Originally Posted by CoralToe

Hey Neko!

It looks like most have chimed in already - but will add my 2 cents to the pile. I have suspected RSD in my foot, and finally agreed to the SCS trial last fall. Was implanted this past January, and am currently weaning off the meds. This has - BY FAR - been the single best decision I have made...I honestly feel that I am waking up from a nightmare. With the cloudy haze of meds and pain - I felt I was losing hold of living. Now, I feel I have been given a second chance. I am HAPPY for the first time in years!

As others have said though - there are things you need to take into consideration. First, you must be in the right mindset for this. When my doc first mentioned SCS - I thought it was overkill, and that I didn't need it. Eventually as my pain continued, I started reading forums (both hear and on healing well) - and eventually came to the decision that it was worth a shot. Once the trial was implanted, I remember standing in our living room crying - because I had forgotten what it was like to not hurt. The day my leads were pulled out - I cried again...and was severely depressed as my pain came back full force. I too had complete trust in the doc who did my implant - you need to make sure that they care about your well-being...not just the paycheck they will get from implanting another SCS. Finally, as Mark already described - try to convince your rep to allow you to self program. I was allowed this - both for my trial and perm...and like Mark, I have had no tweaking required

If you have any other questions let me know. I actually have a video of my surgery - that I hope will be up soon (my Doc and I are starting a blog/askthepaindoc website, and that will be on there).