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Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group
Neuropathy | Last Active: 12 hours ago | Replies (6014)Comment receiving replies
The pain I experienced the morning was a 10. I upped the intensity on my stim and the sharpness of the pain was reduced to dullness, helpful in itself, and I would say a good 50%. The sensation of the stimulator I can change in ramping it up to provide a pleasurable massaging like experience. I have my choice of several different sensations as well with some choices directed more to certain parts of my body - like more on feet or knees, etc. This is the second one - my first was implanted in 2012 and this one in 2018 at the urging of my pain management doctor as he said the current device was superior to the one I had implanted that was out of date.. I use this 24/7 decreasing it at night. The stimulator allows me to do things I wouldn't be able to do due to pain. I've recently been widowed and have many more projects that I have to do. Both my PCP and pain management are encouraging to keep moving. I have been enjoying being in the pool after my outdoor labors. The weather has been perfect for the pool temperature to be what I like. I get to exercise without being on my feet as my foot problems really restrict movement on land. I am thankful for their advice as I am seeing a difference in a better mood and a wee bit more flexibility.. Thanks Hank for giving me an opportunity to talk about all this.
Replies to "The pain I experienced the morning was a 10. I upped the intensity on my stim..."
No, I am glad to hear about it. Jim @jimhd had an SCS implanted I believe in 2017 (correct me if I am wrong Jim) and his gave him a lot of relief for about a couple years and then stopped helping. He had it adjusted a few times which helped but eventually, last year I guess, it just did not help any more. I hope you have better luck with yours. It sounds like a real blessing for you. I can't imagine experiencing a pain level at a 10 for any length of time. When you replaced the first one was it still working to any extent? Does the new one work better for you?
Hi, @barbbie As Hank mentioned, I have a Burst DR spinal cord stimulator, implanted in 2017. It gave me 80% pain reduction. It was wonderful, after living for several years with increasingly brutal pain in my feet due to sfn. That's the good news. The first year it was great to be living with so much less pain.
Bad news. It started losing its effectiveness and I had to have it adjusted every 3 months, until the end of last year. I turned it off for the month of March and couldn't notice any change. I turned it back on in April.
Sort of good news. I had an appointment with a neurosurgeon, who ordered an MRI of my lower back and pelvis. She found significant spinal stenosis, and recommended surgery to relieve the pressure on my nerves, telling me that I should expect to have some pain relief. But there's no way to know how much relief until after surgery. I scheduled the surgery for the end of September, though I'd love to have it sooner. Because of the amount of yard work and misc. maintenance around our house and barn, I can't take time off to recover from the surgery. So, that's why I scheduled it so far in advance.
After we find out how much the back surgery helps, we could get back to adjusting the SCS so it starts doing its job. Fingers crossed. Prayers being prayed.
Jim
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@barbbie.. The stimulator sounds very interesting. May I ask how big it is?