Hi all,

I visited the neurosurgeon yesterday, he was wise and measured in his approach. He is less interventionist than PM, who has recommended surgery and also implants them. NS understood that I was not keen to have surgery at this point, although we discussed both options. His opinion was that surgery is not urgent and the timing of replacement depended more on how much pain/annoyance it was causing me and amount of remaining battery life.
He guided me towards gathering more information and has organised a visit with:
• my Medtronic Rep. to check the condition of my current battery as it is 6 ˝ years old and to find out about their newer smaller battery(didn’t know they could check on this)
• a Nevro Rep.to find out about their battery (25% bigger than Medtronic ), although he indicated it is fairly new here, he had little experience with them and less track record compared to Medtronic.

He also said:
• He is okay with some parts being covered with just skin, would only worry if it was bone underneath, and not that concerned about weight fluctuating if I want to go back on Topiramate
• “Just don't do anything stupid”, (that could be hard!) Or let anyone touch battery site except Medtronic Rep
• Risks of surgery are 2% infection at battery site, didn’t think there was much risk of CRPS spread
• Easy to reposition and replace battery in buttock, but he could also move to abdomen as apparently I have enough fat there!

So, I'm happy with his approach of gathering more information- in case I do something stupid, find the pain too annoying, or am heading for an exhausted battery anyway and need surgery. If I decide to go ahead, I have to make another appointment.

Thanks for your messages of support

Booklover