[Droopyannie]

Hi,
I just joined NeuroTalk and came accross this forum. I have been dealing with so many issues and this is one of them. I had neck surgery that didn't fuse and years later developed symptoms of ON-burning pain, numbness, sensitivity to touch,cold etc on one side of my head. I also had a one sided headache that started after I had a lumbar epidural steroid injection 7 yrs ago.The docs thought it was due to the ON. I don't know if I agree. I tried trigger point injections, Radiofrequency ablation, lidocaine, botox, cervical epidural steroid injections, etc. I have chronic neck,arm and head pain. They re-fused me and drilled a screw into the nerve to my arm.Ouch!! So I did a test of a spinal cord and occipital nerve stimulator. The test was great-good coverage. But when they implanted both spinal and occipital leads and hooked me up, they could not get the dang thing to cover any of the areas I needed. They replaced the generator, moved leads and I kept it for a year, though it did little for me, due to the inability to get coverage where I needed it. So I had it removed. I had built up so much scar tissue around it all, that they had to drill a hole through my vertebra to get it out. I developed a seroma in the generator site. All and all it was a failure for me and left me with more damage to my occipital nerve. So my advice is, don't rush in to this decision. I know how it feels to have no hope and to want to try anything, anything that might help. But I regret that I chose that path.
I have met some people who have had success with either spinal or occipital simulators. But in someone like me with multiple problems I have not seen much success. But we all have to live with the choices we make and if my story makes you think twice, then I'm glad because it can make you worse. Best of luck to all facing this. Droopyannie