Hey all! Its now been a little over three weeks since my surgery, and I got to say that while the surgical pain/soreness is getting better - I'm still pretty sore. Seems similar to my original back surgery recovery time frame - my back just gets tired and sore if I sit up for too long. Hopefully that will abate after a couple more weeks.

My foot however....is unbelievably pain free. I don't know how to explain this, but will try. I was laying in bed the other morning, and thinking about the day etc....it was almost like "Heather-before-pain". In other words, my foot didn't bother me, but rather, the buzzing/massaging felt good. It has been sooooo very long since my foot felt good. Day after day of work I would come home and sit on the couch, and not move - cause my foot would be in agony. I haven't planned activities after work in forever...for the same reason. Now however, my day does not revolve around my foot pain. I find myself slowly coming to the realiation that my pain doesn't have control of me anymore. Its........AMAZING

I have my monthly pain doc appt tomorrow - so am hoping to finally nab a copy of the video that was taken of my surgery. Given how much my back has been bothering me since surgery...I doubt we will start "The Taper Program" just yet. All I can do is hope and pray that my pain is still covered when I start weaning down....I want off this ****!!

Lastly, I was curious what everyone's take was on the costs of surgery. My EOB's went up on-line, and I gotta say, the surgery was so much more $ than I was expecting. I expected to pretty much pay my out of pocket maximum for the year...but man o man, both the trial and the permanent were about 3-4 times more expensive than I thought they would be! It surprises me how relatively quickly insurance approved the surgery, given this crazy cost.

Anyway - that's all for now. Will let you all know if I get my hands on the video

You are experiencing "Good news!" So, you join the buzzer club, foot doing better, instead of pain controlling you, you control it..... seems.... miraculous doesn't it? I pray all continues to improve for you, and that surgical pain, you know from experience it will abate to unnoticeable one day.... somewhere out there. THEN maybe you start the tapering down under doc's supervision. This is definitely something not to be trifled with and requires good oversight, even at home you need a gatekeeper to keep from falling off into the deep end.

Cost..... somewhere around $150K US I understand, but then there are the write downs, the plan pricing, the this and that until it is all so very confusing your head starts to hurt. All told my many surgeries have cost insurance a healthy healthy sum. From a car wreck..... I look forward to the future now. The past is analyzed, understood as best I can and fairly well documented here. A lot of bad has turned for the good.

Prayers for you,
Mark56

Excellent news about the relief of the foot pain! I know that just during the trials themselves I experienced such relief I pondered (briefly, mind you) not going back in for them to remove them 'cuz I knew it would be a while before the permanent ones would be approved and then implanted.

Yeah, it's expensive but I guess they figure that in the long run it's cheaper than constant office visits, paying for pain meds., and all the other costs that go along with living with chronic pain. I'm sure someone somewhere sat down with a calculator and figured out that it would save money in the long run or I don't think ins. companies would be so happy to pay for the stimulators!

Praise God for your pain relief. Now we need to know if you're going to give your buzzer a name, as some of us on here have. I have two, so mine are affectionately called "the twins". What do you want to name your new implant???

The group gave me this name, PJ. You can guess why

Mark56

Congratulations Heather!

This is what makes the day for a fellow buzzer!
The cost - yah. wow. Mine was 100,000K.....and I actually felt 'guilty' about it! Our healthcare system is in the cesspool and I felt as tho I was contributing to it. That shows you where my self-esteem was.
Like you, my insurance approved right away and there was very little PPO write off. I was amazed.

I'm so happy for you!
I hope your back pain eases up soon

Rae

Great news indeed

Yep it is expensive but hey.....isnt that was Private medical insurance is for!????.....well here in Ireland that is....not too sure how US works......but here if you have Private Medical Insurance(an expensive outlay I might add)then its NO PROBLEM to have the SCS implanted apparently. Whereas if you want to have it done on the HSE (our healthcare system) ie, public......then thats another story. The public hospitals wouldnt have the funding in a lot of cases!!! So no Rae you shouldnt feel guilty if you have private insurance and THEY pay for it...........

So happy to read that you are feeling results! it does take a bit to heal after the perm install. I haven't calculated the cost of mine, but need to round up the paper work just to help appreciate it more. Lol thanks for sharing!!

Thanks for the kind words everyone - the whole thing still seems slighty surreal - just can't believe my foot FEELS GOOD!!! As for a name....hmmmm gonna have to think on that one...

Had my normal appt today - so talked about my sore/tired back. I asked for a Rx for a muscle relaxer, as that helped alot in my original back surgery many, many years ago. Took one about 2 hrs ago - and feel sooooo much better

My trial stim went through insurance 2 weeks ago, whick was $20,000. The permanent went through this week at $134,000. I just had no idea it was that much. People weren't kiding when they said docs make a fortune on these guys - WOW!

I also FINALLY got the video from my Dr. It was in 28 different clips taken on an iphone...and she hadn't had the time to edit it and put it together. I went to my appt preparred with a USB thumb drive, so offered to do the editing for her. I just finished up, and am mighty pleased with myself Right now it runs about 5 mins, and shows just about every step in the process. I would be happy to post it up here for everyone, if someone tells me how. I also need to know what file format works easiest.

-Heather

I'm so glad that you are feeling better. I had my surgery probably the same time as you. What a difference it makes us feel and finally start to be a little more social!! I was social anyway-barely missing events, but felt like crap while trying to put that smile on your face. Talking about the doctors bill I can't help but join in the conversation. Received the hospital bill the other day. WOW $121 thousand. That's not even the doctors bill yet. Glad I have insurance, but I'm sure this will cost a couple hundred for the deductible and the percentage they don't cover. I ended up in the emergency room 3 weeks after surgery because I think I have a torn muscle in the shoulder blade area. Now add that on to my medical expenses. Anyway hopefully your recovery will continue and you feel better and stronger everyday. Good luck to you

Coral Toe

So happy to hear a smile in your posting. I know it's amazing how all of a sudden you realize the pain is not the deciding factor any more. So glad your evenings are now open. Enjoy them to the fullest. A toast to your freedom from pain.

Sandy K