This is a new thread for me and all of you to follow my last days before I get my final neurostimulator for my facial pain. For new people reading this, I have facial neuropathic pain due to trigeminal neuralgia. If you read the first thread on this site you can read my whole story with pictures and all.
So.......moving on, the surgery is a week from today. I started yesterday weaning off of the fentanyl patch and being put on morphine. For those of you that are on medicare, you are aware of the gap/donut hole for the cost of meds. Well, I am in the gap and my fentanyl patches for one month used to be $35.00 and now are $271.00. So, as you can see, a change must be made. Fentanyl is so much more expensive than morphine. Researching the best prices now for my meds have kept my mind off of the surgery for now. I am cleaning the house good, laundry, etc. as after the surgery I have to be very careful about infection. The first week afterwards is the most risky and each week is goes down until I hit 3 months. If I get an infection everything comes out and then I have to wait for 3 months to get it back.
The Doctor has made the decision that the leads will be placed in the 3 areas of the face and be tunneled down the side of my face to my neck and on down to the chest where the generator is. That was a difficult decision for him to make vs going around the ear for the 1st and 2nd leads. I am okay with that. There is a chance that he could cut the facial nerve and I would get balls palsy; but he said that is very rare and promises to be very careful.
I will close for now and keep you updated as to what I am doing as each day goes by. It will help me not to get too nervous. I am sure everything is going to be ok.
Love to all
Prayers to all of you
Cheryl