Still Waiting (update)

Its going to be the beginning of your new life trust me!

Thank you all for you good wishes & support. More than you know it, you guys are helping me go through it with less fear. It's 4:30 am and I am wide awake. My procedure isn't scheduled until 7:30; maybe I sleep through the whole thing. Ha!

Anyway, thanks again for your concern & prayers. I'll write back as soon as I can!

Love & Hugs to All!!!

Dear Lassie,
Welcome home! I hope when you read this that you're comfortable and feeing hopeful about your trial.

When you're up for it, let us know how you're doing.

Hugs,
PaLady

Lassie,
I'm glad you're home and have at least survived the procedure, but feel disappointed for you that you're not getting the response you wanted. I can't really comment on the procedure and the SCS, because I've never had that, but I do know about expecting, hoping, praying for something to work and being disappointed.

Hopefully Gramps and others can tell you if the trial might improve over the next week. But remember you said it wasn't your last resort...and you quit smoking, a great accomplishment.

Rest easy. And thanks for giving us an update.

Hugs,
PaLady

Yes, it is helping my thigh and maybe / heopfully my hip. I have only been out of surgery for about 6hrs; I'm sure I am expecting too much too soon. It's hard getting used to the tingling in my feet & legs, every time I move it changes. I coughed and thought I had blown my feet off.lol

Thanks for your good words and not letting me slump too far down!

Glad to see u in one piece Give it time, hopefully, it will be the Godsend that u need. Blessings!

How are you feeling today? Better than the day before I hope.

I can deal with the tingling but I am getting no relief from pain in my hip & thigh. I called the Drs nurse and of course she said I would have to discuss this with the Dr next Wednesday. She asked me how I was feeling so I tolk her the truth; I think it's just one of their check off lists for everyone having a procedure done. I am not a happy camper right now.

Lassie,

Like I said before, call your rep and have them come and reprogram it so you can find out once and for all if it can work for you. Its worth trying because the device still has the possibility of being a success. You just have to play with it and give it time, although your time is limited to only 6 more days.

The relief you will or won't get depends on a few things:

1) where the leads are placed. If they aren't placed in the right spot, high enough or low enough along your spine it will never give you the coverage you need and want. They should have "played" with this while they were operating on you, I believe. They should have also been asking you where and when you felt the most relief when they were operating on you so they could make sure they got it just right.

2) the programming you receive will also greatly affect how well it does or does not work. It can take several hours of programing and many reprograms until you get it just right. Its a lot of trial and error. You should have them make programs specifically when you are lying down, sitting, standing, etc... Like Gramps said and you experienced, certain positions will greatly change the sensation and effectiveness of the unit.

3) Some people report having better success with the permanent implant than the trial. Some report better results with the trial. It is so individual and although everyone tells you, you are a perfect candidate and it should do everything you hope, when it comes down to it only you can decide if it is right for you. You need to decide if it is worth it. Although it may not be reaching your hip and thigh, think about is it giving you 50% or better pain management? Are you able to do more things with it than without it? Just things to think about.

4) Depending on the reasons for your hip and thigh pain, the implant may never be able to help you. Some pains that are caused by nerve damage or the removal of "bad" nerves cannot be reached because the implants signals just can't reach the affected area (if any of that makes sense or helps). For example some people had damaged nerves removed in their knee because the surgeons thought that by eliminating the nerves it would eliminate the pain signals sent by them (along with all other feelings there). However, for whatever reason there is still pain in that area and since there are no nerves the implant can't affect that area, but it works everywhere else.

I hope this helps you and that you troubleshot and reprogram to see if you can get it to work better.

Best wishes.

P.S. What brand did you get? Depending on the brand I may know some people you can talk to that could help you even more.

Lassie,
I was thinking of you last night, too! See - we're all here and we want to know how you're doing. Even if it's not going well, don't isolate, ok?

Gramps - thanks for the answer. If it was me and it was going ok, I think I'd want more than a week to play around, especially considering what I have to do with my stim unit. I wonder if lassie could ask for more time if she's getting mixed results.

Lassie - check in with us!

PaLady

PaLady, I think another reason they only do the trial for about a week is because of the risk of infection. Since the wires are sticking out of you and going to the stimulator there is increased risk of infection which is one of the reasons you aren't really supposed to shower with the trial.

Lassie, Hope all is well.

PaLady, I'm hoping so too. Hopefully she is just tired or can't get to the computer because the internet is down or something simple like that. She's been through a lot the last week with the trail and stoppping smoking. I'm sure she'll be on soon once things calm down at her house.

ditto...hoping for the best for you, LL.