Still smiling here - Happy New Year! Hoping 2012 brings us all some good pain relief! I've had my Boston Scientific stim for the 5th day now, and the 4 programs the rep set up while I was in the recovery room all feel the same now. Go figure! I'm ok with that - I'm not doing much just walking around the house till I see him on the 6 th. question about no BLAST - my leads are placed at T8 - is that the part of my spine I need to not bend? Will I be able to bend at the waist - sometime, while being careful not to bend the thoracic spine? Just was wondering. Also, my stim controller allows for 4 programs, then I can vary the intensity up and down for each of the programs, but it sure doesn't appear that I'll be able to use more than 1 program at a time. Is this what the rest of you have? I thought there would be more programs and the ability to run several at a time - considering what computers can do nowadays! I'd call my rep, but being it is New Years weekend I really feel like I'd be intruding. He hasn't contacted me - my surgery was last Wed. And he didn't contact me store the surgery either. Oh well, hopefully he'll be accessible if/when I need my programs tweaked. So if you're on your computer on New Years Day, would you kindly give me some input? If family and friends are there - go spend time with them! My questions will be here tomorrow. If there's anything I've learned in this 15 years of chronic pain, it's that time with family and friends is THE most important thing. We never get enough and it's something you can never make up for. Happy New Year To my online friends - I tell my grandchildren that half my friends live in my laptop - I wonder what a 3 yr old makes of that? Funny!

YES, all we who live in your laptop are from the mythical side of Ireland, or claim to be on Saint Patrick's Day, so we are the little people, magical and all that!

BLAST is intended to be your approach continuously until your surgeon begins to allow some careful movement of bending, lifting, stretching, twisting. They will know the right time for you, and likely will prescribe physical therapy at that time. I should hope your discharge orders explain NO means NO act violating BLAST. It is for good reason to allow scarring of tissues locking your machinery in place while not disturbing it as you heal. You do know how to squat I reckon, and squat is what I mostly do to this day because it became a natural protective measure.

Programs.....all the same in your subjective observation so near to surgery discharge. At least you were given some means to use it. I was required to show up at a programming appointment two weeks after surgery so the Boston Scientific rep could assist in the ultimate programming. Please read my draft article for The Back Letter, a journal read by back physicians and encouraged by one of my docs due to the nuance of programming I experienced. The draft article is found toward the present end of my thread... maybe back a page or two by now. I posted it on 18 December here
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread117854-81.html

The crux was programming was accomplished by ME, Myself, and I, we were all present [HA] as my Boston Sci rep let me "drive" the computer, I KID YOU NOT. The kicker is this... I have four unique programs set by me [no, the generator/computer is not sophisticated enough to multitask and run more than one program at a time] AND I both NEVER required a tweak session thereafter AND I have withdrawn from ALL pain management medications for well over a year now.

If this may sound attractive to you, print the draft article out of the thread and take it to your rep and doctor asking to be allowed to drive at a programming session. The results each of Coral Toe [another Boston Sci person I met here after submitting the draft to the thread] and I have thus attained are remarkable to say the least.

I will be speaking to people at The Back Letter in the coming week anticipating at least the possibility of getting a toe in the door. My doc sure wants it printed there!

Hopefully you were asked to return to doc in a couple of weeks as surgical pain abates and fine tuning of the device may occur. If so, this will be your opportunity maybe to join Coral Toe and me.

Happy New Year and prayers for success,
Mark56

I had to grin when I pictured the little 3 yr old looking oddly at your laptop wondering how they got IN there

Happy New Year to YOU TOO!
What a wonderful way to start out a new year.....with a brand new buzzer! I like what you said about friends and family. Very true..very true. You are one who appreciates life, Eliza, and it comes thru in your writing. You have a calm assuredness about you, a PEACE, if you will..

I bet it's because of the holidays - that's probably why you haven't heard from many of your team yet. Once you hook up with your rep and the tweaking begins, you'll be amazed at what your little unit will do!

As far as your other Q's, Mark answered them very well. He's our 'Go To' guy when it comes to back surgeries and restrictions.

MARK! You will be speaking to the Back Letter people! WOW! How very exciting this is. Your Dr has the utmost faith in you! Hurrrrayyy

Even at three months, I asked my doctor if I could go back to the gym and he said no bending to lift things from the floor. My implant is at T6.

Sandy Kay

All my discharge instructions say is not to lift over 10 pounds and to try to avoid bending - That's It!! If I didn't have you Guys and the raceagainstpain site I wouldn't even know not to do BLAST! My surgeon does not prescribe a brace of any sort either and the rep told me pretty much everyone is released from all restrictions if not at 4 weeks post surgery, then 6 weeks. Wow! I know my paddle leads were stitched in, but I'm all for not risking anything. I don't know - I do know that I don't want to start pool therapy till 8 weeks have gone by at least. We are planning to fly to see the grandchildren over Presidents Day, so that should help me to wait till 8 weeks (pt has always meant a couple of weeks of horrible pain). Funny that I should have to concern myself with HOW to keep my doctor from having me move too soon, but it seems like thst's the case here. I do go in for programming on the 6th. Mark, I haven't read your letter yet, but I will. I used to have a very old TENS unit (some 25 years old?) that I could adjust a lot of the variables and that baby still works for one set of electrodes. I'm going to get it out and play with it and see what sensation I like - perhaps it will translate to the reps computer? If not, at least it will show that i know what I'm speaking about. Yes, I would like to take the helm and drive this baby myself!

Wow - how I wish my rep will consider letting me give it a go! Mark - where is this place that you are presenting your letter? Please let us all know when and where it will be published - you bet that my surgeon, my rep, my pain specialist and many others will be given a copy of it, with a letter of endorsement from me attached. And here I sit, asking the group of wonderful people who pray for me to pray for my programming appt this Friday to pray for "Good Commnication Between myself and the Rep and the Rep and his computer". Well, your example eliminated half of that need! Why indeed have the programmed making a minute change and asking the patient "how does that feel?". Well, of course the patient can find the best rythym in no time at all. It doesn't eliminate the need for a rep, so no one has to worry about losing their job or anything. I'll be asking the rep for a turn at the helm on Friday, and praying for the Lord's grace so I present it in a way that will not offend. Thanks Buddy!