I have mine above the waist on the right side of my belly because I sleep mostly on my left side. The 40 and 80 are the 2 sizes to choose from. I took the larger because I don't want to be refilled constantly but it does stick out more than the 40. They both are the size of a hockey puck with the 40 being half as thick as a puck and the 80 is about the same thickness as a puck. If you don't have a puck, try a sporting goods store. Put the puck under your shirt to see what it looks like. To be honest, most people can't tell you have it.

I had 3 previous scs implants and I hated the battery pack was placed in my lower back about waist line high so I had constant irritation from clothing and I couldn't lay on my back since it felt like I was laying on the tv remote control. I wish they would of placed my battery where my pump is now but nobody told me that at the time. Choose wisely for pump placement because once its in, they only change it every 5-7 years when the battery needs replacing.

You can't feel or see the cath so don't worry about that.

As far as driving goes, you will have to ask your doc. I got my freedom back by having a pump put in because I was allowed to drive again. I was on heavy heavy heavy meds. I gained back some memory after about 6 months on the pump which was a bonus too.

You will be sore for a week or so after the surgery. The hardest part in the first few weeks is getting the dosage correct. You probably want to lay around for a few days to heal and make sure everyone you know does not touch your pump because you only have less than a 1/4" of skin over the pump so it hurts when somebody bumps it or you bump a table. You will learn over time that your arm knows kunfu now and it will defend your pump to the death but your arm starts out as a white belt so you still get hurt here and there. It takes time to get a black belt in defending a pain pump but you will get there. Lol.

You should be able to sit up and do work from the bed just protect those stitches. The more you move, the more they stretch.

Changing your dosage is simple. They will pull out a hand held device and put it right over your pump. It will detect your dosage and tell you how many days before your next refill. They simply punch in a number on the device to change how much you get each day. It takes just a few minutes. It detects over clothing but since this is your first time, they will want to inspect your stitches/scar for the first few months.

Make sure to get the ptm so you can give yourself a bolus when needed through out the day. Insurance is a pain in the *** if you don't get it the same day as surgery. It's $800-900 cash is what you save by getting that ptm on the same day.

I don't check back to neurotalk often so if I missed something, I will get it the next time I'm on.

Good luck