Got my surgery date
 

Dr.'s office called today and my surgery for my cervical and lumbar SCS's is Aug. 19. His nurse said he can't get enough surgery time till then. Seems I'll be needing more surgery time than usual due to getting two SCS's. By the way, they are also Boston Scientific, so I'll get to join Mark in the "bionic butt" club. :D


The surgery date seems so far off. At first I was very bummed, but I decided that I'd rather wait for the right doctor to do it at the surgery center he feels is best for me. I believe in God's timing for everything, so will try to patiently wait until then.

Surgery date
 

Fionab: so glad to hear you have a date. I hope the time goes by quickly! Visit us here often and we'll help you get to Aug 19th! msdilbert2

Yea Fiona
 

Dear Fiona, I am so happy for you that you will be joining our club of bionics on Aug. 19!!!! Now here is a nice bit of trivia for you as you approach that wonderful date---- Aug 19 is the 37th anniversary of the wedding of Cleo and me. I know it seems such a long way off, but WOW that is neat to share such a date with you!

Will be praying for your comfort in the interim as you wait, and as you aptly stated, having the right medical team in the right surgical center is optimal for your care and recovery!!

ASAP:smileypray:
Mark56 :)

:D
I am so excited that you have your surgery date Fiona :D.
I have my stim for my face . on the 30th of this month it will be 8 years without any problems ..and AWESOME pain management this stim has given me back my life !
So Aug is a special month I see you have your date and that same day is Mark and Cleo's anniversary... 37th no less wow. !! Cheryl has her date for final implant Aug 5th and ...My 25th wedding Anniversary is Aug 24th.
we should have an online celebration all month long lol.
Sending prayers for you Fiona. and of course like msdilbert2 said..we will help you pass the time ..waiting is hard!
Congratulations on the date! are you going to name yours?? Mine I call T-REX.lol a story for another time .
Positive energy:hug: and blessings to you :hug: .
PEACE
BMW...Tina

That'll be a special day for both of us, Mark. :) Hopefully by then you'll have some good advice to give me on how to handle things post-surgery. Unfortunately my husband has a week-long business trip just 3 days after my surgery and he has to go (has been planned for a long time). With no family or friends around locally, I'll have to fill the pantry and make sure I'm stocked up on pain meds. and goofy movies to pass the time. Maybe it's better that way...I'm a real cranky pants the first few days after a surgery, so maybe it's best to leave me alone :o

Seems like there's a few of us that will have SCS anniversaries in Aug.

What's with the naming thing? I must have come in on the end of that discussion. Do we get to name them? :confused:

I'm counting the days till surgery. I keep reminding myself how, during the trials, I temporarily was blessed and remembered for a while how good it feels to have less pain...that's what I'll focus on.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement and support :grouphug:

Help post surgery
 

Hi Fiona-

Having help in your home post surgery, especially if out-patient will be a big thing in securing your more immediate recovery. My wife, our children, friends from next door, and our church have been invaluable in allowing me the means to rest and have a helping hand in progressing through this.

You are pursuing that double SCS implant, cervical and lumbar, so the intensity of your experience is so likely to be more keen. Taking all of those "baby step" moves such as mere getting out of bed using the barrel roll variant the hospital staff will teach you is so important as you go slowly and carefully. Making sure your leg strength is up to par presurgically is important for getting up and down from bed, up and down from toilet, and other things we take for granted. Walking as much as your doctor allows pre-surgically will enhance that all important core strength. If you can get into a therapy pool and exercise under their watchful care for building core strength pre-surgically would be a plus, especially since you have time until Aug 19.

Getting clothing on hand that is easy to open from the front and is soft will be helpful, since you will be doubly affected. I have on hand nice soft pairs of sweats I can pull over legs and something loose to wear up to that buttons up front. Of course, a soft front open robe will help around the house at first will help. Your strength will begin to return in baby steps as you take slow care to restore post-surgically.

Prunes, the prune club, remember? You are going to want to stock up on prunes and use them throughout this trek if the morphine/opiate meds have messed with you before hand. The more regular you are, the more likely to return to use of those all important functions post surgically. Everything will slow down due to the anesthesia on top of the pain med regimen you have followed pre-surgically. Everything. Urination was kinda slow to return, and it took longer. The bowel function is rumbling now, and flatulence is occuring, but still awaiting the main event, hoping it will not be as painful as was the case after my prior lumbar surgeries. One thing we did for prior lumbar surgeries was install a raised toilet seat with bar side handles in our restroom so I could more easily make the maneuver to use and then get back up. I found this one did not require the install, since I prepared so heavily beforehand..... maybe.

If you can have a trusted someone to look in on you or to whom you may reach out, you may feel a lot more comfortable, cranky or not.

The naming thing came up between BMW and Calewark as best I recall, and came about because of BMW having the first in U.S. Trigeminal Neuralgia install for face pain; thus, they came up with T Rex as BMW's "friend." She and Calewark have pressed the naming idea as the means to acknowledge that wonderful relief known now by BMW for a good many years. It's fun! Settled on mine as P.J. for Praise Jesus as BMW suggested, a thought that was first on my mind as I stood in our family room crying after Cleo, my wife, asked how I was feeling during the first few days of the trial and I recognized I had no pain. So P.J. for me! :yahoo:

I hope and pray your preparation for this new life adventure will bring you ultimate peace and comfort, and that the days between now and Aug 19 will see you fully ready to attend to your post-surgical needs.
Peace to you my friend,:grouphug:
Mark56 P.J. :)

Thanks Mark, for all that great advice. The good news is that my husband has been able to get out of his business trip so he will be here to help me post-surgery. Have to admit I was rather apprehensive about doing it solo, but have done it before (after my fusions, etc.), so was trying to focus on getting myself thru it (with the Lord's help), rather than getting bummed about my husband going on travel again. But all is working out.

Now, as far as a name...hmmm...with having 2 implants...how about "the twins"??? Any suggestions?

The Twins
 

So glad, Fiona, that your husband will be able to remain home/nearby to assist. It really is important to after surgery care!

The Twins, I love it! :D Especially since we have twins in our family. You have my vote for the Twins!

May all be well with you!
Mark56:)

I'm sorta' leaning towards "the twins" myself, unless someone has a better idea. My husband thinks we're a little strange :Ponder:, naming our devices, but I think this is an insider joke, if you know what I mean.

Hope you're feeling better today. I'm pondering going out and getting a raised toilet seat....maybe I can do like I did when I bought my shower seat and pretend it's for a sick relative :D I have a bedpan that goes under the bed and my husband jokingly calls it my "scottish skidoo". He uses any chance he can to make jokes about my being Scottish. Wow, we do share some rather odd things on this forum, don't we :eek::eek:

forgot to ask you, Mark
 

Mark...have been meaning to ask you and keep forgetting, where in Colorado are you? I lived in Denver for a while, some years ago, with YWAM. Beautiful country out there.

Golden
 

We love our hills, having grown up among them. Golden is our home.

I do understand the insider notion of naming devices. We owe thanks to BMW and Calewark.

Yeah, that raised seat can be a "comfort" in recovery, especially if abdominal and leg strength is not optimal.

:hug:z
Mark56:)

Helloooooo !
 

Congrats on the surgery date Fiona!!
Good Lord have mercy I feel like I've been a million miles away! :hug:

My laptop at home is in repair, so the only way I can get on here is at my office. I couldn't WAIT to get on here to see how everyone is doing!!

And knowing you are gonna have "TWINS" is absolutely amazing!!
See, i actually DO have twins ! (Human twins!) So, I'd love to help you with some suggestions for names~! :o
I actually haven't even named MY SCS yet and my surgery was over 4 months ago.

Anyway, my husband likes to refer to our twin boys as "Oops" and "Boo Boo" !
ha hahahaha! can you believe that!!

I'm so relieved to see that your husband will be with you after surgery!

Do you have one of those 'reacher/grabber' things? Those things are amazing! I'd highly recommend getting one to have nearby!
I used mine quite a bit!

The excitement around here is mounting!! I love being a part of this wonderful caring family!!

And prunes. :rolleyes:
If you get competely sick of them, maybe just do the suppository thing.
The do work pretty good....
TTYS!
Rae
:hug:

Hi Fiona!
 

Hello there, Fiona!! Your date is nearing, and I write to send prayers of encouragement your way as waiting patiently becomes difficult. Your time approaches, and you have probably been in dither getting necessary tests and the like out of the way as surgery nears. This time will fly by, and soon you will be writing of your Twins functioning to arrest your pain. I can hardly wait to learn of the completion of your procedures and those first surges of electrical signals which will bring relief to you.:Dancing-Chilli::Dancing-Chilli:

You are in my prayers,:smileypray:
Mark56:)

ahh your the one having the twins implanted opps I am sorry ..forgive my mix up on Mark's thread ,I corrected myself BMW is tired and combatt8ng some pain sorry . I am saying prayers and am doing a count down I have a few count downs I am doing for stimulator implants so confusion and mix ups are bound to happen with me ... it is just a Tina thing sorry. forgive and I hope you feel my prayers and positive thoughts Fiona !!
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...SSIC/Burst.gif
BMW
...Tina

Thanks for all your prayers. Haven't been on in a few days as I'm really hurting and am somewhat depressed right now. Saw my PCP and talked to him about my surgery and he was asking why the surgery date was so far off. I had to tell him I didn't know and that was the date I was given. Was hard not to break down and start crying as I'm really struggling, trying to keep a good attitude here. I know the Lord's timing is perfect and that's all I have to hang on to right now as I could easily get stuck in "bummerland". Also, I remind myself of how good I felt through the two trials.

Just gets old, hurting so bad all the time. Have had to increase my dilaudid from 3 a day, to 5 or 6 a day, which my PCP isn't too happy with. He's worried I'll be addicted to it when this is all over with, but I don't think so. I didn't miss the dilaudid one bit when I was on the trials...in fact, I loved not having to take it as I don't like the lethargy and fatigue it gives me. I asked him for some Toradol or Prednisone, 'cuz that seems to really help, but he says it hasn't been long enough time since he last gave me some. He said he doesn't want me to get osteoarthritis, etc. Was hard not to get angry and frustrated with him, as I was really hurting.

Forty more days. Seems like it's taking forever to get here. Need some encouragement, please :Sob:

Time Passage So Hard
 

Hi Fiona- It really is difficult to wait for Implant Day to arrive. I remember the day we removed the Trial Leads and I was telling the docs I so wanted them to just leave them in until the permanent. PLEADING to have the relief from pain restored. SOON. Yesterday did not seem early enough.:mf_argue:
Well, I did not actually argue with them, just stressed my point.

So my Boston Sci rep speculated that since my trial had gone so well they would probably get me in to the permanent implant procedure in a couple of weeks. You know from my story a couple of weeks turned into another and another and still another. At long last.... LONG LAST, the day arrived. The hurting between Trial and Permanent seemed inhuman, over the top, delay I could not understand.:icon_confused:

Of course, infection from the Trial phase had to be fully healed. More hoops to jump. Additional tests to complete. Appointments with the doctor I truly did not understand since they KNEW full well I was prepared. Still, the process, the procedure, the rules and approvals all had to line up kind of "Grand Alignement of the Planets" style. :icon_confused: Before I knew it, FIVE WEEKS HAD PASSED. I lay on the bed in Pre-Op where it took three tries to find a cooperative vein for the IV. It was a happening thing.

Your days will pass. Before you know it, as with me, you will be wearing one of those silly one size fits all [PUH-LEEZ] gowns that are open to the back and the next turn will be yours. You will even manage a laugh or two. I did. Especially when I just HAD to go to the bathroom after they got the IV running. Oh Boy, did I have to go...... so, up from the bed, Grab the Gown from behind, discretion, you know, and to the Restroom I went. Ahhh. That taken care of, I was coming back to my Pre-Op bed, trying to hold my gown discreetly from behind and my little Pre-Op area was FULL of PEOPLE! There I was, flashing folks from our church as I tried in vain to resume the position on the bed so they could pray over me!!! Oh, well, a little flash of the pastor from time to time gives one perspective.:blush::Tip-Hat:

We prayed. The doc said "Time to GO!" And off I went to the OR. Time had passed. My turn was next. More PAIN was coming, a good kind of pain from surgery to implant the works of PJ, and there I was, BOOM, in recovery, trying to tell them my name. Cleo, my wife, said they had a hard time bringing me around. I reckon I liked that place where I was. It was peaceful.

Next I knew I was awake and taking an ice chip, then two. Life was good.:)

Your time is soon Fiona. You are going to be there, and even just in spriit I will be there alongside you praying you through your procedure for the Twins. Your Pre-Op will be crowded with all of us from NeuroTalk. :smileypray::circlelove: You have no choice. Hope you do a better job of holding your gown together than I did! :icon_redface: These days intervening will seem to draw on and on, but we are praying for you now. You can do this. You have come this far, and there is just a little more calendar remaining between you and the Twins. WOW! Won;t it be cool joining the Bionic Butt club as either Pooh, KZLRogue, or Rae styled it? Maybe we should get bumper stickers or shirts or something.:Dancing-Chilli::Dancing-Chilli:

Soon, Fiona, Soon, and God is watching over you, I know,:smileypray:
Mark56 PJ :)

The BUTTBUZZ SUPERHERO's to the RESCUE !! http://dl2.glitter-graphics.net/pub/...i28oqj9qju.gif

I'm SO glad Mark posted B4 i did, Fiona, cuz he has a much smoother approach and can help 'talk us through' these tough days with a soft touch....
I get downright PIST !! :mad: ESPECIALLY at the Dr's who stare right thru us as we sit in their office practically in tears because of our pain conditions....and WHAT do they want to center in on????!! making us feel like lowlife drugseeking panzies! omg i get angry.
One of my Drs ALWAYS focused on the pain meds and wanted to sit there using up all of our precious 15 minutes giving me the runaround regarding the pain meds! Oh Rae, bla bla you'll end up in rehab bla bla.....
you pompus SOB! THere is a REASON for strong pain meds!!!! And proven statistics everywhere show that only a very VERY small percent of legitimate chronic pain sufferers actually become addicted. And after so many years of battling our conditions, THIS shouldn't even BE an issue, ESPECIALLY when we are taking the steps to get the @#%&* SCS!!!
There is NO Reason you should have to sit there fighting back tears! That Dr should have bent over BACKwards to try and make you more comfortable while you wait this out.
I'm so sorry you're feeling down, Fiona......:( ...and i know it isn't helping one bit for me to go off like this, but i really do get up in arms when someone I care about is suffering like this and something COULD potentially be done about it.....but NO....
I hate that feeling. It's a helpless feeling! It's like being a window of glass as the Dr stares right through us....NOT hearing or seeing the pain in our eyes! They really DO become complacent.
There are a few lucky patients out there who DO have Dr's who will prescribe according to the level of pain being described. But for the most part, and I've seen it time and time again, patients having to suffer (almost to the brink of suicidal) needlessly. ALL it would take is to up the dose or modify whatever works to help bide the time until the surgery date.

I'm beginning to see clearly that the 'hardest' part of getting the implant is the waiting. The time between getting the trial out and the permanent in is the hardest to get thru.
I had to wait 6 wks as the 'standard' time to heal from the trial procedure. But i have heard of a lucky few whose Dr's went ahead and did the permanent as soon as it was evident that it was going to work.

For what it's worth, just keep reminding yourself that, like Mark, the date WILL arrive and you DO have a good future.
I just hate to see the suffering. It can literally drive a person mad.

Do whatever you can to get thru this waiting. We know how strong you are. But if venting helps, then VENT all you want. It would be my hope that maybe the medical personnel would become a bit more enlightened on what it is really like to have to be in this type of pain. Maybe by some miracle, a pain specialist would actually come across these posts and be a bit more empathetic to what it's like to be on this end of the stick.

Your Peeps are here
Always
Rae
:hug:

Fiona,

You are not alone with your waiting and your frustrations...it just plain sucks that you have to wait for something that you know will help you! I had my trial and waited 3 1/2 months before I had the implant due to insurance, work, and financial reasons....what people neglect to think about is the actual patient who is in pain and needs this relief fast. What broke the camels back (pun intended) for me was that I had a date scheduled and the week before my Dr cancelled it because she decided to go on vacation so I had to postpone it to the next week. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster! How dare she go on vacation when I was in pain and ready for this surgery!!

BUT I had to remember in the grand scheme of things, would one more week truly "kill" me? (Or for that matter after the trial, I had to wait 3 1/2 months.) Yes, at times it did feel that way but I had to look back on my journey and all that I had endured. What I learned the most from my pain, tears, anger, sadness, and craziness of my pre-SCS journey was realizing that I was a strong person behind the pain. You, my friend, are a strong person!! Look at all you have had to endure to this point. Your surgery date will be here before you know it. You'll be smiling to yourself as you get out of your hospital bed because you'll remember Mark's story of flashing his pastor....someone will say something and it'll remind you of Rae's silly pictures on one of her posts.....you'll all of a sudden realize you don't have pain......and life will be good!!!!! The power of suggestion.....IT WILL HAPPEN!!!

:circlelove:

I want to add some things too.Yes the hardest part is the wait between the trial and the final implant. I would try to stay busy with things..anything so that you are not just laying around dwelling on the pain and the wait.I mean you are in pain either way so why not try and do something to distract your self for a few moments... and yes vent all you want. you gotta let those feelings out and not hold them inside or swallow them..let them out. sometimes when I get really over the top angry I grab a few old dishes or glasses and smash them the sound and the throwing helps me feel better. odd I know ha never said I was perfectly sane :rolleyes:. other times I write heck I write all the time .
Your doing good sister :hug: you are a fighter and we all see that your full of courage and determination . May what we have said to you give you even more strength and comfort durring this waiting period. ..try to think of some names for these twins.... I would say Tina and Tom :p..thats me and my twin bro's name lol T-n-T for short or Heckle and Jeckel ...Jack and Jill ...I am just tryin to distract ya a bit to keep your mind off the down side...think about knowing in less then 6 months you will be across the finish line and living a life where the pain is managed that in turn will improve and better everything else around you. sending gentle hugs super strength and non stop prayers for you a giant wish for this time to pass quickly . :smileypray:God please provide comfort patience protection and peace to Fiona .Guide her threw the waiting and the final surgery Please help things go smoothly and the scs be successful in drastically lowering the pain forever.
Thank You God.:smileypray:
Keep your chin up, stay strong and remember we are here for you ! we are praying and cheering you on all the way all the time! you CAN do this your almost there !! Dont look at the finish line until after you have crossed it... THEN look back at it
:grouphug:
PEACE
BMW...Tina

Thanks SO MUCH for all your kind words and support. The time between the trial and the implant seems to drag on and on, esp. when I've had a taste of pain relief. Sometimes I wish doctors had to live with some pain themselves so they'd be more understanding. They have no idea how chronic, unrelenting pain can absolutely drain you down and make you feel so depressed.

I did have to laugh when I read about Mark flashing folks when he had his hospital gown on. Reminded me of what happened several years ago. I had been in bed for 2 days (after my lumbar fusion), when the perky physical therapy gal came bouncing into my room saying "it's time to get you up and moving, you've been in bed wlay too long!" I looked up at her, through the post-surgical pain and all the morphine they had me on, and said "What?":eek:

My protests were in vain as she forced me to get out of bed, seeming to overlook the fact that I almost passed out from the pain as I got up out of bed. She then proceeded to make me walk the hallway for 5 minutes. She left saying she'd be back the next day.

As I lay there, in pain, grumpy, and in one bad mood thinking about her return visit the next day, I decided that if I was going to have to get up and walk I was going to do it on my terms. So, over the next hour or so, I slowly worked on finding a position where I could pull myself up enough to sit on the side of the bed, and the next hour after that I worked on finding a way to get up out of the bed and walk around my room for a while. Once I figured those tricks out, I decided to try to walk the hallway by myself, since it did have railings on the walls to hang on to.

Feeling extremely grumpy, in a lot of pain and heavily medicated, I start walking down the hall, knowing full well that my gown was not tied in the back and that the world was getting to see all that God had given me. I really could have cared less...all I was focused on was making sure that by the time perky-pants came back the next day I was going to be able to tell her I HAD been walking and she could leave me the heck alone.

After quite a few laps up and down the hall, past many patient rooms, one of the nurses at the desk suddenly saw my exposed rump and came running down the hall yelling "Fiona, Fiona, stop, stop". I just looked at her as though I had no idea why she was so upset and said "I'm up and walking, just like you want". She had a robe in her hands and proceeded to quickly put it on me to cover my hiney. After walking me back to my room, she said I'd walked enough for the day and that I could stay in my bed. As I lay there in bed, even in a lot of pain, I couldn't help but laugh to myself about it all.

The next day when the PT gal came by she said that she'd heard I'd been up and walking on my own and that she didn't think I needed her help any more. So, after that they left me alone and I was able to take my time and get up and walk.

Thanks, guys. Just remembering that puts a smile on my face:smirk:

omg fiona!!
 

:ROTFLMAO::ROTFLMAO::ROTFLMAO::ROTFLMAO:

will you marry me?

disgruntled rumps
 

:D Over the years I have seen, instigated and BEEN:eek: the disgruntled rump! I always thought I was a sympathatic nurse, that was until I was injured and discovered what TRUE, nonstop pain was. I have since learned, that if you have better pain management, patients get up and move better, have less pnemonia and better overall outcomes.
:hug:z

Hey Fiona
 

Hey Fiona- Just wanted you to know I am praying and hoping your days from now to Aug. 19 are at least manageable pain wise. Waiting can be VERY hard, as I know for sure; thus, just wanted to reach across the many miles and give hugs to one who is so full of compassion and probably needs a measure poured onto your shoulders as well.

:hug:z and :smileypray:erz,
mark56 PJ :)

Thanks, Mark. Glad to hear you're getting your life back. :)

This waiting is so hard. I tried several times to go without my pain meds. because, frankly, I'm tired of my life being a few hours half-awake (due to drinking tons of coffee), to being back in bed sleeping again. My day is all turned upside down...I seem to be most awake and alert after my husband goes to bed so by the time I get to bed (after doing a few things that have piled up), I don't get up till almost noon and then it's hitting coffee all day to try to stay awake...repeat cycle next day. I ended up going back on the pain meds. after only a few hours, after deciding that being in less pain and sleeping my life away was better than being awake and miserable.

Trying to get some things done around the house as I'm not sure how long I'll be laid up after getting "the twins". I know it's 3 months restrictions after surgery, but may be more challenging with getting two, so trying to get the house in a somewhat manageable state before the surgery. Thank the Lord for coffee beans:D

Pain Meds for a Reason
 

I know, I know.... those pain meds are a pain [especially when they stop you up as mine have :winky:]. My life was really little more than sleeping between doses, and this was without taking as much as my doc would have prescribed. I just did not want to "live" life comatose. It is not for lack of trying, but the family got used to me being "out of touch" on meds. A fact of the life into which, as our seventeen year old daughter put it, I had "descended" after the wreck. I really had no IDEA what my decline had caused for her until I heard her make the remark a little over an hour ago. Saw one of her high school coaches [she heads to college very soon] over the weekend, and he said he had bumped into her and she was overjoyed at the results I have gained in just a few short weeks since surgery. Wow! We do affect those around. But until the stim gets to running, the meds are a necessary part of pain management. :thud:

Your family will be thrilled to have Fiona back once again. I can just feel it through this experience with my own. My wife feels hope, real hope at the prospect of restorative recovery. Your husband will, no doubt, feel the same.

Things will be well. I have hope and prayers for you and for your family, my friend. Your twin devices should bring opportunity for healing in many ways within and among ALL of those closest to you.

Praying, after all, what else would I do, :smileypray:
Mark56 PJ :)