Charles Jenkins new SCS Implant
 

I know, I am not Charles, but wanted to help him get started on posting what I hope for him and others will be a helpful site for abdominal pain pump implant wannabees, newbies, and oldies. Charles and all have much to share, so here is a place. Charles, can you kick off with a lead in on your surgey and post surgery experience?

Praying all will be well,
Mark56 PJ :)

Welcome Charles
 

Hi Charles:)

Welcome to this fantastic site. You will find it so beneficial as I have and I too am a newbie........

Im a middleaged lady from Dublin Ireland. I have Failed Back syndrome due to surgeries with neuropathetic pain in both legs and back.

I too have had an SCS implanted. It was done on the 5th August, so Im just 3 weeks over it now. Yes the first few days are very painful and it is necessary to rest up as much as you can. Also be careful with bending, twisting, jerking, sudden movements etc. And dont shower!!! dont want to get those wounds wet or your IPG either.
I read from your post in the sticky thread that you havent your Stim turned on, Im not sure if thats regular. I had mine turned on the day after my surgery. My rep came first thing in the morning and he showed me how to regulate it etc.

At the moment I am having good relief from my stim. It works fantastic on my legs and upper legs, however, I need to have it turned up to try to get my lower back covered. I have 5 programmes at present. I have emailed my rep and was told that they will be able to give me some programmes for standing, walking, lying down so that I can have all areas covered.

I wish you a speedy recovery and hope that you too will get the relief that so many of the posters here are experiencing. Please read their testimonies also as there are some magnificent stories of some magnificent people.

Hope this is of some help...:)

Yooo Hoooo!
 

Charles!!! http://dl3.glitter-graphics.net/pub/...phdqcsvyfz.gif

Where are you!

New scs
 

OK this is the real charles jenkins:D, Rae and Mark56 was so helpful in my decision on trial and Permanent SCS only way to repay is pass it foward:) Just had implant done on the 25th had major stomach pain and spent a day in emergency room for nothing except peace of mind with today being the fifth day thing are better most of stomach pain is gone and pain in mostly confined to back and incision site, wife says i am a wimp:hug: when it come to pain I am scheduled to turn on september 9th I assumed their would not be that much pain after surgery, but i had major, major pain days 2 & 3 maybe because I am a wimp:) no problem with procedure in/out same day sent home, probably ate too much after procedure that cause some of my pain, i enjoy eating and i had to go from 11:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. without food or drink:eek:

new scs
 

thanks for info i finally took a shower yesterday:D my rep wants me out of my acute pain period in order to get good program set for me, I think its a control thing, she was on vacation when I went thru trial, I'm ok with it, sounds like a plan so how is the weather in ireland? I am 56 years young:D you live someplace where i would like to visit meet quite a few people from ireland when I live in Germany for 10 years

There You Are
 

Charles-

There you are!!! Glad you could get on and begin to introduce yourself! This is exactly how this wonderful place works, and your information will tend to be more visible now than buried in a Sticky where places, URLs, links are supposed to go.

Anyway, it is great to see that as you progress moment by moment, hour by hour you will survive the acute pain piece to receive that all important program for your device. Then is when the real help from your device begins..... and for me it has been nothing short of awesome!!

Germany! Where were you? I went to school a bit thereabouts, picked up language and the like. YEARS ago. There was no [as Rae would say it] silver in my hair then.:D

Feel better soon!
Mark56 PJ :)

Way to go Charles~
 

Thank you Mark for starting his thread! :)

Congrats on your implant Charles. Allow yourself the time you need to get out of this 'acute phase' <<--- good terminology :)

We are here for you, cheering you on, a shoulder to lean on, an ear to bend.....all that good stuff.

So glad you are here!
Any time you have something you'd like to talk about, just ad a post to this thread of yours and it'll bump this thread to the top, we'll all see it, and all your experience will be in one easy-to-find thread yayyy!

Take care of yourself and do the 'baby steps'....:p i know that is so hard for you tough guys to comprehend :rolleyes: but please just take extra special care of yourself so you can heal up right!

Caring Always,
Rae
:hug:

Keep it up Charles!!
 

There you go...... healing! Keep up the good work. BABY STEPS just as Rrae said. Gotta go easy. Day by day, hour by hour it will improve! Promise.

Mark56:)

Yes how true those words are!!!! but sometimes Im finding it VERY long indeed. Especially today, when the sun is splitting the trees here, (now thats rare here in Ireland) we do get our seasons mixed up:wink:and all I want to do is GET OUT in the garden and enjoy!!!!.......only four and a half weeks left:eek:

As the song goes I WILL SURVIVE!!!!:cool:

Mark56 you must know us old soldier types, I never ever learned to pace myself, old gun ho soldier and usually jump in with both feet and take off like its a contest, so those word you are saying pace yourself keeps reminding me i am not 25 any longer. Today have been a good day for most part kinda wish I had my unit turned on to help with back pain i am experiencing it a sharp stabbing pain, but most of my stomach pain is gone. I was in
Heidelberg and Schwinfurt germany from 1983 to 1993 loves that place almost stayed their and retired, travel quite a bit with family while we were their for ten years

Pain Pump or SCS?
 

Pardon~ my incoherence :o
Charles, did you get the pain pump or the spinal cord stimulator??

Your thread says the Pump but you are saying the SCS
Your battery unit is in your abdomen, correct?

I hope you are doing well today!

Thank you for keeping us updated!

Rae
:hug:

I got the spinal cord stimulator:) i see u caught it:) you must be a good listener:)

Gotcha!
 

aaHA! OK!
Well, if you want, we can get that corrected for you....

Mark can send Chemar a PM and they can change it to SCS if you want, so it won't confuse folks.

I'm glad your stomach pain is going away, but sorry to hear about the sharp stabbing pain.....hopefully this will fade away soon

You are great!
So glad you've come aboard!
:grouphug:

that would be great if we could get it changed,my computer skill are very limited

Mea Culpa
 

Itsa my fault. I messed up with the name. Must be some short circuit in my bionics or brain or something..... anyway, I have duly sent a request to Chemar asking for a correction to the name.

Sorry Charles, glad I never packed a parachute for you, sorry never counts there.

Hope you are feeling better and that the thread is named properly soon.
Mark56:o

Ah, I was in Berlin
 

My time was in Berlin at the University. Did you ever make it to Dinkelsbuhl? Beautiful little walled town near Nurnberg. Rothenberg was nice too.

I understand the hard to pace mantra, our son suffers the same wondering why other soldiers don't carry their load well. Frustrates him. He just pushes harder. Thinks he wants to go Green to Gold, we'll see.

Hope that sharp stabbing pain is evening out now. Things will improve once your device is turned on. Then you get to go AHHHhhhhh..... and that is not a cry from jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft.

Sleep well tonight,
Mark56:)

Oh My!
 

Real Soldier Talk!
:ROTFLMAO:

Thanks i needed the laugh.......u are great :p

See, now there you go
 

One cannot have a real soldier in the family without engaging in real soldier talk. Also, I notice Chemar was so kind as to repair the damage I originally inflicted on the thread name.:D

Thanks to Chemar, Rae who suggested it, Charles who was a good sport!
Hope that pain continues to lessen, Charles!!
Mark56 :)

And thank YOU Mark.....
 

You so graciously saved our planet, which no doubt was knocked out of orbit due to this horrendous mis-hap.........
Thank God we're all fine........whew! :Bow:

Just think of the mass panic that could have ensued:OuttaHere:

Fiona probably would have left her BM meds behind during the mad rush for survival........oh Lord this just wouldn't have been good at all.
.......Jackie would have been left hanging in the brink UNTWEEKED!!! :eek:

Let's take a moment to regroup :grouphug: and say a prayer of thanks.

Rae lol
 

:D :D :D :D :D :D Rae

This Adulation is Killing Me
 

:Ponder::Blush2::ROTFLMAO::Clever::Head-Spin::Soapbox:

Next time I goof up, I'll just leave the planet off its axis:D
Mark56 PJ :D

Oh Lord Please tell me we haven't scared off Charles!!
 

We have GOT to quit this people! :eek:
..........:rolleyes:......can you imagine US trying to run a professional SCS ButtBuzz Counsel !
We'd all be laughing so hysterically at our board meetings, we'd be causing short-curcuit surges thru-out half the city!!!
:cool:

update SCS day eight(8) after surgery
 

I seem to be experiencing pain :mad:in the lower stomach area where my generator is implanted, which is the right side of my hip I have a history of kidney stone, has anyone ever had stone problem after implant or is this a common symptom, still unable to sleep in a bed sleeping on my couch potato chair:)

funny(ROFL)
 

you guys have a great sense of humor, loves al the little extra that are added to messages

I'm having same sort of soreness
 

Charles: I, too, am having some discomfort (soreness more than actual "pain") where one of my implants was placed. I'm attributing it to having the area cut into, pocket made for the implant etc. I don't really start getting sore there until I get up and start moving around. When laying down it doesn't bother me so bad, so makes me think it's the whole "you've just had your body cut up and something totally alien put into it and you have to give it time to heal" thing (now, don't go "Alien" on me here...nothing is going to leap out from your abdomen :eek:)

Hi Charles

The only pain that I have at the moment as regards my implant, its in my left butt btw, is when I sit down against it, it hurts and up higher in my back where I expect the leads are either ending or pressing on something is rather sore too. Im not too sure bout getting stones problem though :rolleyes: sorry

Jackie :)

going alien
 

Thanks :eek:I wonder if my ears will change and start to become pointy? or will my skin turn green

OOOoooo Aliens
 

Hey Charles, it is good to hear from you, even though the pain thing in the abdomen is so bothersome. Interestingly, I originally hurt more on the T8 level where they did the laminectomy to insert the paddles, and not so much down at the generator area. On the other hand, the generator area in my right hip has been bothersome of late as the swelling goes away and I am left with the unit "right there." It tends to bother when I am wearing a belt with pants.... so maybe suspenders. I don't know... Your abdominal incision for generator insertion just would seem tender to me, almost like getting into an appendectomy scenario, where muscle would have been affected. Did they go through muscle wall there?

As for Aliens popping out of abdomens, well, I will leave that line of humor, and it is good to have it, for the abdominal folks, while anyone with a posterior insertion has to wonder about the possibility of a Manitou popping out of the back [now that is an old and sappy movie].

Glad you are keeping your sense of humor, Charles!
Mark56 PJ:)

Mark: now you've peaked my curiosity about the "Manitou" movie. I'm a Godzilla fan, myself, as I love wacky monster movies. Especially liked "Godzilla meets Bambi"...short and to the point.

Hmmmm...with being laid up and having a Netflix subscription may have to look into this Manitou thing. See what odd things you do to us, Mark. Have finally finished all 6 Star Wars so now I'm intrigued to find something else to fill up empty hours. Hey, at least I'm not into soap operas, so i do have something going for me.

Charles...keep an eye on those ears of yours and run to the doctor at the first sign of turning green :eek:

Well...hmmmm....found "The Manitou"....think I'll pass on that one as it may give me bad dreams, esp. when my implant incision sites start hurting :eek::eek:

I'm sorry about your abdominal pain Charles....
 

Pain SUX, there's no two ways about it.
You are a good sport to chime in on the humor, despite being in the pain you are in.
Maybe call the Dr office and keep them uptodate on this? They'll want to know if you are funning a fever?

I hope it subsides for you, so your weekend can look better for you
:hug:
Rae

looking out for manitou
 

my unit is located on the right upper side of my butt, it seem like my side but doctor says it the butt, does this mean i have to watch out for Manitou:)

Noooooooo
 

omg:eek: I do hope I dont have any MANITOU popping out of my left butt:D:D Ive just read up on it:eek: Now that would be freaky!!!

update on SCS and Pain
 

Hello SCS family just a little update, I was finally able lay down and sleep in a bed which was great!!! I also have Sleep apnea and I purchase a new bed that you can raise up and down and my wife told me I did not snore, maybe I can get off the machine. My pain persist in area of generator, but I guess it just take time. It was better one day then the next it was very painful, trying to figure out what I did to cause onset of pain, today it's no problem, getting restless want to go out for a drive:):cool: tomorrow I get my unit turned on, yeaaaaaa:) i am picking up about charging the unit from the post from other, I am a hard headed person according to my wife, I plan on taking myself off medication at my pace once SCS is turned on, has anyone done this?

Hi Charles
 

Hi Charles :)

Good to hear that you are being turned on tomorrow, good luck with that:winky:

Im just 5 weeks over my surgery now and I too have some pain in the region of the IPG. It will take time Im sure to heal, my DR did say to give it at least 3/4 months for the skin to toughen over it.

I am going tomorrow to have my stim reprogrammed so looking forward to that. I havent dropped my meds yet so Im hoping that after tomorrow I will get the coverage I need and leave those meds in the pharmacy where they belong!! I know Mark has banished his meds and by the sounds of it he is doing fantastic:)

Good luck tomorrow Charles :)

Charles
 

Ask your doc about the pacing of withdrawal from meds. The reason for this is to ease your body down from relatively high levels of medication. In so doing, your doc can help you avoid the risks of to rapid reduction. Ask. It is what they are there for.

SO GLAD YOU are feeling better, have slept better, are beginning to think in terms of life after surgery!! This is a good thing...... a good thing indeed!

Blessings on you,
Mark56:)

As Mark and I have found out, when pacing yourself down off the pain meds., you may run into some bad nausea for a while. We both did. We found that the suppository, "Compazine", worked very good for the nausea. Not a nice way to take a med., I know, but with the way it helped I had no problem taking it that way. If you need advice on taking a suppository, Mark and I will be glad to chime in, I'm sure. :D:D

Steps
 

#1 DO NOT let the suppository get warm
#2 IF it gets warm place it in the fridge until it cools or it will melt in your hand as you attempt insertion, making a mess and wasting a dose.
#3 Be thankful both for the saving grace of such means of abating nausea, and ALSO that this is not the way we eat [I thought of that as I took my dose last night, and about laughed myself silly]. Cleo did not get the joke [bleah].
#4 Wash your hands well after insertion, no exceptions.

Mark56:D:grouphug:

MARK!! lol
 

:D:D:D:DMark I just CANT imagine feeding myself that way:eek::eek::eek:

official member of the butt buzzer club
 

Well I have been turn on so i'm buzzing along with you guys, I am thinking it will take a couple of day before the SCS really start to work, I seem to remember in the trial it took a few days before it work? I got four program and will be program again next wednesday the 15th any ideas or suggestion?