Have date for my Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant

[Cindylou]

Hey all, my insurance finally approved the surgery for my Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant, after making us jump through a few extra hoops. It is scheduled for July 18th, a Monday, just shy of 4 weeks away. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I am extremely nervous. Will I have the same excellent results as I had with the one week trial?? That's my million dollar question. I take a pretty significant amount of pain medication right now, which does afford me the opportunity to do some of the things I enjoy doing in the summer, like gardening, fishing, and even riding my 3 speed bicycle for short distances. I always have an ice pack on me either mid-day or by end of day, standing in place is never good. I either sit better or I get up and move after I have taken my first dose of meds in the morning. Nothing is preventing me from pushing it back if I need to give myself more time, so I always have that option, if I am just not ready to pull the trigger. So we shall see. I will definitely keep you all posted on how I proceed. Thanks for listening, Cindylou

[KanRunMo]

Best of luck to you Cindy Lou. It sounds like a good solution especially to get off of pain meds. Some time ago, I taught school with a guy who had a spinal cord stimulator implant. It seemed to work for him and he did a lot of handy-man work too.

[Cindylou]

Best of luck to you Cindy Lou. It sounds like a good solution especially to get off of pain meds. Some time ago, I taught school with a guy who had a spinal cord stimulator implant. It seemed to work for him and he did a lot of handy-man work too.

Thank-you for the words of encouragement. It means a lot. I will see the Nurse Practitioner from my Pain Management Clinic next week for my monthly appointment, and I will bounce some questions off of her....if it makes more sense to push it back until late August maybe, what will my recovery be like with the permanent implant, as opposed to the trial recovery, which was a piece of cake. That type of thing. Our summers are so short here, I don't want to be laid up for too long, and this month of June is proving to be almost a goner, with rain about the whole month, it feels like. CL

[Cindylou]

As luck would have it, my Nurse Practitioner had a cancellation yesterday, so I was able to get in and ask my questions. She said I will only be laid up for that week, it is not that invasive of a surgery at all, but obviously, I will be uncomfortable that first week. When you have the device installed on a Monday, Medtronic actually doesn't kick start the stimulator until Friday of that week, giving the tissues a chance to heal, before it is turned on. And about 11-12 days after the surgery we have an annual "Garden Party" to attend at a friend's house, and she thought I would be able to attend it, so that was encouraging. She recommended me just going for it, and to remind myself of how well the trial went. I'm trying, but I certainly don't want to downplay any type of surgery, you know? It's still surgery. She also gave me some trigger point injections w/steroid, since I am still almost a month out before surgery. We leave for our extended vacation up at the cabin late next week, and will be gone about 10 days, so I should get some good relief for fishing time up there! CL

[Justin]

CL, good luck on July 18th! We will thinking about you and I have a good feeling that the Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) will give you much needed relief! Keep us posted, as there are many other Spine Patients contemplating a SCS that found your SCS Trial thread very helpful.

Wishing you nothing but the best!

[Cindylou]

CL, good luck on July 18th! We will thinking about you and I have a good feeling that the Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) will give you much needed relief! Keep us posted, as there are many other Spine Patients contemplating a SCS that found your SCS Trial thread very helpful.

Wishing you nothing but the best!

Thank-you so much Justin. I appreciate the encouragement and vote of confidence. As of right this moment, I am keeping the date on July 18th. And I will definitely keep everyone in the loop as I know this could prove to help other spine patients down the road as well, and not just me. Baby steps to wellness, right? CL

[Katie]

What wonderful news I'm rooting for you, and will keep checking for updates. And of course you are nervous...worrying is what we all do best! But just hold those positive thoughts close to your heart and they will overcome the bad ones. Hang in there sweetie....and thank heavens you can get away for some R&R at the cabin. It will help with the stress too, of course.

[Cindylou]

Thank-you Katie and Justin. I do so appreciate your kind words and the encouragement. I mean it. My Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant Surgery is right around the corner, in 4 days. Yikes, that snuck up on me fast! I'll tell you what....dialoguing with my SPS family is so important and I encourage everyone in this regard, to let us into your life and struggles. I would not be here without the support of my SPS family of friends. And it also helps to look back and see prior posts you have written, because if you're a middle aging bumbo like me you can be prone to forgetting things you have written or even a procedure that has taken place! I kid you not. Just now reading back some of my prior posts on this subject, I had forgotten that my Nurse Practitioner had given me steroid medication in my injections right before I went to the cabin. I was feeling so good at the cabin, I mean really good, I was starting to question whether I should have this implant surgery. Not long after we got home from our 10 days up north, my pain levels were really jumping high again and I kept trying to think back about what I did differently while up north to afford me such relief? What was I missing here? Was it the bed up at the cabin that was better? Was it that I was busier up at the cabin with our revolving door of family coming to stay? The distraction and busy-ness likely were a partial answer. But then when I re-read my comment about getting the steroid injections too, right before we went, I said: A-ha! How could I forget something like that?! Ah, the aging mind.....on drugs! Anyway, all that said, altho I feel wiser about my decision, I am still jumpy! Please pray for me, if you are the praying type, to have strength and peace going into this surgery and ultimate relief coming out of it. Thank-you for listening all. Cindylou

[Gilbert P]

Hi CL

I will pray for you as you deserve to get some relief.

As for loosing things I seem to have miss placed or lost my sun glasses ( Vuarnet) not cheep ones, I blame it on the drugs Tried to blame my son but he is in New Hope

Please relax this will be over soon and you can go fishing, Maybe some skiing at Buck Hill?

Love You Gil

[dalhousie]

Hi CL

Not been on here much lately. Wishing you all the best for the 18th. Not long to go now. Keep holding on to those positive thoughts about the trial. Hope you can keep occupied on the days leading up to it so you don't overthink the situation.

Praying that things work out & give you the best possible result .