The Results Show

By the way - I should have mentioned I have NOT turned my new system on yet. (If you're just tuning in, read the post below first).

I have everything I need, and it should be ready to go, but I'm too scared to turn it on yet. I feel pretty torn up inside from the surgery, so I'm not thrilled about cranking up any electrical currents yet. I have a long training dvd yet to watch as well so I can learn all about it.

I plan to wait until I'm off the morphine, and moving around a little better. Maybe a few more days.

I have a follow up appointment with my own personal Medtronics rep on June 5. We will spend a few hours together so she can set up multiple "programs" for me. It's so crazy, you can have multiple settings (called programs) to use based on your current activity - sitting, standing, sleeping, exercising, etc. Although the system is permanent and bolted in place, so to speak, it does move with your spine, so the stimulation effect and intensity varies based on your position.

Also important to note two things:

1) This will not eliminate pain completely for me. A good result is 50% reduction. My prayer is that it provides enough relief for me to get off of pain meds.

2) It will not be immediate by any means. It may take more than a year to have any lasting effect.

Back Surgery - Take Four!

My latest surgery was last Tuesday (May 16). If you read an earlier post, I talked about the trial spinal stimulator cord I had implanted. Well, it seemed promising enough to go ahead and "install" the permanent version. I thought I'd post an update since I'm able now to hang out on the computer for a little bit at a time (thanks to my friend synthetic morphine). For your viewing pleasure, Michael took a pic of the incisions; I made sure to include a familiar sensor since this is a family-friendly site ;)

People are sometimes confused over what my exact situation is, so I'll do my best to explain my history later. But first, what did they do to me this time?

The vertical incision you see is a little over two inches tall. This is where they implanted the stimulator itself. The stimulator has a little lead attached to it, which has a paddle on the end that sends out the electrical impulses. Once they have the positioning right, they suture it to your bones. They cut a small hole through my spine so they could go below it and position it correctly. They wake you up during surgery so you can tell them whether or not they have it right. Tough to do under heavy anesthesia, let me tell you.

The second incision on the right is about four inches long, where they implanted the battery pack which connects to the stimulator. This one is slightly more painful. Modern medicine is beyond amazing. This battery pack will last for 10-12 years, and I have an external recharger that I will use every couple of months to re-juice. The stimulator itself will last a lifetime.

So, you ask, what the heck is a spinal cord stimulator and why do you need it?

Long story short - I've tried virtually everything else I can think of to eliminate or at least improve my pain. This is the next and hopefully last thing to try. Neurostimulation has come a long way, and is truly a fascinating method of pain control. Here's a quick medical description from the Medtronics website (the manufacturer of my stimulator):

How Neurostimulation Controls Pain

Neurostimulation delivers low voltage electrical stimulation to the spinal cord or targeted peripheral nerve to block the sensation of pain. One theory, the Gate Control Theory of pain developed by researchers Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall, proposes that neurostimulation activates the body's pain inhibitory system. According to this theory, there is a gate in the spinal cord that controls the flow of noxious pain signals to the brain. The theory suggests that the body can inhibit these pain signals or "close the gate" by activating certain non-noxious nerve fibers in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. The neurostimulation system, implanted in the epidural space, stimulates these pain-inhibiting nerve fibers, masking the sensation of pain with a tingling sensation (paresthesia).

Here's what my system looks like. I got thousands of dollars worth of "equipment". It's a little overwhelming.

The blue objects are multiple controllers and the battery recharger. (All external.) The pink circle is around the battery pack that is now inside me.

If you want to read more, visit the Medtronics website. It's really pretty interesting. Here's a good page to start from. Unfortunately, I know there are many of you who suffer from chronic pain like me, so it's good info to read.

Ok, I've surpassed my time limit. Gotta go lay down now. I'll try to write more later. Love you guys, thanks for all the prayers.

Jamie's Wedding

Check out pictures from cousin Jamie's wedding in Foresthill on April 29. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful day!

(I must point out I did the bride's hair :)

Don't Jump!

I think maybe Sammie has been a little depressed with her lil' baby brother being so sick and all. So this morning, I hear a pitter patter on the roof, and low and behold, who do we see? Is she ready to end it all??

She's just always got to be the center of attention ...

GET DOWN HERE YOU BIG FAT RASCAL!!!!

Further DogNosis ...

Well, it's been a very long week for poor Bear. We took him back to the specialist for more tests yesterday. He does have kidney and bladder disease, called "glomerularnephritis and ulcerative bladder disease". Ha - look that one up in the medical books.

So, it's on to some experimental drug treatments (an immunosupressive therapy) to see if we can minimize what's going wrong in his kidneys . We'll keep you posted, but it's gonna be a long while.

Next post will be cheerful, I promise!

Kidney Disease?

Looks like it may be early stages of kidney disease, he'll see another specialist next week. Keep praying!

Bear's "PupDate"

I'm just so clever I can't stand it.

Bear's home now, and doing fine. I was a little shocked by the 14 inch incision on his belly - I was under the impression it would be much smaller. He's ok though, able to get around pretty well and stuff. They gave him some of the same pain meds that I take, how funny. I get them in bulk though - if only I had known! ;) No word back on the biopsies yet.

Bear's "DogNosis"

Well, as some of you know, Bear's been a sick little doggie! I noticed blood in his urine about a month ago, and since then he's had all kinds of tests and cultures done, and no one knows what is causing the bleeding. He's acting perfectly normal, so that's encouraging.

We finally had to take him to a specialist in Carmichael. After x-rays, ultrasounds, and many many blood and urine tests, the only thing they felt was abnormal was a little growth on his bladder. So he ended up needing exploratory surgery - to check out his prostate, kidneys and bladder, and to remove the growth.

He had his surgery this morning, and all went well. He's recovering fine and will be ready to go home tomorrow. They removed the sack on the bladder, and found that the right kidney is most likely the source of the bleeding. They took samples for biopsy of the kidneys and bladder, and we will hear the results tomorrow.

It is most likely "idiopathic", meaning they don't know what the cause is, and there is likely no cure for it. It sounds like we will just have to continue monitoring him closely for the rest of his life, and will take him in every three months or so for blood cultures and urine samples to make sure he is not anemic from the blood loss, and to check for infections. They're also slightly concerned with pancreas but that is also a wait-n-see kind of thing.

We should hear back on the cultures tomorrow morning. Thanks for your puppy prayers!

I'm jacked in to the Matrix ... officially hardwired now ...

My surgery was yesterday, went well. Much more pain than I expected - nothing like being jolted with electricity in the very place you hurt the most. My back is aching from where they inserted the gargantuan needle to thread the electrodes through.

This is what the temporary stimulator looks like. The wires go in my lower back, right over my spine. Everything is taped down with waaaaaaay too much tape! Very itchy. I'm holding the remote control in my hand. I control the level and intensity of the stimulation with the remote. If I get the permanent one done, all the wiring will be beneath the skin, and I'll just have a little electrode poking out, I think. And a remote control. I'm the bionic woman.

Death Cab for Cutie & Franz Ferdinand in Reno

Jess, Paul, Michael and I went to Reno this past weekend to see one of our fav bands Death Cab for Cutie play at the Hilton Pavilion. Franz Ferdinand opened, who were also fantastic. I bullied my way to the very front somehow, in the second row - just behind two really short girls so I had a perfect view! Michael was not quite as pushy, so he was a couple rows back and Jess and Paul were a little further (trust me, it was more than claustrophobic, I don't know how I managed, but it was sooo worth it!)

Death Cab is above right, Franz to the left. Check out all the pics on our gallery.

A totally great show. Fun time in Reno, except for snow storm on the way home.