I didn't realize how long it had been since I had posted. I have been doing great! We turned the system up and it is covering more of my pain. I can't help but laugh because when we turned it up, I ended up with some stimulation in my leg. When you get the stimulator in your cervical spine, because it is so narrow, you can end up with some mild stimulation in other areas. With the relief that I have, I can handle some other stimulation. It is unfortunate that information on stimulation isn't more widely known. I can't imagine that there aren't people suffering out there that could be helped by this.
Last Thursday, I ended up having a little "seepage" from the incision on my chest. It didn't look infected, so I didn't rush in to the doctor. I had an appointment on Monday to discuss my medications anyway. Then, over the weekend, my mind tried to freak me out. Bottom line is, it was just my body pushing out one of the stitches under the skin (I guess they have to stitch inside and then staple the incision shut). Today you can't even tell that there was anything wierd.
Actually, all of the incisions look great. The one on the top of my shoulder pretty much looks like I had a cat scratch me. I can't really see the back of my head (hahaha) but was told it looks fantastic as well. I am going to be declining the final pain medication over the next couple of weeks and will be completely done with them by the end of the month.
Who could ask for more???

Great progress

I went to meet with Tim yesterday. He added another program for me. This time it had added a lot of "tingling". I didn't realize how a minor change in programming could make changes everywhere. Now I have tingling in my rear, right leg and once in a while in my left arm. Because the spinal cord narrows, increasing the output creates feeling in many more areas.
This is sure an interesting device. The more I use it, the more interesting it becomes. I don't know why more doctors don't recommend this. It seems like they are more interested in keeping you coming back for more appointments. Even though there are still appointments around this. My hope is that I can get the word out to a few people that might benefit.

Keep on keepin' on

Things are still going great. I am going to meet with Tim (ANS rep) on Monday to tweek the program a bit. I just want the top of my shoulder and neck to be the beginning point for relief. The incisions are feeling much better. The muscles on the back of my neck are still tender, but getting better each day. I am really looking forward to going back to work. I will start working 4 hours a day on Thursday (8/6). I am very thankful that I don't have to do full days right off the bat. I still get tired and don't want to fall asleep at my desk.

I am planning on taking more pictures soon. The scarring will not be too bad. The front incision is going to be the bad one. It is a little, the only word that I can think of is overlapped. I'm sure it will get better with time. I am going to start putting some scar therapy ointment on it. Should help.