Wow, you don't just have one thing, you have it all.......

OK, so you could not try the stim in a Trial version due to your arthritis... but, it seems to me this should mean Boston Scientific and your doctor should be expending that much more care for you..... and WHY they may ask? Because you were not able to examine the procedure through Trial use... you went for the game, set, match in one serve. This is not tennis, it is your BODY, your LIFE!!! No Way a patient in your situation could truly make an informed consent decision whether this was a good thing to do without the Trial. So the question becomes whether you had to encounter any personal expense in this approach, such as a deductible and copays in a private insurance context. We are usually talking big bucks here.

The reason I ask about the expense above is beginning to develop an understanding of your situation. Without Trial, you are basically being thrust into a life of Trial, and it seems Trial by Fire. For this reason, I felt as though EVERYONE who bears risk regarding the outcome of your surgery should be active, involved, on top of this and not treating it as a "got cher new set of tires on that there car ma'am. have a good day." then pop you out the chute. THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT YOUR REP SEEMS TO BE DOING TO/FOR YOU. Your sitation Demands more. Frankly, you should have been allowed the "handle the wheel" approach to programming to see whether you as patient could come up with anything better than the rep has to date. This seems all wrong.

Here was my scenario. During Trial, I felt no pain, but then I was also still on pain meds and the stim was on top of that. Post permanent implant, I do experience pain, but manage it solely with the stim and have fully withdrawn from pain meds. I am back practicing in my profession. I am grateful for what the stim has produced in my life.

Your situation seems to be indicating exactly the opposite, as though if you had been in the Trial, you may have noticed the same result and then elected not to go through the permanent implant. A very serious discussion needs to occur between you, your spouse [or advocate], your doctor, and the rep. This result is not the kind of result which usually results in a permanent implant as I understand it.

Questions need to be asked whether better results are achievable. You are not a piece of waste paper to be thrown in recycle. You are a patient on whom a risky implant of a device was accomplished without Trial. Hard questions need to be asked such as long term prognosis, whether meds will have to be continued, is there a better result, such as allowing you to try programming the device.

I ache for you in this, as you had such high hope..... and that spine which is so damaged already. You are definitely in my prayers.

My paddles are secured on my spinal cord, and my surgeon prescribed physical therapy which took BLAST into consideration post surgery. I just still protect out of an abundance of caution and not wanting to see the inside of another OR for a Long Long time.

Dear Eliza, know I and others pray for you in this,
Mark56