This week I have spent recovering. The stimulator has been working very well. The incisions on the other hand have been a royal pain. I have had to wear an abdominal binder and back brace to keep me from moving in directions that would cause problems with the leads. It takes about six weeks for them to scar down permanently. Until then, they can migrate to places they are not supposed to. Therefore, patients have to limit their movements to keep that from happening.

The hardest part for me has been to remember not to put my arms above my head. The bending and twisting I can remember but I will try to reach for something before I even think about it. I have had to limit wearing the brace this week due to the fact it keeps rubbing and putting pressure on my incision. I know that will go away and I will wear the brace as much as possible but I am not going to torture myself. I am very careful when the brace is off.

Every day has gotten a bit better. Yesterday I started having some sort of sinus funk which made me cough terribly hard. That set off pain in all my chest muscles and my incision. I was miserable all day yesterday. Today the discomfort is a lot better.

I am very pleased with the SCS so far. It has given me much more stable relief for my pain than anything has in a very long time. I still have to take my medications but now I am very comfortable where as before I had days that I was so miserable I did not want to get out of bed. I never knew from one day til the next how it was going to be.

Now I feel like I can get my life back. I am looking forward to being able to do some things that I was not able to before without severe pain. I know this is not a magic cure all but it will help me have a better life with my family and that means a whole lot to me!

Sorry that its been some time since I posted. I had to make some major decisions lately. My pain management physician wanted me to do a trial with the spinal cord stimulator. I was a bit torn about this due to it being invasive, first of all. Second due to my bad experience with my fusion surgery. I finally made my mind up that I needed to at least do the trial or I would always wonder whether it would have helped or not down the road.

I went in for the trial on the 18th.  They put the leads in and showed me how to operate the device. One thing that did happen which was sort of disappointing, was that the leads slipped after they start stitching them in. They had good coverage for the pain before that. They could not get them back in the exact spot afterwards.  It was very late and I feel to be honest that they got in a hurry by that time and did not try very hard. I will explain why I say this later. So it took some time to get adequate relief once I got home.

WOW! I was majorly surprised at how much could be programmed into that little machine. I had several different programs that I could try and use to see which one worked best.  I could get good relief on my leg areas but I had a real hard time getting any type of relief above the groin. I have a LOT of pain up in the low back and hip area so that was disappointing.  I was terribly sore the first two days as well.

By the second day the soreness had subsided, and I could play a bit more with the programming. I was not as intimidated with all the buttons to push! I finally found some settings that handled the better portion of my hips and lower abdomen and back. I was a happy camper after that. I did have some issues with the stim stop working when I sat down. I talked to my rep daily and he assured me this was due to the temp leads and would not happen with a perm install.

So all was good til the last night before I went to take it out. I had to do some holiday baking and all at once it was like I was hit by a ton of bricks. I was miserable! I talked to the doc and he said he thought the leads had moved, sure enough they had and he said they were so loose he wondered how they were working at all by then hmmmm.

So now I am waiting for the insurance to approve the permanent implantation. I am back in pain once again which STINKS!!!! I hope this happens soon. It is not nice to give you relief then take it away.

I did find an excellent video of the actual procedure for permanent implantation of the spinal cord stimulator that was done by Beth Israel Hospital. They talk to two patients in this film clip about their experiences and so forth. It really helped me make up my mind about having this done. It shows the whole surgery so if you are the queasy sort you might want to refrain but it was very interesting to me. The question and answer session with the patients and doctor was excellent too.

If you want to watch the Surgery

That’s all for now from me. I hope that my pain does not keep me from posting again. I would like to hear from anyone who is at the same place as me or close to the same place! For others in pain hope your pain is the least amount that it can be today! Hang in there!

I have been seriously considering getting a herbal supplement since I am not really keen on hormone replacement. There are just too many side effects to the hormone replacement. However, I do not want to increase my chances of osteoporosis with my DJD I have already. My spine surgeon told me I was a prime candidate for it since I have scoliosis and due to my short stature. Ugggh, I cannot win for losing sometimes it seems.

Well I have been doing some research and I have found a really good herbal supplement I am going to try and wanted to share it with you. It is called Menozac Natural Menopausal Relief and it is sold by Market Health. They offer a free 30 day trial and a 90 day money back guarantee. I don’t think you can beat that anywhere!

The herbal supplement contains Vitamin E, Soy, Black Cohosh and Damaiana. Vitamin E we need for health in general as women. Soy is a natural plant estrogen. Black Cohosh and Damaiana work to relieve the symptoms of menopause and also those of PMS such as anxiety, stress, bloating, night sweats, etc. I feel this is a very good formula.

I will let you know how it goes. If you are looking for something like this as I am, I would highly recommend you check this out as well!

I wish things would move quicker. I just found out it could be 3-4 months before I get the permanent SCS implant done. It depends on how long the insurance drags their feet getting this procedure pre certified. I am really sick and tired of being at the mercy of the insurance company for the treatment that I need for my health.

I know that I am fortunate to have insurance and I should not complain but it is very frustrating to deal with this day in and out. I am really glad that I can write my thoughts and feelings out here and share with you!

The doctor also told me he would be running two leads as the back pain portion of my pain problems would be harder to get right than the leg or sciatic problems would. My biggest issues are with my sciatic pain and leg problems so if they can get that comfortable it would be a blessing for me!

I spoke to the Medtronic Representative today and he told me that they more than likely will be using the Restore Ultra on me if things go well. If you would like to know more about this you can see the device and see a video about the procedure and other information at Tame The Pain.  There is a wealth of information there. They will even have a person who has had the implant done call you and talk with you.

To help reduce the frustration with all of this, I have started making lists of things to help me out. I have a dry erase board on my refrigerator that has any important activities or projects that are coming up for our family or my children. This helps me make sure I do not miss anything that is important for the kids. I also have a notebook that I write many lists in. I go through and mark off the tasks as I do them. It has humbled me a bit to do this but it is much better than being proud and forgetting something that would be much worse!

Another thing I have had to revisit in my life is my relationships. Some of our relationships can be toxic. These can cause enough stress and strain all by themselves. If you find yourself in one of these relationships, it is time to revisit why you are in it. It would be wise to find ways to distance yourself from that relationship so you can have more peace and contentment in your life. I found that when I let go of a few relationships like this I found some instant stress relief. I did not want to do this but I honestly could not help these people. They in turn were keeping me up in the air with all their life issues and I just had to let it go.

Finally, it is really good to plan a getaway several times a year. It does not have to be anything elaborate or expensive but it needs to be either relaxing or fun! Plan some couple time with your spouse or partner and go away for a weekend. It will revitalize you and your relationship!. Have a family weekend getaway and do something that the whole family can enjoy. Just remember, do not pack the whole time with so many activities that you are more tired when you return from your trip than when you left!

Image courtesy of stockxpert.com

Today I want to talk about some more excellent forms of stress relief. Some of these things help with chronic pain as well. The first thing I would like to talk about are the benefits of massage. Many people think massage is only for stress relief but that is far from the truth. Massage is a wonderful therapy for many painful conditions including back pain. It does relieve stress as well so you kill two birds with one stone using this therapy.

Hot stone massage is one of the modalities that is used to help with painful conditions such as back or neck pain.  The heat of the stones helps to penetrate deep into the tissues. This causes the muscles and fascia to relax as it increases circulation to the area of the body that the heat is applied to. As discussed previously, muscles that are tense can contract and pinch nerves or cause them to be inflamed. By relaxing the muscles, the nerves can then heal.

Deep tissue massage is another modality that works extremely well for therapeutic purposes as well as stress relief. It is widely used for painful conditions. This type of massage gets deep into the tissues and manipulates them causing chemical changes in the body that signal muscles to relax. Some people however, do not tolerate deep tissue massage well such as people with fibromyalgia and may need another modality such as Neuromuscular massage or trigger point therapy.

Neuromuscular massage works on the premise that where muscles that are tense or knotted that there are trigger points. When pressure is applied to these trigger points relaxing them, this sends a signal to the brain which in turn tells the muscles to relax. Pain generators work in the same way. They cause trigger points to occur and they can be treated in the same manner.

Acupressure massage is a variation of acupuncture. It works on the same premise of acupuncture and utilizes the different acupuncture points. The difference is in the acupressure massage, pressure is applied to the different acupuncture points for a certain amount of time. This gives very similar results as the procedure acupuncturists use by applying the fine needles and inserting them into the points. This type of massage works by removing blockages in the energy pathways, once this has been accomplished the body is then able to heal itself. This type of massage works very well for stress relief or painful conditions such as back pain as well.

Image courtesy of stockxpert.com

I will have more information on other ways to relieve stress and pain in my next post which will be Part 3. So tune in for this!

Image courtesy of stockxpert.com

Today I wanted to talk about the relationship stress has on chronic pain. These two things really work hand in hand to aggravate each other and it is almost like a vicious cycle. When I am stressed, I tense and all my muscles follow suit. Then it is no time until I start having muscle spasms due to that. In turn, this aggravates my other back problems due to the fact that when my muscles are so tight, they cause inflammation and can even pinch nerves.

So what are some ways to relieve stress? I have been doing a lot of thinking about this. I have noticed since I have gotten some relief from my sciatica it is much easier to implement some stress relieving activities into my life that help me to keep this from happening so much.

One thing that I really enjoy doing even when I cannot get outside and walk is to just sit on my back deck by myself and enjoy the peace and quiet. I look around at all the things in nature around me. It is amazing at the changes that take place from week to week if you look for them. I like to just watch the birds and the squirrels playing around in the trees and my yard. The leaves are falling now so I am trying to do this as much as I can before the weather shuts me in for the winter.

Walking is another excllent way to practice stress relief. In addition to helping reduce stress it is an excellent way to get some cardiovascular exercise which we all can use. This can help us keep our muscles in good tone as well.

I enjoy playing Pogo late at night when I cannot wind down from a hectic day. It also helps take my mind off my pain if my back pain and sciatica are acting up. I prop myself up on the couch or my reclining chair and I can play for a couple of hours before I have to stop.

I have joined some email lists for people who suffer from chronic pain. It is great to be able to talk to others who have experienced back pain as I have. I find that it helps to relieve stress when I can talk about my problems with others who “get it”.  I love my family dearly but sometimes they just do not understand as they have not gone through this.

Writing is another way that I relieve stress. I find that it can be very cathartic at times. It helps just to get my thoughts on paper and out of my own head. When I see the words written, I can then release them to the Universe and let go of them.

I am going to look for other ways to find stress relief. I will have Part 2 of this so stay tuned!

Chronic pain can take its toll of the body, mind and spirit. It really eats away at your energy. I know it seems to take much more effort to do anything anymore. I also know that it is due to my body using all the energy that it has to deal with the pain in my back. Pain management does not address this problem so I have been looking at different ways to build up my energy levels.

I have been looking at some herbal supplements for energy. Once I did my research, I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. I had used MSM for quite some time for its anti-inflammatory properties before and after my surgeries. I found that it is considered a good natural herb for energy and to increase metabolism as well. Some women have even lost weight when they took it.

More research revealed that bee pollen and royal jelly were great herbal supplements for energy renewal. I am going to order a bottle tomorrow and try it out. I was torn between trying this and Siberian ginseng. I really feel good about both these products, however the royal jelly was less expensive than the ginseng so I am going to try it first. I will let you know how it works out!

As far as my back pain and sciatica issues go, I had some issues with the leg pain again today. I did a lot of laundry yesterday so I may have overdone. I am hoping since I rested my leg today it will resolve itself. If not then I am talking with the doctor about SCS and the pain pump on the 16th. Hopefully if things stay the same with my back, pain management will be able to map out a plan that will give me some more permanent relief in the near future! We shall see.