Spinal Cord Stimulation
Welcome to Spine-health’s Spinal Cord Stimulation patient community. You can also read doctor approved Spinal Cord Stimulation Articles and watch Spinal Cord Stimulation Implant Videos.
- Most Popular Spinal Cord Stimulation Articles
- Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain
- How Spinal Cord Stimulation Works
- Most Popular Spinal Cord Stimulation Videos
- Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant Video
November 16, 2011 - 5:20am
New to forum, Having SCS Fitted.
Hello All, I have just joined this forum but have been reading thru the many posts on SCS as now this is th direction the PM doctor wants to go after trying Facet joint injections that did nt work also epidural that didnt work and various other experiments.
My story is long winded but i will give a breif version.
Basicaly i was a Flooring contractor with my own company. 5 years ago and having no back problems upto that time I lifted a full roll of vinyl ( weighing about 25 stone) being short i did this by leaning back and picking up off the ground ( i had done this many times) I walked 2 steps when i can only describe as an explosion in myLower back.
I ended up having emergency surgery for a Massive prolapsed Disc at th L5/S1. The surgery did nt go well, what was meant to Take 2 hours took 6 due to complications ( to this day i dont know what). After surgery the Surgeon asked my wife if ihad been in a major car crash due to the direction of the disc going ( apparently MM from my cord)Also he said my lower back was a mess. ANyway i had a total retrieval of the left and right L5/S1. I never recovered as i should and after 1 year of back and forth had 2 emgs done that showed Chronic Permanent nerve damage that was deteriating.
They didnt fuse my spine at the original surgery due to complications ? . Anyway 5 years on, I have muscle weakness in the legs, Bladder and bowel issues, no feeling whatsoever in my left leg, Nerve pain bilateral from bum to toes, severe cramps in legs etc. Recent MRI showed bone on bone at L5/S1 with arthritis and wear. Also my Spine is DEad straight from top to Bottom. The original surgeon said i crushed the nerve flat ( apparently he operates when nerve is compromised 20% Mine was 90%) and be thankful i can walk but i had a patch up job and the spine will not take me to old age ( i am 38 Male).
Anyway i have seen the OS who say they feel it is to dangerous to fuse, as they have more chance of paralysing me and i get the usual we are sorry but there is nothing we can do.
so now the PM is going thru the motions to get me a SCS, Trial first for 2 weeks then if all goes well the permanent. I Live in the UK so have to wait for him to get the GRant accepted.
My only question i have is my Spine is very unstable but yet every OS i See will not touch me for a fusion due to the history and condition of the lower back ( a complete mess gets mentioned alot) but if i have the SCS and my spine needs a fusion or more surgery, will this be possible with a SCS Fitted.
Thanks and sorry for the Book LOL, but i thought i would get some of the history basics out of the way
Cheers Kee
User login
advertisement
New forum topics
Clinical Trials
Who's online
There are currently 5 users and 603 guests online.
Online users
Connect with Us
Forgot to add medication:
500mg Paracetamol X2 3 times a day
50mg Diclofenic 3 times a day
30mg MST Continin Morphine twice a day
10mg Severdol Morphine 3 times a day
25mg Amitryptiline once a night
30mg Mirtazapane once a night
Stomach equalizer twice aday
( spelling may be a bit off lol)
The main goal for the scs is hopefully to get me off the morphine.
Been on all these tabs for 5 years except for the morphine which is 1 year ( before hand i had Tramadol)Also was on Lyrica for a while but had to many side effects.
Also reaason i no longer see the original surgeon is because i had op done in Spain, where we lived for 5 years but my company was in UK so used to do 2 weeks Spain and 1 week in UK ( my wife and kids lived in Spain). Had Accident in UK but flew back to Spain after overdosing on pain meds ( took 12 nuroefen, 8 paracetamol, 4 ibrofen in a day so i could get back) can honestly say was not a good idea and had never felt pain like it.
As i say the story may seem a bit sketchy but if i gave you the full version i would ned my own forum LOL.
Cheers Kee
One thing to remember about SCS unit It isn't a cure.
But it does help to live a better life then you are now. Also if later they might want to do surgery the SCS can be removed.
Jim
Hello Jim, Thanks for your reply.
That is my concern as the scs is nt a cure but obviously will help with nerve pain and hopefully a bit of the lower back. And also hearing it is a last resort i was worried as i dont know what the future holds as m back continues to get worse. But at the mo that is all that is being offered so have decided to go for it because i hate the morphine as i get the foggyness and the lovely morning hangover lol.Also tried all the nerve block and facet joint injections which have never worked apart from really aggrevate everything. Suppose i cling on to the hope that some new amazing surgery wil cure all and just dontlike hearing the sorry but we cant do nothing.
Interesting information, I bookmark this page!
Standards agreement and posting rules
Please note that Spine-Health reserves the right to edit any messages posted or submitted or e-mailed to the Company and use them for content on the website or in other company materials. No e-mail solicitation or advertising of other companies, products, services, or web sites is permitted in the Spine-Health.com forums.
Post Edited by Authority Member Liz
I was banned for offensive and inappropriate solicitation.
no spam allowed you have to pay to advertise here. This is Spine health not a sex issues forum..
Standards agreement and posting rules
Please note that Spine-Health reserves the right to edit any messages posted or submitted or e-mailed to the Company and use them for content on the website or in other company materials. No e-mail solicitation or advertising of other companies, products, services, or web sites is permitted in the Spine-Health.com forums.
Any answers I have is not medical advice only a Doctor can help you with that. Just sharing my personal experience as a fellow Spine Health member only. DDD of lumbar spine with sciatica to left hip,leg and foot. L4-L5 posterior disc bulge with prominent facets, L5-S1 prominent facets with a posterior osteocartilaginous bar. Mild bilateral foraminal narrowing Neck-reverse Lordosis of c-spine C6-C7 with impingement, numb hand and sore outer elbow. Keep the faith.
As Jim said...the SCS is not a cure. Neither will it free you of all your pain. If it relieves you of 50% of your pain it is considered a success. Some do get better relief and some less.
You will still be on pain meds. With a SCS implant you can't have an MRI. Having an MRIdoes ugly things to the leads in the SCS. To have an MRI the SCS would have to be removed. The reason I am telling you this is because it sounds like you will to hve more MRI in your future.
You also must set aside time every week to charge the batteries, sometmes an hour or longer.
The SCS may elp your leg pain but do nothing for your lower back pain. It made my lower spine pain much worse.
These are just some things to take into consideration with the SCS. And you will still be on pain meds. You MAY be able to reduce them a little but not much. The SCS does elp with any BT(break thru)pain you may be having.
Best of luck with your trial. I hope it is a huge success.
Cheers
Patsy W
I am not a Doctor but I do watch House and Doc Martin on TV.
Never give up HOPE..June 18,2010 I had a pain pump implant....I now free of pain.
My thoughts and opinions are just that, my thoughts and my opinions, based on my experiances.