5/15/14. The post where I tell you about the next step.

5/15/14: the good news - for the first time in quite awhile, I did not wake up long before my alarm.  The bad news - because my sleep cycle is completely off schedule, I was in the middle of a dream when my alarm went off.  I woke up completely disoriented and felt slow and groggy all day.  (I can just hear my brothers saying, "and how is that different than any other day?" Very funny, guys...)

I managed to get ready in time for my doctor appointment.  First, we talked about the Cymbalta.  I have been taking the "half dosage" (my words, not his) for two weeks and it is time to ramp up to the full dosage.  He suggested I take it at night rather than after breakfast to help with the nausea and assured me it would go away after a few weeks. 

Then he asked me the million dollar question: after thinking about it for a few weeks, had I decided if I wanted to pursue the next step?  Yes...yes, I am.  The next step is a spinal cord stimulator.  For those of you who, like me until a few weeks ago, have no idea what that is, I'll try to describe it briefly in non-medical terms.  (Hope I get it right.)  It is a small battery or generator attached to wire leads that are threaded into the epidural space of your spinal cord.  It sends electrical impulses to the brain that are intended to mask the pain signals coming from the damaged nerve.  It does not "fix" the nerve, it just provides pain relief.  Or at least, it does in about half the people who try it.

It is surgically implanted in the back and adjusted using a small remote control. The good news is that there is a one-week trial that can be done without implanting it to determine whether it will provide any relief.  During the trial, the leads are implanted using a tiny needle, but the generator stays outside of the body and is worn like a pager.  (The younger folks reading this will need to get on the Internet and find out what a pager is.)  If you experience relief during the trial, the generator will then be implanted.  It can be removed in the future if you no longer need it or if it ceases to provide relief.

While having what sounds like a tiny set of jumper cables in my spine is not my ideal scenario, nothing else has worked so far, so I am ready to try it.  The scariest part is the thought of trying to keep up with the remote control.  And hoping I don't get a shock every time my patient, long-suffering husband changes the channel on the TV.

The one-week trial will be scheduled after we return from our vacation.  If it works during the trial period, I will schedule the procedure to have it implanted.  If it doesn't...well, let's cross that bridge if we come to it.