Saffy's Questions
 

I tried to edit the title of the "What do my family need to know" thread, but couldn't .. I don't know if that can be incorporated in this one? :o

1. What do you need to take into Hospital with you?
2. What sort of clothes are comfiest?
3. When you come out, what clothes did you find the best to wear?
4. How did you manage to wash your hair? I would usually bend over the
bath but obviously that's not going to be possible.
5. Did you get frustrated at not being able to clean the house?
6. Did you have help in the house when you first came home? Should I ask
my husband to take some time off work?
7. Can you never bend repetatively any more? I.E. Fill shelves .. I used to
work in retail and my position is one where there is only one person ever
on duty at any one time therefore if milk crates need lifting or heavy
bundles of newspapers, there's only me to do it.
8. Why do they need to know what side you sleep on? I'm all over the
place .. tummy, both sides. (Never on my back though)
9. How do you know if a lead has become misplaced?


That's it ... for now :D:D

My twopence worth !!!
 

Saffy :D well I will try my best to answer your questions...well how I managed anyway ok so here goes:

1. I was in hospital for 3 nights. So I took loose fitting pj's , dressing gown, slippers, wash bag(and all that goes in it ;)) towels, bed socks.....then some magazines, ipod, mobile phone, puzzle books?! (if you them) and anything else that will wile away the time for you.

2. As I said in hospital I wore pj's which I did wear a lot when I got home too. As for the first couple of weeks I didnt get dressed much just sat around in my pj's and dressing gown. But also sweatpants are great or leggings too. Anything that is loose fitting and isnt too tight on the incision sites.

3. Anything loose is great. I couldnt wear my jeans because for the first few weeks I was swollen a bit around the incision sites and I was afraid to put any pressure on it. So pj's , sweatpants, leggings, shorts......anything loose.

4. When you have your SCS implanted you cant shower for about 3 weeks:eek: well at least until the stitches come out. Like that if I wasnt having a shower and wanted to wash my hair I would also generally bend over the bath. But this time I got my husband to do it for me. I made sure I knelt on the ground and as close to the bath as possible and a quick wash did the trick. I didnt care what I looked like tbh. He also blowdryed (blowdried SP?) it the first couple of weeks too.

5. YESSSSSS is the answer to not being able to clean the house:eek: My hubby was great but it just wasnt the same. SO.....YOU HAVE TO LOOK AWAY!!!! you really do need to turn a blind eye and just relax and wait for the initial 'waiting' period to be over.....SO no housework.....I was told that for 6/8 weeks I couldnt lift anything heavy, even the kettle......no bending, stretching, stretching over your head either, twisting....its just basically all the things you do instinctively but have to make sure you dont.

6. My hubby was at home for the first 10 days or so. For that time, well depending on how quickly you heal, you will need help. Cooking, helping you up the stairs, even helping at times in the bathroom. The first few days can be quite painful, because afterall you have just had surgery, so the incision sites will be painful. But it wont last forever it does heal up. So as the weeks pass you will feel a bit more 'yourself'

7. Like I was saying earlier, in the 'waiting period' you must not do any of those things I mentioned. Now as regards getting back to work etc and the amount of work you do ie, bending and lifting, that you should really discuss with you doctors. You will know how you feel when the SCS is implanted and what relief you will be getting, hopefully LOADS ;) but I do think that when the time comes its something you will need to discuss with your team.

8. Im not 100% sure why they ask the question about what side you sleep on. I was never actually asked. I generally sleep on my back, as I cant sleep on my left side, the side thats the worst. Again Im sure someone here will have the answer, but if not ask your Dr why he would ask that question.

9. Well when the leads are placed and they set them up you will have the sensations where you need it, hopefully. If at some stage, and HOPEFULLY not.......that they move, I believe the sensations will be completely different, maybe in a completely different area, or worse still you cant fell anything at all. Hopefully nothing like that will happen. I know a few of the posters here have had trouble so they will be best able to help you on that one more ok.

Well I hope I have given you a small insight. Im sure others will come on and give you their experiences too. :)

Jackie:hug:

Which side do you sleep on....
 

......is basically a 'courtesy question'......thinking in terms of where the incision will be for your battery pocket..
Some people have a favored side they sleep on, so the Dr will do the incision on the opposite side so as not to have to sleep on the 'ouchy' side :)

Hmm .. do you think I will be able to handle a motorboke / scooter when it's all done and settled.

YOU GUYS ARE SO WONDERFUL. Saffy, you asked great questions! and I am so impressed by your desire and drive to be able to go back to work and ride a scooter!!! when is your surgery? I have a couple more questions for the all knowing ladies and gents on this forum:

1) Did any one have bowel/bladder or sexual issues from your injury or related to your nerve pain? if yes did the SCS help with that at all?

2) Did anyone have neurodeficits associated with your pain/injury and was it changed by your SCS?

3) Did anyone have an inhome nurse after the surgery?

I think that is it for now, and as always thank you all for being so wonderful!!!!:)

My pleasure twinmom ..

Goodness knows when/if my operation is going to be. I'm off to Sheffield tomorrow to see the Nurse Specialist who looks after all the SCS patients. She will fill me in on what system they are using I guess and answer "any other questions"

Questions I have for her so far are;

1. What system will it be?
2. Can I choose where to have the battery placed .. I'd quite prefer it to be in my
stomach area so I can keep an eye on it.
3. After the Physce Evaluation on the 16th November, how long will it be before the
trial.
4. I know the stimulator has settings, but can I choose the one I like rather than the
one the rep thinks will work best? I hate the gripping sensation on my Tens Machine
and usually keep it on the full buzz with the sensation going from low to high.
5. Will my stim be affected by a thunderstorm?
6. Will my OH feel it if it is on whilst we are err .. *cough* ...

I think she will cover the rest .. who to contact should anything go wrong. (I believe it's her)
Whether it's percutaneous or laminectomy?

All that sort of stuff.

I need to ask her about work. Will I be able to to bend low to fill shelves, carry heavyweights .. i.e. a crate of milk, bundles of newspapers.

I've lost the letter telling me which Hospital is. THough I'm pretty certain it's the Northern General in Sheffield .. or it may be the Hallamshire .. though am pretty sure it's the Northern General. Ooops !

The Utmost Honesty
 

Toot, toot hey beep, beep! Do not take a thing with you. Forget being comfortable. I was in there for 10 days, I did 10 days, if you know what I mean. If you take it, they will steal it! Then when you get home, they will still try to take from you for three more months. 90 days for the EOB's to lay low! Then they will really try to take it from you. Even if you do take something to be comfortable with, you may poop all over it! Or, even worse they can only get an IV started in your jugular vein and you bleed all over it!Get real, I'm probably the angriest old timer here, I should know. When you get bored from not having your cell phone or your teddy bear,Volunteer for your local nursing students coming onboard to your local hospital! You"ll feel like a million bucks! You helped all those students pass their from a lemon to a human class Take care, the best you can, cause no one else will, Good Luck, WTR Nymph

:winky::grouphug::grouphug:

Mwahhh?
 

Could you translate this to English please ??

My last hospital stay was no vacation!
 

Hello Rrae, I really get steaming, when people act as if they were going on vacation in the hospital. I was so sick last time they did not allow my family to visit for several days. The only IV they could get started was from my jugular vein. Three nurses held me down like a prisoner. I was not allowed to even get out of bed for a week. I was treated like a prisoner. Us long timer's on narcotics also need a little help to go potty. They even took my colace from me. I think alot of my problems with this hospital center around, understaffing. I had to wait three days for a PICC line to get started. As for the Explanation Of Benefits we recieve from our insurance companies, This hospital has been paid over a million dollars for the last four hospital stays. They still want more money! This is why I stand firm on do not take a thing w/you, in the end they will try to take it all. I have catasrophic coverage and they still want more. These bio devices are not something to take lightly. It is a big deal no matter if you are going for a SCS of an Itrathecal drug delivery system. I'm one of those still dragging my black bag of Oxacillin around 4 months later just because I chose to have pain pump implanted. I don't know where these people are comin from with their psych eval and having to wait! All of my pre-operative B.S. went down in less than two months, including my pump trial which they let me have for five days, not the usual three. I'm just seeing alot of B.S. around here and people need to take issues seriously! Lots of Hugs, My horses are out this morning and it's quite cold. But, that beaver is still building an even bigger home on the pond. Gotta go. Doc appointments today, WTR Nymph