It's been one week and one day since I've had the battery replacement surgery for my deep brain stimulation device. I can definitely tell that it's working, although I'm not back to 100 %. The question is, was I really ever 100%?! Ha! I mean, I'm not back to where I was before the battery needed replacing. Although I walk around my house without a cane or a walker, I am still using the walker to get around outside of the walls of my home. I did a "dry run" as I called it on Saturday. I went to the Christian bookstore and used neither a cane or a walker to get around. While I did it, I also realized that I do still need the support of the walker. Sunday night I was having spasms in my leg and foot. Yesterday, I walked to my mailbox and back without a cane or walker, but it was pretty precarious. About halfway to the mailbox I was thinking I should have used at least my cane. By then, it was a little too late. ;) I made it without falling, but not without praying that I didn't fall. Today's walking has not been the best, but it's also not been the worst. I'm getting there. It's a slow process. As much as I wish it to be faster, I just have to be patient. (On a side note: I know I've shared this before, but I do recognize why we are called "patients". It's because we have to be patient while getting better!)
About a month ago (before the surgery), I was at church and I went to sit down in my seat and my back/hip started hurting. It hurt throughout the service but eventually went away that night. It was weird. My best guess is it's sciatica, BUT it only hurts in one spot. The pain doesn't radiate down my leg. Since it only lasted less then a day, I didn't give it a second thought. Spring forward to this past Thursday and the pain came back and it hasn't left. UGH. I'm not quite sure what to do about it. Does it need to be X-rayed? Do I go see my primary care doctor about it? Will it go away on its own? Is something broken? It's crossed my mind too that this could be a result of the way I walk, but why is it just showing up now? How do I even describe how it hurts? So many questions. I know, I WAY over think things. My mom suggested I go to the chiropractor, but, unfortunately, that's one thing I can not do after having deep brain stimulation. This isn't related at all to a car accident I had with my mom when I was 19 in which I fractured my pelvis because it's the opposite hip/back that's hurting. Sleeping has not been fun because I've tried NOT to sleep on the new battery and yet, it feels so much better to put pressure on my hip/back which is on the same side that the battery is on. So...this shall be continued when I figure out what I'm going to do about it. It may just be that I'm getting old. I'm a mess ya'll! ;)
As I mentioned above, there are some things that every deep brain stimulation patient has to avoid (for the rest of our lives) after the surgery. They are:
- MRIs of any part of the body except the brain.
- Any ultrasound around the battery device
- Any tens unit procedure around the battery device
- Chiropractic work
- Diathermy
- Metal detectors that you have to walk through, like at the airport, courthouse, schools, etc. If I have my Medtronic ID card with me, I can pull that out and explain why it's unsafe for me to walk through this device. They usually just use the wand on me instead.
- Arc welding
- Scuba diving or being under water deeper than 33 feet
- Sky diving
I was able to remove the bandages from my surgery site last Friday. Under the bandage, I have 7 steri-strips. I'm supposed to let those just fall off and as of today none of them have.
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| Just so there's nothing left to the imagination: that "lump" below the stitches is the battery. :) |
A few weeks ago a friend of mine told me her daughter brought up my battery replacement surgery to her biology teacher and her class and they were intrigued. I told my friend that I am always available for show and tell - ha! I'm a walking science experiment!
I hope everyone has a wonderful week and always remember - God's Got This!
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