You nailed an important point there, Elysium - emotional readiness for this procedure. It took me several months to come to terms with the procedure and move on it. I was determined to try everything else first - chiropractics, acupuncture, PT, even natural anti-inflamitories (I can't take NSAIDs more than a couple times in a 24-hr period), etc. I seriously wanted something else to work!

I can't help but wonder, though, if I had found this forum sooner if perhaps I wouldn't have held off for so long. Seems when I would go look online for info about this procedure I would nearly always land on a site that was sponsored by one of the "Big 3" of SCS (Precision/Boston Scientific, St. Jude and Medtronic) and of course everything is so rosey when they present the info. I wanted hard facts from the patients standpoint and that's definitely what this forum has. Some folks have had great experiences, some just about disastrous...and everything in between.

Stick around, ask questions, read the posts and be educated about the various pain-control methods out there. Sorry to read of how bad you're suffering...and hope something is found that will provide some relief for you soon. You said "only 5 months" but 5 months of severe suffering can feel like a lifetime...especially since it's taken you down to the point of being home-bound...that's pretty rough.

I'll be sure to say an extra prayer for you...hang in there and know you have folks out here that really do care.