Ultimate Surgery Adventure

Dear purple butterflies, 
 
I’ve missed writing to you these past couple of months. Since we’re friends, I know I can share my adventure with you. The night before my surgery, I could hardly sleep. I was a little nervous, but mostly I was excited! I kept checking my alarm because I knew we had to be at the surgery location by 6 a.m. Long story short, I didn’t get a good night’s rest. I must wonder, does anyone sleep well the night before surgery? You might have questions about what happened before I went into surgery, during recovery, and how I’m doing now. I hope this answers any questions you may have. If you have missed the blogs talking about preparations for my surgery days, I will link them at the bottom of this blog. 
 
What do I remember about my surgery day?  
My surgery day was May, the 14th.The whole process from paperwork, settling in, and meeting the surgical team, went smoothly just like a well-oiled machine. I remember being extremely impressed. A couple of days before, my doctor’s office informed me I could only take my blood pressure the day of the surgery. Right before they took me into the operating room, I almost felt a spasm kick up. Thankfully it was not a bad one. I brought my purse with all my medications in toe for post-surgery recovery time. Surely if I had an uncontrollable situation, they would’ve let me take something for it. My surgeon reminded me where he would be placing the device. Once the anesthesiologist had given me the “good drugs,” to knock me out, they were wheeling me down to the Operating Room. By the time I got to the room, I was almost asleep. Remember, I was working on very little sleep. For anyone who might be nervous about their surgery day, it is best to be a little sleepy. It can help with any left-over anxieties. They gave me a little sleeping gas, and then helped me roll over onto my belly. A couple of hours later, I woke up to the nurse calling my name. My surgeon came by to say hello and that everything went very well. They gave me the device controller, and I was shown to squat, not to bend.  I would also have a post-surgery pain meds waiting for me. I was kept in recovery for an hour until they let me go home. It may differ based on individual cases. 

How was the recovery time? 
Let me just start off by saying, thank God for Hydrocodone! At first, just doing simple tasks were a definite challenge. Poor Dale was getting less sleep than I was because he was having to assist me with everything. During my recovery, which was the remainder of May and June, I sure needed that pain medication. I was also using my device to help relieve the pain. What the device didn’t help with was the stinging, soreness of the incisions. After a couple of weeks of this, you can imagine I was emotionally and physically frustrated. I tried my best to stay patient. Before I knew it my incisions were itchy, which was a good sign that meant they were healing. The bandages covering my incisions were starting to come off. Dale and I had a trying time to keep those areas covered until I went in for my checkup. The doctor said everything looked great and replaced the larger bandages with smaller ones. I’ve got another recheck appointment with him in July. 
 
How has my pain level been since the surgery?
I would say that the device is helping me a lot. Just like before, I still have pain. It varies from day to day. The device in my back works like therapy for my pain. Some days I can leave it at the same level. Whereas other times, I continually adjust how strong the signal goes into my spine. It’s not any different than someone taking more medication for pain. The good news is it has replaced one of my medications! I used to take Acetaminophen – Codeine (Tylenol #4). 
 
Will this surgery help with my spasms too?
The reason I am addressing this is because I’ve had a couple of friends ask about it. How I wish this surgery could’ve helped with my spasms! Sadly no, my spasms are here to stay. They are caused by a domino effect of pinched nerves and muscles from my L4 – L5 ruptured discs. I’ve been told by several doctors that surgery would not be a good idea considering they would be dealing with nerves. Honestly, I would not want to have the surgery anyway. As long as I can control the pain, I am content. 
 
Here are the links of my past blogs talking about the
surgical process: 
Waiting On An Answer 
 
My Experience with the XR SCS Trial System 
 
XR-SCS Here You Come Again 
 
Rachel's 6 Surgery Prepping Tips
 
My Magical Device
 
This link shows an example of what my surgery was like: https://youtu.be/qdeD-6f3yf0
  
Have you ever thought about having this surgery?
Have you ever used this system? If so, what are your opinions about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let me know in the comments down below! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to watch my vlog, and blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends!
 
Till next time! Be well!

~ Rachel
 
#Neurostimulationsurgery2021 #fibromyalgia 

I wanted to share just a couple of pictures during my recovery process.