Welcome to the forum!

You've already been given good advice, so I'll just chime in with my experiences trying to find relief for my chronic neuropathy (with possible CRPS) in my left foot. I agonized over the decision to even do the trial for SCS - and this is one of those procedures that you need to be mentally ready for. By that I mean you have to be in a state of mind where you have accepted your pain and/or situation, and have an understanding of the risks and complications (which you seem to have a grasp on). MANY people get talked into doing the procedure by their docs, as it is quite the payday for them each time they implant one - so this absolutely must be your decision.

For me, once I finally decided to go ahead with the trial, it took me all of 1 min with the stim on to know it worked for my pain. I stood in my living room and cried - because I had forgotten what it was like to not hurt. I cried the day they took the trial leads out as well; and the time between the removal of my trial and the permanent surgery was hell. I had tasted 6 days of freedom from pain - and it felt like the cruelest thing on earth to have to give that up again, even if temporarily.

Like you, I too was worried about how it would feel, how going through airport security would be, and what would happen if I needed an MRI....etc, etc. However, once you experience that sensation of lessoned or no pain, then those things seem so much less important. Living day in and day out with pain is draining. The limitations imposed by having an SCS are well worth the benefits. I have been given my life back! As for the sensation - to me it feels like a cat is laying on my foot and purring - its actually a very pleasant feeling. As for Airport/security/metal detector issues - not really a big deal. Sometime I set off the metal detector, and sometimes not. I don't mind being patted down - but some people do. And the MRI issues is what it is. This one was the biggest concern for me, as I have a recurring bone tumor that is best monitored by MRI...but other scans such as CT will suffice. I am hopefull that in the future the two will not be incompatible. In fact, I believe there are certain MRI machines that do work for those persons with an implant like an SCS or pacemaker.

Anyway - if I had to do it all over again, I would have made the same choice. I would not trade my little unit in for anything