Just throwin this out there......
Taking into consideration that you have several seperate pain issues and only a percentage of them are being addressed with the SCS, has anyone ran the idea of the Pain Pump by you?

We have a wonderful horse lover here who's been thru the ringer with 2 failed SCS's and finally she found a Dr willing to do the Pain Pump....and she says it has completely changed her life and is almost ready to ride again ....for the first time in 5 years! Her screen name is "LostMary", so if you can seek out her posts, she could give you a pretty good run down....
Thing is, we hardly hear of the PP's because most Dr's don't want to make that long-term commitment with the patient Re: refilling the meds.

I think once your post count here reaches 20, you'll have access to being able to send private messages and other features......

Just wondered what your opinion is or what you've heard Re: the Pain Pumps.....

And yes, I think that stinks that the one Dr told you NOT to ever ride again!
Sure it's a 'risk'.......but so is driving to all these @#$% Dr Visits we must endure!! ANYthing can happen, but you are obviously an avid and experienced rider, so you should get a bit more respect from your Dr.

I am so grateful that you've latched on to this forum! This SCS/PP forum was just recently created 2 months ago and I'm simply blown away by how quickly it has grown by leaps and bounds. I'm not exaggerating when I say that at least 1 or 2 new members comes here EACH day asking about these units!!
PLEASE keep your thread updated, so we can 'follow' you along with this journey we all share! We truly NEED each other's stories/info/and support.

Your input is VERY valuable!
Rae

what you have to worry about is the leads coming out or loose from movement any kind of movement. i was warned many times about falling on the ice and having to come in and do another procedure to put the wires back in place.

it would be difficult to know how fast you scar up cuz there isnt a test for that. at 4 months my wires were scarred in but the doctors said they tell everyone a year to be safe. once scarred in it will make it tougher for the wires to come out.

did you have a paddle put in or just leads cuz a paddle is sewn in. they put a hole(lamenectomy)in your vertebra to help make sure it stays in place.

placement where your leads/paddle are will make a difference too. some places in the body are better protected(more secure).

i dont think any of the 3 scs company's would ok horse riding. this covers their butt. i think the 3 company's will pass that to the doctor and have him/her give the ok to ride. just remember every time they open you up it is one more chance for infection to happen which is by far the biggest complication during/after scs surgery.

hi all,

I'm back. I was just stopping in before I stopped for the night. I need to go out and feed the horses and put them up before bed. It was great to see this thread. You all know me. My horses are my reason for being. I was told that with the scs you can't ride as you could pull the leads out. I do know that Metronics ( who has the pain pump that I have), allow it. In fact, their book that they put out for patients to read before the implant, talks about a patient who is now back to riding. I'm hoping to get back on my boys within the next 2 weekends or so. I'm so excited. I'm back to doing all the barn chores, grooming, shedding the hairy things out, lol, tractor riding, dragging pastures. I've also planted my garden for this year, and I've been weed eating and rakeing things up to have the area look better. Did I mention how great I'm feeling. I'm still sore when the pump was implanted, but I understand that can take a while to lose its sensativity. I got a pair of riding pants a size larger so I can wear them and not irritate the pump. I'm so happy with this decision. I'm even getting ready to go back to work part time. I don't want fulll time because it would take time away from my animals. all the cats, dogs, and horses really need a lot of my time. I've got to go, I can hear Renny calling wanting his beet pulp so he can go to bed. I'll check back in tomorrow and post some more. I'm not forgetting you all. You are all my family.

Hugs
Mary

Both my pain management specialist and I decided against the pain pump because with horses you just never know what will happen and the thought of getting kicked where the pain pump rests isn't a great thought! I'd much rather take the chance of pulling my leads. I am also allergic to morphine and morphine derivatives so that limits me for a pain pump. The SCS was my last ditch effort on controlling pain.

I'm 2 days shy of 18 weeks post-op and the past 2 weeks have been not so spiffy..I'm back to taking 3-4 dilaudids a day and still having pain even with the meds. I'm going to call my rep on Monday and see if he can reprogram my unit again.

On a good note...I'm back in the barn taking care of my own ponies I still can't move hay or grain..but I can groom and feed. I'm hoping I can start massaging again..my mare (she's 26) has been a bit stiff lately and could really use regular massages again.

I've been considering getting a jog cart and harness so that I can start driving my mare in the event that I can't ride..its been years since I drove her but she used to do very well under harness so its still an option for me.

It's good to know that your doctors are looking out for your best interests.....
and don't give up Re: the re-programming........I've been learning more about how they do those program sessions and there are SOO many different programs! It's just a matter of good communicating and finding the right targets!
Here's a case in point: Most of the Reps simply don't 'know' how your stimulation is feeling......they are well-trained at HOW to program, yet they cannot 'feel' what they are doing...but if we can gain better insight as to exactly what to communicate, it would help us in gaining success to having the programs that will target the right coverage.....
It's a case of us and the Reps being at each other's mercy....

As we know, the leads are anchored to the fascia deep within the muscle.
Alot of the Reps (especially the newer ones) tend to drive the signal as deep as possible thinking it is a better way to target the stimulation to the nerve fibers...... what this does in some cases is cause muscle spasms and more of a 'pin-pointed' stimulation.
If the patient were more 'clear' on things like this, we'd be able to communicate that perhaps if the signal wasn't driven so deep, it could allow the coverage to be more spread out via 'crosstalk', which could give a more diffused stimulation and far more comfortable ......AND consumes less juice from the battery! By 'crosstalk', I'm referring to dual leads.......some programs might be using shared electrodes, or set up individually......

....... i guess the point I'm driving at is ......I'm discovering that there are a gazillion factors involved with the program sessions. Those Reps have to do their best to narrow down the few customized ones to fit our different needs.
Sooo.... don't lose hope.....if it takes 20 sessions, we'll gitterdone.....we've come THIS far with the process!

Another tip: ALWAYS make sure your IPG is at full charge when you go to the re-program sessions.

Here's praying for better 'tweek' sessions for us all !

You hit the nail on the head abour Reps not understanding our pain(how it feels, location, etc..). Too bad the Reps couldnt go thru a trial for themselves or better yet learn how to communicate with their patient's better. the Rep forgets we just got out of surgery and are flared up and on tons of meds for pain from crps and surgery.

Some day a Rep will have a stim put in and then hopefully they will write the manuel on how to ask questions and how to get the answers they want to hear out of their patients.