Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Whispers of Revision

My stimulator is having some serious issues. It's cutting out constantly, and only really works when I'm laying flat on my back. I was having a really bad headache this morning, so I turned it on and it made me twitchy because it was switching on and off while I was walking. It almost felt like it was shocking me because the muscles in my face move when the stimulator first comes on. I suppose I can look at it in a positive light and say my face got a nice workout today.

I called my Medtronics rep last night and told her what I'm experiencing. I warned her last week at my neurosurgery follow-up that it didn't feel right and she said it might be from the swelling. But when I talked to her yesterday she was certain that I need a revision. I knew that the likelihood of  revision with ONS surgery is close to 100%, but I just didn't expect needing it so quickly. I'm not even 3 weeks post-op! According to my rep, I have to wait at least another week before another surgery, but it will most likely be longer since my surgeon is so busy. I called his office today (twice) to figure out if I should stop using the stimulator, if I definitely need a revision, etc, but he wasn't there and I couldn't seem to get any answers.

I'm feeling really down. My pain is bad again and I was hoping I wouldn't need a pain killer refill, but now I will. It makes me cry when I think about it. I suppose that's because being off pain killers is my ultimate goal- the whole reason I did this surgery. And now I'm not where I thought I would be at this point in my recovery. I keep wondering, "If I'm having so many problems in the first month, does that mean I am destined to have nothing but issues with this thing?" I know it will all work out in the end, and I will be happy when I'm pain free again, yet I just feel so drained trying to deal with it now.

2 comments:

  1. I am SO sorry to hear this. Like you said, revision is common, so you shouldn't feel alone. But it IS frustrating. If you need someone to commiserate with, feel free to give me a call.

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  2. Thanks! It is definitely a roller coaster. I reread your blog and you had your revision pretty quickly after your surgery too (I think 6 months?). So I felt a little better after seeing that.

    My infection cleared up! My doctor put on some steri-strips to help keep the incision closed after taking out the stitches and that did the trick. All the worrying for nothing.

    I wanted to say that your blog has been such a help to me lately. There just isn't enough information out there about our surgery and it's frustrating. But it's nice that I can read about your experiences- it makes me feel less alone. So thank you for that! I hope you are well :)

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