explorong SCS after T-11 to L-5 fusion
 

Hi, I am new to this thread and am exploring the option of a scs. Here is my story; I am 38 and about 18 months ago I was in an auto accident and suffered a L-1 burst fracture with retropulsion (bone fragment schrapnel) into my spinal cord. I had emergency surgery ater the accident which resulted in a spinal fusion from T-11 through L-5 including 2 12 inch rods, 24 screws and a 4 inch cross stabelizing bar at T-12.

Since the accident I have unyealding leg pain in both legs however worse on the right with associated neuro deficits and severe back pain from both the initial injury and the extensive hardware. I have tried just about every medication combination that you can think of from duragesic patches to oral meds, etc and after all kinds of complications I discontinued ALL medication in March of 2010 and since that time I just "live" with it. On a scale of 1 - 10 I can not remember a day since my accident that is less than a 7 from both leg and back pain and I am discouraged, depressed and dispondet about the pain.

At the time of my accident I had 15 month old twin boys and worked full time in the Emergency room and now I am unable to walk more than 50 to 100 feet every 3-4 hours and can not sit for more than 20 to 30 minutes at a time before I have to lie down. My sleep pattern is awful and I get fractured segments of sleep for 20 to 30 minutes at a time before pain causes me to wake and switch positions. I had been told a year ago that due to the free floating bone fragments in and around my spinal cord and the extensive hardware I was not a candidate for a SCS. I recently had additional tests and met a new pain doctor that feels I could be a candidate because the damage in my back is as "healed" as it is going to get.
I am afraid to get excited but amexcited to learn that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it is the light from a single match! at this point I will take it! I am curious about your experience; what was your stim surgery recovery like, what brand do you have, why have some people had more than one, have you tried a pain pump? if yes which worked better for you, is there anyone out there with similar injuries that has a stim? THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!

Please forgive my spelling errors, I did not proof read!!!

Welcome Twinmom. Thanks fir sharing your story. I'm so sorry to readabout your accident and hiwvit has left you so debilitated. I've decency had a scs implanted, august 5th 2010. I suffer with Failed Back Syndrome. Mi e wascaused from a herniated disc which continued on to two spinal fusions with rods screws etc. Unfortunately that didn't help the pain in my back and legs. So the scs was my last resort. However all my metal as taken out a couple of years ago due tonit causing more pain than not. Thereare a whole bunch of wonderful people on this site whole have gone through the scs inland. Many success stories too. So take time to read throughout many of the wonderful posts and also the sticky thread at the topwith lots of valuable information
So far my scs is helping with the searing pain in my legs and only some inmy back. I need tohave more reprogramming done over the next few months. But definitely I do get some relief which is a bonus after having this dreaded pain for over 5 and a half years.
I hope you find and get all the information you need in relation to the scs.

Thanks for sharing your story :)

Jackie:)

Welcome Twinmom. Thanks for sharing your story. I'm so sorry to readabout your accident and how it has left you so debilitated. I've recently had a scs implanted, august 5th 2010. I suffer with Failed Back Syndrome. Mine was caused from a herniated disc which continued on to two spinal fusions with rods screws etc. Unfortunately that didn't help the pain in my back and legs. So the scs was my last resort. However all my metal was taken out a couple of years ago due to it causing more pain than not. Thereare a whole bunch of wonderful people on this site whole have gone through the scs implant. Many success stories too. So take time to read throughout many of the wonderful posts and also the sticky thread at the topwith lots of valuable information
So far my scs is helping with the searing pain in my legs and only some inmy back. I need to have more reprogramming done over the next few months. But definitely I do get some relief which is a bonus after having this dreaded pain for over 5 and a half years.
I hope you find and get all the information you need in relation to the scs.

Thanks for sharing your story :)

Jackie:)

ps I do apologise about the typo errors in this post, but I wrote it this morning with my iphone, hence the mistakes !!!! DUH!!!

Welcome to our little family :D

I would definitely give the SCS a try. I have had back pain for years (during which time I've had 5 back or neck surgeries) and also have peripheral neuropathy which includes some areas where my nerves have become entrapped due to a connective tissue disease I also have (yep, I'm a mess, too:winky:)

I was on the strongest pain meds. and was headed for a life of being on methadone (which I hear is NOT a good place to be), when my dad told me he had heard a nurse talk about her SCS experience. Before that I didn't even know such a thing existed and thought my life was going to be one of feeling drugged, depressed and watching life pass me by.

I got a referral from my neurosurgeon to a pain mgmt. dr. and he gave me the DVD to watch and said that if I didn't do something I'd be bedridden in about 10 years. That was rather shocking to hear as I'm only 51 years "young". I was more concerned about my husband having to take care of me in that condition (as if he hadn't already had enough to deal with). My pain mgt. dr., who also was the one who did the surgery, said that the SCS is used for nerve pain and nerve-related diseases. So I opted for the trial thinking what the hey. I went through both a cervical and lumbar trial, about 3 months apart, and got such pain relief I said yes to getting the two permanent implants.

While the post-surgery has been challenging (don't do this, can't do that etc.) and will continue to be for a good year (they say to give it a good year between surgery and "full" healing where you can't mess up the leads), the pain relief I have now has been well worth it. I'm not going to lie and say I'm now 100% pain free as I do have other health issues to deal with, but the significant reduction in pain has been well worth it and is making my other health issues easier to tolerate.

If I could offer you any advice it would be this: get the pain mgmt. dr., or surgeon, who has done A LOT of these procedures as his/her experience is just as important (if not more so) as how you take care of yourself after the surgery. Good luck!!

Welcome Twinmom!
 

Welcome to NT! You've come upon a WONDERFUL place full of caring people who 'know' what this is all about.......living in this amount of pain is a complete ripoff, and I am so very sorry to hear about the accident that has left you in this condition......:(
AND you have young twins!! (I too have twin boys age 15)......

Like the others have said, this is a wonderful 'family'....and we talk 'real talk'....not the commercialized stuff you get from searching the websites of these units......
The good news I'm seeing is you've got a Dr who wants to give you a chance at this! If you've got a good relationship with your doctor and he's looking out for your best interest....then DO THE TRIAL!! It could possibly be something that may give you back a decent quality of life!
Several here have their SCS's due to car accidents.
If you have insurance to cover this, then go for it! The trial procedure will give you a chance to weigh your options and you can find out if this is something that may work.
If the trial proves to be of no benefit, then at least you have tried.

I hope you stick around and feel welcome here.....
We all look out for each other and this forum has been a Godsend ....
Even if you don't go with the SCS, the other forums here are full of folks who know what it's like to live with chronic pain.....and we all learn and grow from one another.
I felt completely alone in my battle until I came upon this wonderful place....

It's good to have you.......
Just holler if you need help in finding your way around.....

Truly Caring
Rae
:hug:

Thank You!
 

I want to thank everyone for their posts and for all the information. I am still curious to know the what kind of injuries other people are dealing with, I have been hard pressed to find anyone out there with similar injuries to myself and am truly eager to know what your recovery has been like and if SCS has worked for you. I am also interested in knowing if anyone has tried a pain pump, what kind etc.

Good Questions!
 

Others will surely join on your thread and share more detail...

Some who come to mind off the top of my head are "Vannafeelbetter" (she actually has 2 SCS's and speaks very highly of what they have done for her since her car accident(s)).... "Bobinjeffmo" has Pain Pump.......Mark56 would be an excellent thread to read (Entitled 'Boston Scientific') - Marks thread has over 450 posts which chronicle his journey and bravery as he received his SCS......he is currently on the job market ! (which 5 years ago seemed an impossible goal to even dream of reaching!).........

You can find members at top of page by doing a search in the 'Members List".
You can post a visitor message on their profile page and they will gladly help in answering questions and share.

Others, like myself, have SCS due to chronic pain conditions (mine is peripheral neuropathy/CRPS in both legs)....6 years in to this condition and still no known cause (?).......I've had my SCS almost 9 months. It's working well and takes about 70% of the horrible constant burning pain.......

As you read and get to know our stories, you will see that there is a broad spectrum of testimonials......not all are 'happy endings', but these implants can and do offer better quality of life......though there is much involved with getting one.

Also, you may want to post your specific spine injury on the "Spinal" forum here at NT and perhaps you'll get feedback regarding your injury and healing.
You've had a doozy of an injury and I hope you get feedback that can target this.

So glad to have you here
Rae
:hug:

Hi Twinmom
 

Hi Twinmom, welcome to our group :) I am so sorry about your pain and your car accident. I have had my stim (Boston Scientific) since 2008, and I had to get mine because of injuries I got from a car accident. My injuries were different than yours because it happened because I had just had back surgery for a herniated disk the summer before my accident and there was scar tissue from it wrapped around the nerve and when I got hit (multiple times) it ended up causing nerve damage. I was in constant pain in my lower back and both legs and I went through injections, meds, physical therapy, etc. but we finally did the trial scs and I was able to get relief. After the trial I then had the permanent one put in and it totally gave me back my life because I was able to walk all over campus and I was not on any pain meds anymore (now it took awhile to get to that point). I was unable to do any spinal surgeries to fix the nerve because they said it would cause me to be paralyzed so the stim was my last resort! Ihad to have a revision in 2009 because my leads moved and was okay until I fell last September. I have to have another surgery for my stim though because my leads moved after a fall and they need to change things so I can get it working right again. The surgery itself was not too bad, I have had many surgeries and I think the most painful one was my hysterectomy. You just have to becareful of limitations as you heal so the leads scar into place and I went back to school in about a month. But everyone's experience is different and the surgery I am going to have is to put in the paddle leads which are supposed to stay in place more than the other leads they have done, it is a big concern for me because I fall when my legs go numb. I will say though make sure you have a really good pain doctor that you trust because I have had to change mine and I am so thankful I did! That is my experience and I hope it has helped a little bit. If you have any questions feel free to ask! I definitely think you should consider the trial though because it might be able to help you! I don't know anything about pain pumps, just the stim. I am sure others will share with you their experiences too. Take care :hug:'sTara.

Rrae,

thanks for the info, I truly appreciate it. I have one more question; what was your recovery from surgery like? I have read everything fro 8 weeks to a year for full recovery from SCS surgery. What did you experience?