YES, all we who live in your laptop are from the mythical side of Ireland, or claim to be on Saint Patrick's Day, so we are the little people, magical and all that!

BLAST is intended to be your approach continuously until your surgeon begins to allow some careful movement of bending, lifting, stretching, twisting. They will know the right time for you, and likely will prescribe physical therapy at that time. I should hope your discharge orders explain NO means NO act violating BLAST. It is for good reason to allow scarring of tissues locking your machinery in place while not disturbing it as you heal. You do know how to squat I reckon, and squat is what I mostly do to this day because it became a natural protective measure.

Programs.....all the same in your subjective observation so near to surgery discharge. At least you were given some means to use it. I was required to show up at a programming appointment two weeks after surgery so the Boston Scientific rep could assist in the ultimate programming. Please read my draft article for The Back Letter, a journal read by back physicians and encouraged by one of my docs due to the nuance of programming I experienced. The draft article is found toward the present end of my thread... maybe back a page or two by now. I posted it on 18 December here
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread117854-81.html

The crux was programming was accomplished by ME, Myself, and I, we were all present [HA] as my Boston Sci rep let me "drive" the computer, I KID YOU NOT. The kicker is this... I have four unique programs set by me [no, the generator/computer is not sophisticated enough to multitask and run more than one program at a time] AND I both NEVER required a tweak session thereafter AND I have withdrawn from ALL pain management medications for well over a year now.

If this may sound attractive to you, print the draft article out of the thread and take it to your rep and doctor asking to be allowed to drive at a programming session. The results each of Coral Toe [another Boston Sci person I met here after submitting the draft to the thread] and I have thus attained are remarkable to say the least.

I will be speaking to people at The Back Letter in the coming week anticipating at least the possibility of getting a toe in the door. My doc sure wants it printed there!

Hopefully you were asked to return to doc in a couple of weeks as surgical pain abates and fine tuning of the device may occur. If so, this will be your opportunity maybe to join Coral Toe and me.

Happy New Year and prayers for success,
Mark56