That posted before I meant it to ;-0 oh well- these are my observations and I'd like anyone that has tried or used them to chime in- Early in they day, after my PT session so I was somewhat fatigued but not bad the Bioness rep for the area met me right at my PT place. This was super convenient and she was very nice. She set me up with the right size of cuff and set it to an expected setting and strapped it on. Within minutes she had me walking the hallway. With each step the device generated an electrical tingling feeling under the cuff. It is an odd sensation like if you have had any Tens therapy which my chiro would always due after an "adjustment" and I always enjoyed and responded well to. So basically I was up and walking quickly and she continued to adjust things watching me walk and it really did help me walk so that I seldom felt my foot drag and I think that after getting use to it over a brief period I could leave the cane behind unless I was working uneven terrain or a challenging surface. The unit is all contained within a nice fabric unit that just straps on. The little unit is more to the outside of the leg so not sticking out the front of your shin which may be more noticeable under pants. I went home from that session and made sure to rest the rest of the day so when I tried the Walkaide it would be a somewhat fair comparison. I am better earlier in day so have to acknowledge that right off. I met up with the Walk Aide person at their site about 45 minutes drive from my house. It was kind of a PT shop that seemed to market a lot of different shoes and assistive devices. It was next door to a Mayo clinic site so that made sense. He used the sensors over areas of the outside of my calf muscle on the outside of my leg to find just the right place for the sensors to be to trigger the toe to lift. It was kind of fascinating that depending on where he placed the sensor my foot would twitch to the outside (like the initial MS symptom I had 15 years ago that hasn't returned) or up (as we were looking for) or do nothing at all to his consternation! ;-0 After 15 minutes of fiddling or so he thinks he got it right. With these electrodes set in a gel like patch he strapped the fabric cuff over the sticky electrode patches. They basically found their home via velcro into the cuff. I was now ready to try walking. I kind of lurched down the hallway getting an electrical stimulus every stride for my toe to lift. He kept adjusting the strength of the jolt and the timing of it until he said we were good. I think I was better. He sent me home with this sample to try for a couple of weeks. I also got some of the sticky patches if the ones in the unit lost their stick. Apparently you need to replace these on like a monthly basis and do this type of maintenance. It sounds like insurance for some reason will cover these little replacement stickies but won't pay for the unit itself! So- in the end I have a sample of the walkaide to check out for the next couple of weeks. I found that it took longer to configure than the L300 Go but maybe that will make it more precise? It also seemed to need more ongoing maintenance with the little gel stickies, etc. The L300 Go seemed more modern and after a quick assessment I was up and walking. I thinking I was walking better with it. I will try to take a walk down our gravel driveway (country drive, quite long) today and see how it goes with the Walkaide cuff. Tomorrow I have another PT session so will have him look at how I walk with the Walkaide and see what he thinks vs observing my L300 session yesterday. Then we will submit to insurance and wait for a verdict. The Walkaide person said that devices are never paid for by insurance and the cuff was about $2500 and the 2 new stickies I would need each month were about $25. In contrast the L300 was twice as much but didn't require regular gel sticky replacement. I would think these gel stickies would be an issue for men with more and coarser leg hair? Would cause skin irritation for some people or over time? They seem kind of a pain to carefully remove from the skin after every use and what about when you sweat? Just thinking of the possible issues with them. At this point my initial preference is with the L300 but there is more cost and I'll see what my PT thinks. The guy last night said that sometimes they are covered by DVR, basically the agency that helps you with devices if you are trying to find a job. Coincidentally I am trying to find a new job and have a call coming up within the week with a person from DVR services so will ask for coverage from them. The gal representing Bioness (L300) submitted info to my Dr which should progress with his signature for insurance coverage. We'll see how that goes. So that is my initial review- Any experience out there with these devices? in the US it seems like they prefer the AFO units that slip in our shoe and strap to our leg. Nice, no fuss, no adjustments and no batteries and no constant tingly feeling with every stride. BUT is mine causing a strange outswing with every stride that is pinching a nerve in my back and causing other issues? and it can't be adjusted to be more or less each day as my symptoms ebb and flow. Once you need more assistance the AFO is basically thrown out and replaced with a stronger version. With an FES you just crank up the strength. Thoughts? Any experience out there? Keep in mind I am trying the L300 Go which is the newer Bioness offering and it sounds like has some advantages over the older version-

Hi itsmewithms, I am living near Newcastle in UK I started trying out Fes around about November last yr after using a leg splint (hard plastic fitting under foot then fitting behind leg up calf) this was great for stopping drop foot but I was still dragging my leg and then in turn would make me exhausted after a short time so then I would start tripping over again, and yes like your self I would swing my leg to the side knocking my gait out. I do use a Rollater to aid my walking as I was tripping over and losing balance all of the time. Since November I have tried 3 different options of Fes and have now settled on a wire free version, it is amazing I find that I have much more energy so can walk a lot further. I do have to fit the electrode pads on everyday but after a while u get used to where they have the best reaction so they can be fitted within a few minutes most days, admittedly some days they take a lot longer and need to be positioned in a different areas of the calf. As for the FES unit itself I can fit over the electrode pads using a Velcro strap, clip onto my waistband or my favourite place is clipping onto my bra where it is within easy reach to turn on and off while resting to save batteries.