I had my first SCS trial (1 lead) in November of 2008. The trial went ok..I wasn't overly impressed but it seemed to help some so I scheduled the implant for January of 2009. I had reservations about the implant because I have horses and by the time January rolled around....I'd contacted the implant company with questions that they refused to answer so I ultimately cancelled the implant surgery.

In November of 2009, I had the SCS trial repeated on the recommendation of my pain specialist. He felt that I needed to repeat the trial using 2 leads instead of 1 so I agreed and the trial was much better with 2 leads. Knowing that I'd backed out of the implant earlier in the year, I insisted on being scheduled right away. My implant surgery was done on December 14, 2009 and while it isn't perfect, it does control one of my areas of pain by 70%. I still continue to take dialudid and norco for my other areas of pain.

If the trial went well for you, I'd go for it...even some small amount of pain relief is worth it. I've had my implant for 4 months now and am beginning to do some normal things. I still have lifting restrictions but keeping a realistic outlook has helped.

Best wishes for future pain free days!