I begged Professor Teddy to do anything, even to chop my coccyx off but he (and his backed up opinions) suggested not to go the invasive path just yet (removal of the coccyx had also not been very successful in treating chronic pain), we had an option for an implant, a treatment that was reversible, it made more sense. To 'qualify' for a stim you have to go through a trial first. The trial period was two weeks and in that time I had half of two leads placed inside my body (yes this is a full anesthetic/operation), with the remaining half of the leads hanging outside my body connecting to a temporary unit. It's a risky period, one very highly susceptible to infection but it allowed me to test the device and its impact before we implanted the $60k (or so) unit. Am I grateful I had private insurance? You bet! My WorkCover insurer certainly wasn't going to pay, eventually dismissing the surgeons reports as not having providing enough information.