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Hi All, I had a follow-up with my doctor yesterday. We discussed my progress

since my

surgery in June. Everything is progressing as well as could be hoped for. My

sciatic nerve pain

is now reduced by 90% and the subcutaneous lead has helped the back pain about

40 to 50%.

Since the pain at the fusion site is not primarily nerve pain I still have pain

there but it is

reduced. He was very happy that I was able to eliminate neurontin from my daily

meds and I

told him how alert and awake I feel now. I feel like I have my brain back. He

does think I will

probably need to get the Restore rechargeable sometime in the next couple years

since I use

the stimulator so much. I am actually happy about that since I wanted it to

begin with. But the

Swedish Health system requires you to " prove " you need one by wearing the

battery out first.

I am not complaining since the operation is completely free here. So good news

all around.

A new member was asking whether to get a SCS for back pain. I would say if you

have severe

nerve pain, sciatica, I would highly recommend the SCS. If your pain is disc

pain alone I don't

think you will be as happy. My doctor here in Sweden put a lead in

subcutaneously to help

with the back pain but it is not a magic bullet. There are some new technologies

that will be

coming out in the next couple years that might eliminate the need for disc

replacement and

fusions all together. Human trials of a replacement gel that is used for

replacing the ruptured

and/or desicated discs are in the final stages. Apparently the material is

nontoxic and show

no signs of immune rejection by the body. I would wait if you can before getting

major

surgery and see what the final results are. The greatest amount of pain I still

live with is at

the fusion site. If something is available to replace fusion surgery then I

would recommend

that. Good Luck, Bernadette