[lostmary]

Hi,

Just came back from Georgetown University Hospital in DC. The head of the dept saw me, and as it has spread from the left foot the the right foot and part of the leg, He said that I'll go with the scs. He said that if it was just on the left foot he would like to try some other things. as it is spreading, and he could see it, he said that we needed to get the scs asap. He said he wouldn't be surpirsed if it showed up in my hands next. As he wants to make sure that the insurance co. doesn't give us a hard time, he is going to do a block on Oct 8th. In the meantime, he is setting me up for a trial. I told him that I used to have a super high tolerance to pain. I'd set my own fingers and toes, tape them and go on. Now when I get a hangnail, I want to cry. He said that I still must have a high tolerance if I could walk on my feet. He said they are a mess. the toes (I didn't notice it) are curing under on the left foot. I'm getting a ans unit. Any thoughts on it would be great.
mary

[wakegirl]

when i got my scs for my lower body my doc considered both the abs and the ans systems he decided that for me the abs system made more sense because it has a paddle system that could be attached to the nerve root, at the time the ans system was a probe system where the small probes (tube like) that go directly into the spinal column. i know that abs was ahead of the other companies in the new system but ans was going to come out with the same thing shortly after my procedure (3/7). my guess is they have successfully made the transition. imho the scs for the lower extremity (lumbar) are far superior because the sensors go directly on the nerve instead of the upper body one that required the system be placed in the spinal cord. the insurance issue is at times a challlenge but if you have a successful block than your doctor will have the ammunition to say that not only will your condition decline but you will require an increased number of blocks so it will be cheaper to do the scs. my only words of advice after having a little more practice than is needed with the scs systems i would say dont be afraid to turn up the system during the trial. most people i have talked to and myself included the first time around the electricity felt so strange i was affraid to turn it way up...i only did so under the guidence of the system rep in the doctors office. in order to get an idea of whether or not the system is really going to cover a broad range of your pain (different for everyone), if you dont know for sure during the trial and when they wake you up during the procedure for confirmation that the paddles are exactly where they needed to be you may end up with an only somewhat effective set up. another lesson learned when you have the trial done have whoever is at the set up appointment with you and the rep take good notes about the distinction between the spacing of each interval (short-short-short, long-short-long, long-long-long) for each program set up. then when you go home during the trial keep a journal about what program seemed most effective the voltage that worked best with each program and the results. that way you can tell the rep which programs were the most helpful, at what level, and to what degree, and which one didnt help as much.
if you have any questions feel free to fire away i have a different system but as i said they are similar.