Left or right sided button placement can indeed be adjusted under the wacom settings (though it's a bit difficult to find at first).
One big problem I've noticed is that if you're in Sketchbook Pro and pull out the cable (usb) and enter wireless mode, the program goes nuts and (in my case) the eraser side of the pen stopped being recognized and acted like another draw side.
Unfortunately there's a lot of physics in play with nib wear. Make the nib too hard and you'll scratch up your draw surface over time. Friction over time has to wear out one of the two surfaces.
My only recommendation as another Intuos 5 user is to bump up your sensitivity on your tablet to let you draw thicker lines with less pressure. Heavy handed drawers are simply going to chew through nibs faster than others.
Left or right sided button placement can indeed be adjusted under the wacom settings (though it's a bit difficult to find at first).
One big problem I've noticed is that if you're in Sketchbook Pro and pull out the cable (usb) and enter wireless mode, the program goes nuts and (in my case) the eraser side of the pen stopped being recognized and acted like another draw side.
Unfortunately there's a lot of physics in play with nib wear. Make the nib too hard and you'll scratch up your draw surface over time. Friction over time has to wear out one of the two surfaces.
My only recommendation as another Intuos 5 user is to bump up your sensitivity on your tablet to let you draw thicker lines with less pressure. Heavy handed drawers are simply going to chew through nibs faster than others.