it was great to hear your voice last night Cheryl and to know the surgery went well and your back home to recover.
NOW REST REST REST.
DO NOT take the bandages off and make sure you eat well.
I for one want to welcome BB ...and I have to do a happy dance

PEACE
BMW

Reflecting on your poem, Cheryl, regarding BB waiting for you and that you would be united one day soo, we are glad that the day has come and BB is now with you, having found you at last! May your work together toward healing and pain management be a blessed work with positive results beyond your imagination!

ASAP,
Mark56 PJ

Hi Everyone,
Today is a good day. When I woke up I felt like I had been in a fight and lost big time. My face really hurt feeling pain from the incision running down the side of my face. This is where the doc placed all the wires. He then made an incision at the bottom of my ear and all 3 leads were tunneled down my neck to the generator placed in my chest. As the hours have gone from early morning to mid- afternoon, I am feeling great. The face pain is not so bad now. Now for the stimulator. I have played with the settings several times. I now have a really good setting that is taking all the pain away with the help of the pain meds. I can feel the stimulator as just a massage like feeling. Now strong at all. It ( Busy Bee ) is doing a great job. I am very happy to this point.....and yes I am feeling positive that it will continue to work.
Post to you all later
Cheryl

Hi Everyone,
I posted the following information to my friends on the TNA site. I have made many friends on this site that were anxious to hear about my new adventure. It will be old news to some of you; but wanted to share all with everyone. To the new readers.....this is great information for anyone looking into getting the stimulator of tn, ad, neuropathic pain.

I had the permanent neurostimulator put in on Thursday. Today is Sunday. I am doing really well. The surgery took 5 hours. 1/2 hour of it was that I was so asleep at one point they could not wake me up so that I could tell them that I felt the stimulator. The other funny part was ( I was lying on my side ) and they were asking me....tells us when you feel the stimulator. I said yes....they said where....I said my leg. They were telling me no Cheryl, we are working on your face. I said " oh that is right. So they asked again...I said my leg again. They said why are you telling us your leg...i guess I said...my leg has a cramp in it...they all laughed.

Finally, I got what I was suppose to be doing and got it right. When they asked me " do you feel the stimulator I said yes. They said where, and I said v2....everyone was clapping and yelling.....all right. I got the same response when they asked again and I said v3.

The operator room was full of people. 4 docs, 2 nerve neuro monitoring people, 3 reps from the company that made the device ( AMS ST Jude Medical Co. ) and general surgeon, and someone with a camera. The reason for this is.....if, no I mean, when this works....it will be an unprecedented procedure. All three leads V123, that are being stimulator signals to the brain that I am not in pain. To make or change the settings is so easy. At different times of the day or what I am doing will call for different settings. After having it on no matter what setting, I can turn it off and still get the effects of the stimulator. It will last for some time. Like yesterday, it had been on all night ( the night of the surgery ) all thru yesterday about 4 pm. I had not changed the settings. My son said " Mom turn it off for a while and see how it feels. I was still pain free for several hours. I turned it back on about 8pm.

The feeling is like a small hand held massage device. You know you see them all the time in the drug stores and shopping malls. Usually they are used to massage the back, etc. That is what it feels like on my face. Very comfortable.

The surgery pain is starting to hurt today. The doc made an incision near my hear line for v1, and pushed it ( the lead ) over to the mid area of the brow of my nose,then tunneled the lead down to the v2 area. He then made an incision in the v2 area, placed the lead in over to the corner of the bottom part of my nose, then tunneled it with v1 lead down the side of my face to the end of my jaw and pushed the lead over about 1 inch from my chin. Now all 3 leads are together at the jaw line. He made another incision and all 3 leads were tunneled ( no incisions) down my neck and then down to my chest. He they place the generator into my chest ( very shallow) The 3 leads were connected to the generator. He then sewed up the skin around the generator. What is amazing is you really can't see anything. My hair will cover up the long incision from my forehead down to my jaw. The tunneling area in my neck just fits it with the folds of my neck. The generator will show if I wear a low cut dress. It is just above my breast and about in the middle.

So, that tells you about the procedure. The stimulator has cut the burning pain and stabbing pain down to a 2 or 3. That is great as I was feeling pain at the 10 level for so long. I could not be more thrilled. The risks are infection. I have to be really careful not to touch the area and be really careful all the time for like 3 months. If it ( or part of it ) gets infected, then all comes out and we wait for 3 months before it goes back in.

I would tell all of you that are suffering with pain from tn attacks, to ad pain to look into this asap. Docs that do this are pain management docs who do procedures for the pain. Your neurologist will know someone who does it for the back. They need to be encouraged to find one that will do it for the face. My doc is very progressive and I was told that he always tries things that most docs would not try. He takes a lot of pride in his work.

So......doing well. My hopes for all of you that you are doing well. Keep in touch and I will let you know how that days go along with the new part of my body. I have named my stimulator Busy Bee.
With Love
Cheryl
You all have become my family in this journey. Thank you so much. God Bless all of you.
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TNA Connect Forum » Member Discussion » Daily Blogs » FACIAL PAIN STIMULATOR FOR AD/NEUROPATHIC PAIN/TN Pain


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Cheryl, so glad your surgery date finally came and you are on the road to recovery. I'm hoping this will be the answer for you and all your painful days are over. Prayers and God Bless!

Dear Cheryl- We are so glad all is well with your implant and ultimate early reaults. Your news is terrific, and we pray that the benefits continue and continue for you indefinitely!

ASAP,
Mark56

Dear Cheryl,
I am thrilled to hear this, your wait was so long and tedious and downright painful! Hooray that it is knocking down your AD pain especially. Wonderful news!
hugs,
Lily

Cheryl,

I read your post last night on my Blackberry and stopped to say a prayer of thanks for your successful implant. Now you need to take it easy and let you body heal. I am starting to feel like I can resume my normal activities, but I know that I have another month to go before I am no longer restricted.

Take care,

Emelie

Thanks Emelie,
All the prayers I get are welcomed. I am doing okay. I have to mess with the stimulator a lot. The pain varies, so the setting varies too. Sometimes, I get really tired of having to adjust it. Maybe someday, I will get the correct setting and can be more pain free. It is good to hear that you are doing well. Does the lead keep you totally out of pain? I am anxious to hear your answer as my doc says i may have to have the v3 lead put up my spine if it does not work where it is now. Let me know. Thank you again for your email. Hope to talk to you soon
Cheryl

Hi Cheryl-
Even though our uses are dramatically different, I find that I must, emphasize MUST, vary the signal depending on situation, posture, activity, and the like. I have found no single "this is it" setting which addresses all needs for my stim. Maybe yours is the same situation.

Yesterday, talking with my surgeon, I learned folks tend to very their signal use often. This is why my remote is one of my "constant companions."

ASAP,
Mark56