Spinal Cord Stimulation Trial

Hi Everyone

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!