Posted 8/1/2011 1:20 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Rhonda -
Because the other topic was a bit out of date, I thought I'd post to you here.
It's quite common to get strange sensations, and sensations where you don't want them in the first few months after you have your permanent implant. Remember that a fair bit of damage has been done to those soft tissues around the nerves and that the lead has to scar into place and everything has to have time to settle down. That swelling you have will also affect how the unit is working, and as it goes down your stim patterns will change. It might help to keep a journal of how different positions affect the stimulation pattern, as this will help your technician next time they come out to do some programming for you.
As far as your stitches go, did your doctor say why they are being left in for five weeks? It sounds like an awfully long time...the norm would be about ten days.
I hope your SCS starts bringing you some relief very soon :)
Laura