So much for surgery. On Thursday morning I received a phone call from my SCS tech, telling me that he didn't think lead damage or current leakage was my primary problem, and therefore that replacing my leads wasn't going to solve my pain issues. After he'd spoken to my pain doctor, the plan was revised somewhat - my doctor would now try to move my leads to stop the area around my spinal fractures being stimulated.
Nice plan. After arriving at the hospital, I sat down with my tech - or he sat down with me I guess, given that I'm near-permanently seated - and we tested out a few of the settings on my stim. We found that the larger and more recently placed of my two leads is the one responsible for the pain. And of course this is the one that *can't* be moved. When it was implanted last year, the doctor putting it used so much force getting it in that he almost shoved me up the table. It caused a lot of pain due to nerve root bruising, and left me with a leg that went numb and became progressively weaker after surgery. It certainly wasn't going to go any further without really risking damage, and my doctor made the call not to go ahead.
That took us to 'Plan B'. Originally the intention had been that I would have surgery, then a couple of days later be transferred for a ketamine infusion. Ketamine makes me quite sick and in the past I have shifted a lead by vomiting, so I asked to delay it. With no surgery, it seemed reasonable to go ahead with the ket and this hospital initially were happy to do it. Then they weren't. Then they were. Then they weren't. That was the final call, largely because they don't have a HDU or ICU in case of something going wrong. So a three day hospital stay for not much achieved. At least it was a chance to catch up with some friendly staff - though there's something of a depressing side to being so well known that
Nice plan. After arriving at the hospital, I sat down with my tech - or he sat down with me I guess, given that I'm near-permanently seated - and we tested out a few of the settings on my stim. We found that the larger and more recently placed of my two leads is the one responsible for the pain. And of course this is the one that *can't* be moved. When it was implanted last year, the doctor putting it used so much force getting it in that he almost shoved me up the table. It caused a lot of pain due to nerve root bruising, and left me with a leg that went numb and became progressively weaker after surgery. It certainly wasn't going to go any further without really risking damage, and my doctor made the call not to go ahead.
That took us to 'Plan B'. Originally the intention had been that I would have surgery, then a couple of days later be transferred for a ketamine infusion. Ketamine makes me quite sick and in the past I have shifted a lead by vomiting, so I asked to delay it. With no surgery, it seemed reasonable to go ahead with the ket and this hospital initially were happy to do it. Then they weren't. Then they were. Then they weren't. That was the final call, largely because they don't have a HDU or ICU in case of something going wrong. So a three day hospital stay for not much achieved. At least it was a chance to catch up with some friendly staff - though there's something of a depressing side to being so well known that