Tuesday, August 14, 2012
8/14/2012
Good morning!! Its about 9:50 and it has been one week since my stimulator settings have been changed. Things have been going really well. I am trying not to get too excited but I have to say that it has been great this last week. I have only had to change the settings one time. Since the change I have also found that I have more movement in my neck and the back of my head is not as sore. I was also told that when the stimulator was placed that the space between my skull and c-1 (first cervical disk in my neck) was extended by about an inch and 1/2. Jacob said that this may be a reason why I have felt problems with range of motion. I have even noticed that when I am working I can leave the settings alone. The feeling and area covered is much better than before. I want to thank Jacob once again for making these changes happen. I also want to thank Nicole and all my family for being so supportive and helpful! Also a special thank you to all my EMS and SFD family! You guys have been so helpful and have really been a second family to me THANK YOU!! I also appreciate you guys checking on me every shift and asking if any thing can be done to help :) To end this I just want to say that I really hope this keeps working as good as it is and I am so glad the surgery was performed.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
8/7/2012
Good morning its about 1045. I just got home from my apt. Things went
very well and a few changes were made with the programing. Jacob is
truly amazing!! He was very patient and concerned that I was feeling the
stim settings were not working very well. He then looked at the
programing and started making adjustments. I have noticed a huge
difference in the changes he has made. He also adjusted my secondary
settings so I have something else to use in case I get a bad headache
and my primary setting is not helping with the pain. It is really
amazing they have such technology to make changes like this. Jacob also
told me that the system is fully intact, meaning that all 16 leads and
the wiring are working as it should. It is very common to have problems
with the devices, so I am very lucky that every thing so far is
working. I have noticed a huge change in the pain levels since the
change in the programing. Prior to the changes my pain was about a 5/6
out of 10 and now it is 1/2 to a 1. I am not too sure what happened to
cause the increase in discomfort since wed but I am so glad it has been
fixed. Jacob was also able to correct the issue I had with my head
burning since last wed. I have to update Jacob in 7 days how the changes
are working, but so far so good :) Bellow are some pics of how the
surgical sites are healing. Again I want to thank everyone for their
continue
support every day!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Update 8/6/2012
Good afternoon,
It is about 6pm on Monday Aug 6 2012. A few things have happened since I last updated this. Last wed the first of Aug I got a sudden of a very severe headache. I was at work when it happened and had to come home. It was also the first very severe headache I have had since surgery. It was very disappointing and frustrating at the same time. I was happy because I was able to control the headache with the medications I have here at home. Since the first things have been up and down and I have constantly been adjusting my settings. It seams as if when I find a setting that overrides the pain after a while the back of my head and neck become very uncomfortable. Then when I turn my stimulator down I have to deal with the pain. I just cant seem to find a right setting. Before last wed I had not changed the stimulator settings at all for a few weeks. I talked to my rep Jacob the other day and he feels he may have a solution to the problem. What he thinks is going on is that my brain has got used to the " frequencies" being used. Jacob said this is very common to happen and they can adjust the programing. It is also being considered of putting in programing that has a constant changing frequencies. I called this am to the Kaiser clinic that provides support to the patients with neuro stimulators and they were able to give me an apt for tomorrow am. I was very excited to hear that they were able to make these adjustments so fast. I am hoping for the best, but I do know it will not be a permanent fix for the problem. I do keep reminding my self of the statement given to me by my neurosurgern during my pre-op apt, " Your condition is complex and advanced, this procedure will not erase the headaches completely but it will help control the severity of them." I have been very thankful that they were able to place the stimulator and that the surgery and every thing has cost me only 20 dollars out of pocket. Also because of researching the devices I was aware that a type of incident like this could happen. Over the last week my pain levels have also been up and down. Also dealing with pressure behind my right eye and problems with the brightness (which are both common with this condition). I have also been very sore in the neck and back area following the direction of the wire placement (I have been told this will get better over time) Not too much else to update on, but I will be updating tomorrow after my apt to give every one an update. I hope ever one is doing great and I want to thank every one for their continued support!
:) JR
It is about 6pm on Monday Aug 6 2012. A few things have happened since I last updated this. Last wed the first of Aug I got a sudden of a very severe headache. I was at work when it happened and had to come home. It was also the first very severe headache I have had since surgery. It was very disappointing and frustrating at the same time. I was happy because I was able to control the headache with the medications I have here at home. Since the first things have been up and down and I have constantly been adjusting my settings. It seams as if when I find a setting that overrides the pain after a while the back of my head and neck become very uncomfortable. Then when I turn my stimulator down I have to deal with the pain. I just cant seem to find a right setting. Before last wed I had not changed the stimulator settings at all for a few weeks. I talked to my rep Jacob the other day and he feels he may have a solution to the problem. What he thinks is going on is that my brain has got used to the " frequencies" being used. Jacob said this is very common to happen and they can adjust the programing. It is also being considered of putting in programing that has a constant changing frequencies. I called this am to the Kaiser clinic that provides support to the patients with neuro stimulators and they were able to give me an apt for tomorrow am. I was very excited to hear that they were able to make these adjustments so fast. I am hoping for the best, but I do know it will not be a permanent fix for the problem. I do keep reminding my self of the statement given to me by my neurosurgern during my pre-op apt, " Your condition is complex and advanced, this procedure will not erase the headaches completely but it will help control the severity of them." I have been very thankful that they were able to place the stimulator and that the surgery and every thing has cost me only 20 dollars out of pocket. Also because of researching the devices I was aware that a type of incident like this could happen. Over the last week my pain levels have also been up and down. Also dealing with pressure behind my right eye and problems with the brightness (which are both common with this condition). I have also been very sore in the neck and back area following the direction of the wire placement (I have been told this will get better over time) Not too much else to update on, but I will be updating tomorrow after my apt to give every one an update. I hope ever one is doing great and I want to thank every one for their continued support!
:) JR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)