New member--looking for a little SCS "devil's advocate"

A little bit about me: I'm a 33 year old who's had two back surgeries in three years. The most recent one, a microdiscectomy on L5-S1 was in January, and I've never really recovered from it. I had a lot of scar tissue from surgery #1 (a laminectomy on the same disc) and there was a lot of "cleanup" in the most recent surgery. I have local back pain, sciatic pain down one leg, and numbness down the same leg. I've tried lyrica (hated it) and I've been on Norco ever since. It doesn't help just makes me care a little less. Not a long term solution. And my most recent MRI had not-great news; both L5-S1 and L4-L5 are herniated again, and I have osteophyte formation on both. There's also evidence of granulomas, and nerve impingement--just 6 months after I had it freed up.

I feel like I don't have a life. All I can do is go to work, come home, and lay down. It's really starting to get me down.

I had my SCS trial removed Monday, and the six days that I had it in were great (other than the itching from the dressing!) I was able to walk better than I have in months, and while I could tell the pain was under there, the SCS helped mask it. I slept thru the night for the first time in years. I would have put the permanent one in immediately, if I could.

Alas, I can't. My doctor's out of town for about a month, and he wants me to think about the final one. I'm the youngest patient he's ever used one on, and while he's happy it worked and understands I want off the drugs, he's being conservative. He wanted me to take three big things into consideration:
1) I won't be able to have an epidural if I ever have kids (not even remotely on my horizon, and I'd likely do natural childbirth anyway)
2) I'll have to travel with a medical ID and get patted down at the airport (I fly 10-12 times a year. Not frequently enough for that to be a factor)
3) Can't get MRIs (but can get diagnosed with a CT scan)

All of those are no-brainers to me, and don't affect my desire to get the SCS one bit. Other than infection, what other risks are there? Users who have had a SCS removed, why did you? Was the permanent system different than the trial, assuming you had a successful trial? Thanks for reading my long sob story, and for any answers you can give!

Hello & welcome to the forum. Sorry to read what you have on your plate. Seems like you have gone through an awful lot to end up in the shape you have after repeated surgery.

We have had quite a few people that have had the SCS units implanted only to regret it. Its one of things people either love them or hate them. As Vickie mentioned above they do come with their own set of problems. It can be anything from the unit not working after being implanted, infections, leads migrating, or work for a short period of time, or not work in the area intended, so there are many variables. The surgery to implant is pretty brutal from what we have seen, some have said had they known how tough the implant was they would not have had it done. I have yet to see one person be pain medication free after the implant. I urge you to use the search feature here at the forum & read up on those posts. I will ask you not to post on those old threads because more than likely those people are no longer coming to the forums. You get much better exposure here by making new posts asking questions. However, you can pick up some good info from those posts, things you really need to be aware of.

Good luck with whatever decision you make. Keep us posted.

Laura sorry to hear about your Moms accident.

Hi kebell05 and Welcome to Healing Well Chronic Pain forum. I do not have an SCS my pain management doctor was incouraging me to get one, but I also had the option of getting an implanted pain pump. In the end I opted to get the pain pump instead. I got it the first half of June of this year. I think it was the best decision I have made! Just wish I would have gotten it sooner! I take no oral pain meds and the morphine is infused directly into the spinal fluid in my lower back! I have a PTM ( Personal Therapy Manager) which looks like a small cell phone that I can place on my belly on top of the pain pump and press a button and give myself a premeasured bolus for break through pain. My pain doctor sets the constant infusion rate of the pump and the amount of the bolus doses and the number and frequency they can be given! All done by him setting a little device on my stomach on top of the pain pump.

Anyway has this option been mentioned to you? Might be a viable alternative to getting the SCS??? The thing I like about it is, the amount of pain medication infused is very very minute compared to what is normally needed to usually contoll ones pain! I have noticed no side affect either, as the medication is not going through your entire system first to get to the place it needs to be to relieve your pain! It is put right where it needs to be to be effective!

Maybe something to consider while waiting to get your SCS??? There are quite a few folks here that have them that can tell you about having the pump.

Again I Welcome you to the forum!

White Beard