First, I want to say welcome to the community. Everyone has been very helpful and feel free to ask anything !! I have both a lumbar and a cervical spinal cord stimulator (Lumbar implanted 6-10-09, Cervical implanted 7-30-09). I know these dates really well because they are like second birthdays to me.

In Sept. 2007, I was in an auto accident that caused severe nerve damage (from the nerves being stretched), a diagnosis of brachial plexopathy -aka thoracic outlet syndrome - and lumbar RSD followed. I already suffered years with degenerative disc disease and radiculopathy down my left leg. As if that wasn't bad enough, another car accident (and neither my fault LOL) in Nov. 2008 left me with both cervical and spinal stenosis ( along with left shoulder tendinopathy and chronic bursitis). Needless to say, pain prevented me from living daily life - was fired from my job of 13 years and I had 2 toddlers to care for. I hated pain meds, but didn't have much choice. Life was hard.

Fast forward to my SCS implants, and like I stated, it has been like a rebirth for me. Am I feeling 100% better?? No. Do I still have to respect my limits?? Yes, BUT my limits are much greater than they previously were. My SCS feels like they are 'massaging' my angry nerves. I LOVE THEM. I call them comfort food for my pain. I am a new person in the sense that much of my depression has lifted. I used to take Cymbalta, now I'm off it. I took painkillers daily for 2 years, now it is very rare I take one (maybe 4-6 a month). Some people haven't had the same experience as I, but I can't express how GRATEFUL I am for all the help they've provided me (that and I had an awesome PM doc who threaded those leads so well it hits all my pain areas).

Again, welcome to the board ...... should you have any more inqueries, we're here for you

Vanna