Quote:
Originally Posted by tinkster
I would really like some imput/opinions please. I had a SCS put in last December. I had a wonderful trial and had no reason to believe that nothing less than success would be achieved with the perm stimulator.
Well... its not covering my pain and the spot where the battery is has never stopped hurting, and recently its worse, hurts all day every day.
My doctor was gone this week but I left word with his nurse that I wanted it out! She said she would start the paperwork, however, when i met with the doctor filling in for my doctor he said he highly recommends i do not have it taken out. He thinks I need a revision surgery.
It sounds to me like another surgery, another recovery, and no real gurantees it will do any better than what I have now. This doctor said they would put paddles in this time, not leads. He made it sound as if this revision is a piece of cake, I know better. He said "you have done the hard part, don't give up now". I just don't know what to do. I would hate to have it removed if a revision really could work but then again I am not convinced it will work either, and more surgery does not sound appealing right now. In many ways I would like it out and just be done with it. But this doctor said nothing else is left except managing me with pain meds, which is depressing just thinking about it.
Any advice is helpful, thanks.
I will talk with my regular doctor soon about all of this too and get his opinions.
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Honestly, of course, it is up to you. You and your doctor probably know best.
With that being said, I wanted mine removed as well. I had a paddle SCS put in back in November. It didn't help at all. I had a second paddle lead put it (connected to the same battery--so I have 1.5 systems, basically) in March.
It still hardly helps. I get about 5% pain relief from it, which is not near enough to be able to go live life like I had hoped. I am bedridden and stuck in my bed in horrible pain, even on two narcotics.
I wanted it all removed because I worried about years from now needing an MRI and not being able to have one due to the SCS.
But my surgeon told me that it is a painful surgery to have it removed and the risk of infection is pretty high and that there really was no reason to have it removed unless it was causing severe issues. In my case, it isn't. It doesn't cause me any pain. It just doesn't work.
A revision is not fun. But if it may help, it may be worth it. Or it may turn out like mine and still prove to be worthless.
But that is the tough decision, and the one you will have to make.
Either way, I truly do hope that something works out so you can manage your pain. It is no fun to be hurting so bad!
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♥ "Hope is more than a word; it's a state of being. It's a firm belief God will come through. Life brings rain... hope turns every drop into the power to bloom like never before." -Holley Gerth ♥
My name is Sarah and I am 25 years old. I have a lot of chronic health problems. Peripheral neuropathy and POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) keep me bedridden the majority of the time. I also struggle with degenerative disc disease, disc desiccation, spondylolisthesis, arthritis, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) with insulin resistance, allergies, sound sensitivities, and other health problems.