7/19/15. The post where I talk about my stimulator.

7/19/15: still hanging in there with my current stimulator setting.  A little background, since it's been awhile...the stimulator sends vibrations down my affected nerve in varying patterns and amplitudes, depending on the setting I choose.  The vibrations are meant to drown out the pain signals and keep my brain occupied.  I've had the stimulator since last September and I've had varying degrees of success, partially because I'm not that crazy about the sensation caused by the stimulator.  It's like the "pins and needles" you get when your foot falls asleep and then you stand up and walk on it.  Admittedly, that is a lot better than pain, but I have resisted it.

The stimulator is also "positional."  I will probably date myself for a second time this week, but the best explanation I can give is that it is like the static you hear if you bend a wire on your stereo speaker or radio antenna.  (Oh dear...only Gen Xers and hipsters will have any idea what I mean by that.)  Any time I change positions or shift my weight, the amplitude of the vibration changes, sometimes exponentially.  This is very disconcerting for a person who values being in control at all times.  But after a tough winter and spring, I decided a few weeks ago to go all in.  After all, having the stimulator implanted was an ordeal - physically, mentally, and financially. I might as well get the most I can out of it.

My previous strategy was to turn the stimulator up to a point where I could barely feel it, which meant that when I changed positions, it sometimes shocked me.  My new strategy is to find a setting I can live with and turn it up to a point where it shocks me constantly, which means that when I change positions, it sometimes stops shocking me.  And guess what?  It seems to be working.  Other than a few brief moments, my pain level is the lowest it has been in recent memory. 

RSD is a serious diva.  I know it is waiting, just below the surface, for a chance to be in the spotlight again.  Just this morning, while I was still in bed, I purposely moved into a position where the stimulator stopped vibrating, because every now and then it gets overwhelming.  Within ten minutes, the pain was back.  Guess the vibrations are not so bad after all.  

p.s. In the category of "things that really matter," yesterday the South African team (dramatically and improbably) won a stage of the Tour de France on Nelson Mandela Day.  And Mom has finished her first week of radiation, with very few side effects.  One week down, five to go.