I remember at the time of my surgery I asked if he was going to leave some 'slack' in the leads, so they won't pull too tight on bending and such and he indicated that yes, he accounts for that.
Like you, I turn mine down for sleeping and then during the day, I usually have it set to where I don't even actually feel the stimulation.....but yet it does cover that horrid burning pain....
I recall recently (Fiona I think) saying that her doctor said that we shouldn't concentrate so much on how much stimulation we are feeling....but instead, concentrate on the amount of pain relief we are getting.....
I thought that was brilliant input and even stuffed it in my left pocket so as not to forget....
It's easy to be more consumed and intrigued with the stimulation sensations...but in essence I have found that if I just have the unit on enuf to cover over the pain, alot of the time I don't even realize the stimulation is happening.....
BUT....there are the times when I'm in major FLARE mode , so I crank it up and the intense stim comes as a welcome relief......

Sometimes, the stim gets downright irritating, so I turn it off for awhile.
(that creepy crawly feeling - but I think in my case part of that has to do with the BT meds wearing off and it could be a withdrawal issue)
Nonetheless, for the most part, the unit is becoming 'second nature' to me and I am very appreciative for what it does.

I'm actually farther along than 6 months! I got mine implanted on Feb 24th, so my math was off a bit.

Fiona, I sure hope that your nausea lets up!
You give such good input every time you get tweaked......I absorb it like a sponge......