Lovely to hear from you Rae
 

:D:Excited:Rae :hug:its lovely to hear from you!.....

well wouldnt it just be awesome if we DID all meet up:D

....I bet there would be some 'Buzz' in the room:yikes: :D :D sorry couldnt help myself:rolleyes:

Perfect Jackie!!
 

You could even say, everyone would be a-buzz with excitement. Yes? We must eventually plan something like this. It would be healthy for one and all, even the doctors who slide into here from time to time, so we could exchange thoughts approaches and in hopes of furthering the cause of pain management through these devices. : o) ;) Yep
Mark56:cool:

1st May....wow Summer is finally here!
 

Well its May day here today and I cant believe we are in the Summer months already. Where did those 4 months go since Christmas.:confused:

Just back from my walk this morning and feeling a bit pooped to be honest. But pushing myself each day to do that 'little' bit extra. I just love walking and try to do it everyday if I can. Before my back problem I used to walk 6 miles a day. It is so invigorating...unfortunately..I cant do 6 miles now. But Im up and out and thats all that matters. I have a lovely little park across from where I live which is great for walking in. It means that if I get too tired Im only across the road to come back home. I turn up my SCS and off I go. Sometimes it helps but other times it doesnt.

I went for my reprogramming session last Tuesday. I got 3 new programmes but unfortunately they dont 'do' it for me now. I dont like the sensations plus its pulling something up high in my back:eek:so gonna leave them alone for now and use the old reliable one Ive been using for the past few months.
I will reschedule another session in a few weeks when my Rep is back over in Ireland again.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend and if you can get out in the sunshine and feel refreshed :)

take care

Jackie :)

Hi Jackie .. Is the stim on when you come out of the Hospital after having the permanent leads put in or do they switch it on after you have healed a bit?

I'm getting nervous now .. very very .. in fact, one could say, I am having second thoughts.

Relax!!
 

Hi Saffy

I had my implant done at 3pm and the following morning the Rep came to see me about 9.30am and turned me on , so to speak :D.....And yes it was on then when I left the hospital. I have read on here that some have had to wait some weeks to have their unit turned on, am I right in thinking that might have been those who have the paddles implanted? think so, but cant be sure.

Im sure you are getting anxious now, but try not to worry. You are having the trial first yes? and then the implant the following day?....... Well you need to relax and see first how the SCS works for you for the trial itself. I dont want to put a negative spin on things but if it isnt any use to you during the trial then you wouldnt be going ahead anyway with the SCS. So lets take it step by step. Have the trial done and see how you get on. If you feel that you will benefit from it then yep its for you. But make sure that its the right decision and not because its something that it there and works for some, because it also doesnt work for some. The trial will let you know what to expect and if you feel comfortable that you are getting relief from you pain, then its onwards and upwards.

I know its hard waiting and worrying , but please try to relax if you can. Its over before you know it!.....and you will be given medication (well I was for both trial and permanent one, sedated)so that was a bonus.

Take care

Jackie :)

OMG How Briskly Y'all Take it Across the Pond
 

and to think I had to wait two weeks to be "turned on" [quoting dear friend Jackie] at which time the rep handed me a computer and said......"Here, do it yourself... you will know what feels good so much better than I."

We supposedly wait two weeks for the initial experience here since they desire to allow the body to progress beyond surgical pain, enabling the patient to know precisely which pain is being addressed by the stim as its programs are set. I wonder, especially with you, Jackie, if this could be a reason why I never have had a stim tweak and yet you have required it to manage things a bit better. Do you suppose the National Health System rushes you along a bit?

Caring,
Mark56:hug::hug:zz

Hmm that's interesting Mark. My Neurosurgeon said that mostly he does trial on the Wednesday and the full system in on the Friday afternoon but there are times, if people are tied up elsewhere, where you are sent home and then come back for the full implant .. but that it's usual that it's the former.

I think I have to go back so many weeks later, where they will probably tweak it if needed ..

If my memory serves me right I think some of the posters here also have had intermittent reprogramming or tweaking sessions and have had their units turned on immediately after implant. Did Jan just have an implant and hers is turned on? I thought it was more so the people who had the actual paddles that were left waiting....maybe Im wrong. Saffy you should ask your Dr if this will happen after the op or do you have to wait.

Saffy
 

Just a thought....

I too had much anxiety as the date approached....
So what I did was, I wrote a 'letter' to myself. It was titled something like 'Just in Case I have second thoughts'..... I described in detail how horrible the pain was and what it was doing to my life for the past 6 years.

I've referred back to it a couple of times and I'm glad I did that....because, yeah I still have some pain issues - very similar to what Jackie describes -
but the pain now is NOTHING compared to the life I was living prior to making the decision to get this thing.
Believe me, when I was first presented with this option, I was completely CREEPED OUT and I told myself I would NEVER succumb to that!
Well, I battled on another YEAR with the horrible pain....and the pharmacy became my only 'life line'....and I was so isolated from the outside world.
I finally surrendered and did the implant.

So glad I did! And for me - writing that letter - was a good move because even tho I still have 'bad' days.....they are nothing compared to what the letter described. Plus, now I know that the 'bad' day will pass. I'm not living with that dreaded constant horrible unrelenting burning pain in my legs.

Like Jackie said - make the most of your trial.
I think the reason some Dr's choose to hold off a bit in doing the permanent is to let the body recoup from the trial and/or to avoid infection setting in. Like Mark shared - he had acquired an infection, but it was caught rather early. He had to wait several weeks and it was such a long drawn out affair.
People who have to wait say that it's a horrible wait. The pain seems to come back 2-fold after they pull the trial leads out. (pulling the wires out doesn't hurt at ALL - you barely even feel it......so dont' worry about that)

So, if your Dr is willing to do your permanent right away (IF you are satisfied with the trial) then heck, all the better!

The excitement MOUNTS!

And oh.....my rep did not 'turn me on' at ALL......:rolleyes: but he did turn my unit on :cool: LOL, Jackie YOU started this! :D
Just gotta love it!

:grouphug:

As Mark turns RED
 

:o Well, isn't it so true that we handle the complete reality of taking on SCS as a means to overcome and put pain in its place. A cure? No, but a means to management. So, even on surgery day, as the discussion with the anesthesiologist leads to the sign here for the surgeon, one thing for certain, each of us has striven in what is said is the final step in our pain journey under current technology.

Trial leads do come out slick as a whistle, no pain when that happened except the immediate return to pre-Trial pain levels via the nerves. After permanent implant, I was walking around the recovery suite before they allowed us to go home. Slept in my own bed that night, and the sleep was just as crummy as in a hospital bed, because post surgical pain is post surgical pain no matter where one is. HOWEVER, I did not have to bear multiple nights of the guy crying out in agony after his spine surgery as was my lot with my first fusion.

Intimacy? I think I'll back off and let you ladies figure that part out:o:o:o:o

: o)
Mark56:grouphug:, well, if it is safe that is:o:o