Spinal Cord Stimulator Questions

ca75862

I am getting my test trial neurostimulator this comming friday, doc said I will wear it for the weekend then following week implant it. my meds. oxycontin dose not even touch the back pain, I have metal plates and screws from middle of back to tail bone always in constant pain, like I have been hit in that area with a baseball bat. do you think the meds will work when stimulator is in? will I have alot of restrictions? I know your not a dr. but with what your going through thought you'd have some advice... thankyou so much..ca75862

ca75862

Jeff, did you feel everything they were doing??? I go for my trial this friday... ca75862 so I am kinda scared...

jennifer3063

the Dr must keep you awake so you can point out the right places for him to put the leads...he will continually be asking you if he has hit a spot were there is pain. I know that during this procedure I had a hard time staying awake because of the meds they give you. The Dr kept having to wake me and ask me if he was in the right area...I just wanted to go back to sleep. Try to keep awake for your own good, I wish you great results. Jennifer

imadeamistaka

Hey Ca,
You will do fine! Our fusions are similar, I think yours covers more real estate.
I did not feel the needles just pressure, I had a lot of scar tissue that made the leads difficult to place. My trail procedure took longer than normal and I was sore for about a week after. I chose the new tri lead from Medtronic because it gives you more options for programing. I lost the stim coverage on the right side after my surgery and thought I pulled a wire or something and was starting to get depressed but my rep reprogrammed me a week later and things are going well. I'm three weeks post op and tomorrow I start coming off the oxy and ultram to see what happens. Are you on other pain meds with the oxy? I was taking 5 or 6 ultram a day with the oxy and if it was real bad I would use oxy 5-325 to boost it up to cover my pain. Medtronics web site has some good info but you have to dig for tec. stuff.
I hope you have a great trial and get some relief !!!
Good Luck,
Jeff

penrenmun

Hi Jeff,
I had a Medronic unit placed approximately 8 months ago. It didn't work for me at all. I actually had more pain and strange feelings than relief. They went back in 4 days later, replaced it and it still didn't work. I wish you all the luck in the world. A lot of people I have talked to say it is the best thing they could have done. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving.

liznip

this message is for jeff,

im also a letter carrier, do you mind me asking, did an ijury occur at work witch resulted in you now having rsd? if so what was it?

thank you

liz

imadeamistaka

Hi,

I have had my scs in for six weeks now and it is working well. I still have pain but it really does cover about 75 percent of it. I'm sorry I did not respond sooner I was working on getting off of oxy and ultram and had a tuff couple of weeks.

Liz,

I was rear ended in an LLV and needed my second back surgery. I have not
been dx with rsd but have some symtoms, one of my surgeons said I have adhesive arachnoiditis. It felt like bugs crawling up my legs or water running down. When I was carring mail I was constantly looking to see if something was crawling on me.
Are you still working? What type of route do you have?

Take Care,
Jeff

liznip

hi jeff,

sorry it took so long to answer, i used to have a walking route, and how i got rsd

a 50 lb mail box fell out the wall onto my foot, didnt break it or any thing, dx said to stay off my foot for a couple days and put ice on it,

i did that, but as days turned into months my foot started to really hurt more and more
so this foot doctor on my route seen me one day on my route and asked me to let him
see my foot, he took one look at my foot, did a couple test, like rub alcohol on it and \
when he seen how painful it was for me he said right there and then , you have rsd, you need to get propper care right now, i havent been back to work for 2 yrs,
the rsd has spread to my entire right side, i can hardley get out of bed most days\
cant drive anymore,have to use a cane or cruches to walk,
now my job is trying to fire me, they keep witholding my paychecks for months at a time

what a night mare huh
i go on the 6th to try the spinal cord stimulator, i am so scared

well hope to hear back from you jeff,
thanks for listening

imadeamistaka

Liz,

Sorry to hear of your rsd, it is hard for people to understand the pain your in.
Most people do not have a clue! I really miss the folks I worked with, and I loved the job. I had 26 years service and had to go out on disability. Make sure you read up on all of your rights, call the union or hire an attourney.
If they are withholding your paychecks I would call my local federal representative and get some help.
The spinal cord stimular trial was not that bad, it is kind of like an epidural
injection. I did not feel much pain mostly just preasure.

I hope you have a good day tomorrow!
Jeff

lostmary

I've had mine for almost 8 wks, and I just turned it off for the 2nd time. This time I think that I will keep it off till I see my doc on the 14th of this month. I think there is something wrong with the generator in my butt. The pain that comes from there is horrible. It is so burning and sharp that my whole butt hurts. Has anyone else had this problem? I don't know if my doc will want to replace the battery, or what. I had such high hopes for the scs. My trial was wonderful. I don't know what happened. I'm feeling really down about this. I really wanted my life back

Hugs
Mary

jaxobean

Mary,
Hi I have not been on for a bit, but I just got a thing in my mailbox and I thought I would just log on and check it out. I am sorry you are having trouble. That is the thing about these things- the trial is like heaven and then you get it in and weird things happen. I hope it is simple and is something that can be fixed. Uggh frustrating. I felt the same way it is just a bummer. You see the glimmer of hope and you run for it and sometimes it is great and sometimes that glimmer is fire and makes things worse. I hope this is not your case and get to the doc. quick- could be something simple...
Good Luck, Nikki