Hi Tara!!

I saw you in the intros and am glad you came to the SCS subforum. These folks are tremendous!! They come alongside when you vent, as you should, and try to help, giving what any can by way of personal experience and thoughts, while also providing shoulders on which to lean.

Hope your school work is still coming along despite the pain, the worry, the fear about your stim and its current very difficult issues. College work is hard stuff, and then the student teaching obligations you now work through. I just hope and pray that all will be well in your education as you near completion of that life goal dealing with having your stim give fits. Real fits of trouble as it seems not to work right for you now. Goodness, several of us on here have been in the Bionic Butt club for less time than you have known your stim. We do have a feel for the agony you are living right now because the pain is so recent in our past.

Even though the stim I have is doing its work to thwart the nerve pain I have known since my 2005 wreck, it does absolutely nothing for the numbness I knew far before stim came into my life. Sure, back surgery in 2006 did relieve back pain, but its circumstances seems to have left me with chronic numbness in both of my legs, the left below the knee, and the right foot besides the pain causing nerve damage which resulted in recent SCS implant surgery. So, yes, I do have to use the cane, the wheelchair some, shopping carts as temporary walkers..... and all because I cannot feel the earth so much anymore. The brain and eyes know it is there, but for some reason the lower extremities have this propreoception issue.

When you talk about your original surgery and the implant, then move to discussing the speculation about more surgery and partial laminectomy with implant of paddles, I kind of wonder whether your original implant was an implant of leads and no paddles? Maybe if that was the case, it could be that your docs wonder if leads were dislodged and now think in terms of technology which includes more invasive steps. My recent SCS involved partial laminectomy for implant of paddles. I do realize this procedure is VERY recent, three weeks ago today, but the effect on the nerve pain thus far has been really very good, and friends and family are thrilled when they say the "old Mark" has come back. I know such a surgery is invasive and takes a while for real healing, but for me this has begun to instill great hope!

In reply to your intorduction post, I shared that yes, I, too, had to go through the neurological exam after my wreck. This was to make sure what was going on due to the concussion I suffered with after effects. So, that step was necessary in my case. It has seemed over the years a great many steps have been medically taken to "cross off" possible causes of issues as we moved closer to one treatment and then another. My wife and I ached in frustration time and again as this was tried and then that. Doctor after doctor after doctor visit. We wondered whether we would see the end of this path. Now we begin to think in terms of positive conclusions, potential realized ends.

I so hope for you that your caregivers come together to suggest a result which is REAL and EFFECTIVE in bringing a treatment to resolve your current return to pain. Each of us can certainly share at least a bit of knowing understanding of your pain as the survivors of that period between the Trial surgery and Permanent Implant. I ache for you that your implant has become so troublesome and pray that solution is found soon!

No answers are provided for your situation here tonight, but caring is abundant.
Prayers for you,
Mark56 PJ