[tkayewade]

My hands are deteriorating much more quickly than I imagined! I know that my scs for my crps in my legs has been a godsend!! Pain has dropped from 9/10 to 4 to sometimes even 3 on a good day. I've heard sometimes cervicals aren't as successful. Now, will I have to go through all the blocks (I had a serious bier block reaction, psych eval, and all that before a trial can be scheduled?) also, those with hand buzzers, do they help pain and numbness? Do they interfere with writing, typing, and things like that or are they like the leg buzzers where you eventually forget about them? Any experts would be awesome. I was told they can't insert a lead to reach my hand from where my paddle is (t9) one more thing, I'm having some extremely stressful issues with work. In fact, I will be looking for a good workman's comp attorney soon, and I wonder if that's causing a flare. It's so strange to barely hurt on bottom and be so pained on top that I feel like crying. Last thing. Blood clots are shrinking, breathing getting easier, still get tired more easily, but healing. Still on Coumadin, but finally on therapeutic dose(yay!!) anyway, any help would be great!!

TK

[Mark56]

Although I am NOT equipped with an upper buzzer to adequately respond to your inquiry. I can and do pray regarding the severe upper half pain issues with which you deal.

I do know about arm and hand pain and tingling, loss of feeling in hands so could neither type nor write a word. I could not drive or dress myself. I was losing the use of my arms before the fusion.

I cried from the pain. Sobbing because it was not manageable even with morphine. So I do empathize.

Out of this knowledge I PRAY for you that all will be well.

Fiona, who has written here very recently DOES have twin buzzers, one is cervical. Search Fiona posts under her posting name fionab and start going backwards if you want with her most recent post by going here-

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread180632.html

She especially had good results after her twins were implanted. A recent fall, though, may have caused lead migration which has hurt the benefit of her upper SCS.

Prayin TK,
Mark56

[eva5667faliure]

Originally Posted by tkayewade

My hands are deteriorating much more quickly than I imagined! I know that my scs for my crps in my legs has been a godsend!! Pain has dropped from 9/10 to 4 to sometimes even 3 on a good day. I've heard sometimes cervicals aren't as successful. Now, will I have to go through all the blocks (I had a serious bier block reaction, psych eval, and all that before a trial can be scheduled?) also, those with hand buzzers, do they help pain and numbness? Do they interfere with writing, typing, and things like that or are they like the leg buzzers where you eventually forget about them? Any experts would be awesome. I was told they can't insert a lead to reach my hand from where my paddle is (t9) one more thing, I'm having some extremely stressful issues with work. In fact, I will be looking for a good workman's comp attorney soon, and I wonder if that's causing a flare. It's so strange to barely hurt on bottom and be so pained on top that I feel like crying. Last thing. Blood clots are shrinking, breathing getting easier, still get tired more easily, but healing. Still on Coumadin, but finally on therapeutic dose(yay!!) anyway, any help would be great!!

TK

and i pray all
turn out better than
what you expected
i too am amazed how
my hand could be so
painful when they are
numb and take pain meds
on schedule 3 times a day
may you have relief ASAP

GOD BLESS!

someone who cares

[Rrae]

My heart is totally going out to you

Mark has certainly lived to tale the tell of the arm/hand pain. There are others with 2 SCS's and they'll find their way to your thread I'm sure....

Meanwhile, my prayers continue to pour out to you
Rae

[Hannabananna]

Originally Posted by tkayewade

My hands are deteriorating much more quickly than I imagined! I know that my scs for my crps in my legs has been a godsend!! Pain has dropped from 9/10 to 4 to sometimes even 3 on a good day. I've heard sometimes cervicals aren't as successful. Now, will I have to go through all the blocks (I had a serious bier block reaction, psych eval, and all that before a trial can be scheduled?) also, those with hand buzzers, do they help pain and numbness? Do they interfere with writing, typing, and things like that or are they like the leg buzzers where you eventually forget about them? Any experts would be awesome. I was told they can't insert a lead to reach my hand from where my paddle is (t9) one more thing, I'm having some extremely stressful issues with work. In fact, I will be looking for a good workman's comp attorney soon, and I wonder if that's causing a flare. It's so strange to barely hurt on bottom and be so pained on top that I feel like crying. Last thing. Blood clots are shrinking, breathing getting easier, still get tired more easily, but healing. Still on Coumadin, but finally on therapeutic dose(yay!!) anyway, any help would be great!!

TK

I can't help with any of the medical questions.
I would advise you to get to a great wormans comp lawyer...get that off your plate.
Johanna

[yellow]

I got a cervical SCS this past June which was my second SCS. It has been working for me and I'm very glad now that I have it, although I was resistant to the idea for awhile. I did go through the blocks first, but that is because I wanted to try more conservative treatment before I went through this whole thing again, so that would be something to talk to your doctor about to see what he thinks. I was able to bypass the psych eval though, considering I had one less than a year earlier for my first SCS.

I will say that the cervical is a LOT more sensitive to positional changes. I can move my neck and it will get much stronger in my hand still. But it's something that you get used to the best you can and try to work around. Mine is only for my left wrist/hand, and I am right-handed, so there is no interference with writing for me and I can still type- much better now thanks to the stim because there's less pain. I do notice though that when I have it on my grip seems a little weaker in my left hand and my fine motor skills aren't as good. So I do wonder what it would be like to write with that hand.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[tkayewade]

Actually my right hand is way worse than the left, but the left just started acting up. Pooh. I had a really bad reaction to a bier block so I don't think they'll try them again. I would lobe to just get it got the right. I typed in six classes of grades and I do it ten key style. Kills my wrist yikes! I have an appointment Wednesday. I hope to get the ball rolling again. Never thought I'd consider it, but the leg one is awesome so might as well at least do the trial. How do you keep your neck still? Where is the lead or leads? Where is the battery pack?

[yellow]

I didn't have to keep my neck still during the trial or after the surgery, which was a very good thing because I don't know how I would have managed that. I was just careful not to move it too quickly or too far.

My incision for the leads is just under my shoulder blades, so during the trial the battery pack was taped up higher. Now with the perm, my battery is down by my hip in the back, on the opposite side of my other battery. I have heard about people having cervical batteries implanted higher or under the armpit or by the chest, but I didn't want that and my doctor didn't even discuss those options, he thought the best place would be my lower back too, so it worked out.

[Mark56]

Originally Posted by yellow

I didn't have to keep my neck still during the trial or after the surgery, which was a very good thing because I don't know how I would have managed that. I was just careful not to move it too quickly or too far.

My incision for the leads is just under my shoulder blades, so during the trial the battery pack was taped up higher. Now with the perm, my battery is down by my hip in the back, on the opposite side of my other battery. I have heard about people having cervical batteries implanted higher or under the armpit or by the chest, but I didn't want that and my doctor didn't even discuss those options, he thought the best place would be my lower back too, so it worked out.

AND I have never met your Doc Yellow! It is so nice Doc took into account not placing the battery in an unconventional hard to reach, and probably uncomfortable place. Gosh, I know a lady who has a generator on her chest and worries about it showing if the neckline is too revealing..... so, hip emplacement is good to recall.

Yup,
Mark56