which you can use to jump-start another cycle if you feel like a seizure is coming on, or show someone else how to do it in case they need to. So you always have a backup to the VNS. Check out http://www.livanova.cyberonics.com/ for more information.

Alvin, I have a cms cuz my Dr gave me the same options. Can't really tell if it really works but kept me for brain surgery. Hope this helps.

I had the VNS put in in 2007. It did ok for a little while. When it stopped working in 2009 my neurologist recommend brain surgery. I did a lot of research and went through a lot of tests to see if I qualified to have it. I had the surgery in 2010 and have been seizure free since.