Morning has broken

The best part of the day is early morning. Coffee in hand I stumble outside no matter the weather to watch Gods day unfold. With a dog at my side and a cat on my lap I sit in silence and listen.
The giant tree in the back yard sings with the wind and the avocado tree is spilling its fruit much to the delight of Maggie, our blind Labrador mix. She would root out every avocado with her heightened senses eating them all until she popped if left to her own devices. Misty, the wire hair terrier, is happier to just sit by my side, on the other hand. Henry the tuxedo rescue cat sits on my lap getting his morning lovies until I decide to move.
It is at this time that I thank God for this day, say my prayers and just wonder at the beauty of nature. The diverse song of the mocking bird is the opening music for the day. Soon the brightly colored finches make their entrance and flit around the bushes that are blooming in the crazy California winter. Soon the hummers are joining in and drinking deeply from the few birds of paradise that have forgotten that the weather could hit a cold snap at any moment.
I can sit here for hours, and in this morning ritual I forget about any pain I might be feeling; and I thank God for another day to wonder at his works.

DAY 5: Cervical Spinal Cord Stimulator

Let me start this post by reiterating that my experience with the SCS for neck and shoulder pain is just that, my experience. Everyone is different and thus will have different results.

Due to the fact that day four went so poorly, I did not use the stimulator on this day. I decided instead to take my pain medication, wrap the heating pad around my neck and shoulder and to stay in bed. The day was drizzly and cold so I spent the time doing one of my favorite things, reading.

Early on the morning of day six I went in to see the great Dr. J for my lead pull.  He explained that it is very possible that the SCS actually exacerbated the pain in my neck. It was decided therefore, not to implant leads in my cervical spine when I actually do have the SCS placed permanently.

A nice hot shower ended the day! Clean again!

DAY 4: Cervical SCS Trial

Oh my god! According to my wonderful pal and rep at Boston Medical the cervical SCS is tricky when placed for neck pain. It is apparently difficult to address the actual neck pain. It mainly covers upper extremity pain. Well I am tired of feeling like a cartoon character that has just grabbed a charged power wire.

If I didn't have to wait out the weekend I think I would scrap this trial all together. My husband and I did our normal weekend running around today with a trip to Pet Smart to obtain the food and supplies for our brood of furry children; and then went on to Costco to finish the job. By the time we arrived at our last stop I was at a raging 9 with pain verging on a 10. The pain in my neck and arm were such that I could barely breath. Haven't had that much pain in a long time during the day. As anyone who has ever shopped at Costco on a Saturday knows, it is not a quick trip. Had to take 10mg Norco before we even got half way through the mob.

I laid down when we got home and cranked the SCS but it just doesn't seem to penetrate the neck and shoulder pain. By bed time, I unplugged the booger, removed the annoying Velcro strap from around my rib cage, taped down the lead took more drugs and called it a night.

As I said before, if I didn't have to wait out the weekend, I would certainly call this trial a bust at this point. For myself at any rate. I am aware that it is different for each individual and I am still very happy with the pain relief that I obtained from the SCS trial that I had for my lower back pain a few weeks ago. I look forward to having that one implanted permanently.

Thank goodness for the "Precision" representative that helps me with these trials and who is there for me day or night to answer questions and to make suggestions.

DAY 3: Cervical Trial Spinal Cord Stimulator

Day 3 proceeded smoothly with lots of activity. My wonderful daughter treated me to a much needed mani-pedi. My hair may look like crap, but at least I have clean legs, pretty toes and fingers. An hour and a half of grocery shopping followed with the assistance of my handsome husband. I can't lift, twist or do anything strenuous, so he insisted that I point and click. (Typical computer geek)

The SCS seems to ward off the majority of the pain during the day with the stimulation set fairly low. Periodically I did lay down in order to crank it up so that it would be felt higher in the neck region. Hmmm

OK, Night three was a disaster. The pain in my neck and shoulders was a 9 on the Richter scale of pain and the SC did not touch it. Nothing I tried helped so I relented and took 10 mg of Norco and an Ambien. Finally slumber came to me.