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vns implant
Sun, 09/10/2006 - 14:42Topic: Surgery and Devices
ok, here's the deal, and i'm super freaked out about it so i hope at least one other person has experience with this so i will feel better. For 15 months now i've had the VNS implant, so far everything has been great (even got off one of my meds completely!) so last week I start to notice that i can feel the lead in my neck. now you can actually see the lead sticking out. So i went to my nuerologist and they took xrays and are sending them to texas (for cyberonics to look at them). Anyway until we get those results i feel tightness and the choking feeling all over again. Also i asked the technician who took the xrays to let me see them and it look like most of the cord was in the neck, i thought the "excess" cord was suppose to be in your neck?! has anyone else had this experience? they said possibly that the "grounds" holding the lead in place may have broken or something along those lines...any comments would be appriciated, i don't find out for 2 weeks unless it's bad news :(
Comments
Re: Re: vns implant
Submitted by suebear on Wed, 2007-09-26 - 05:36
Hi Barb,
I will be thinking of you as I will be seeing my neurosurgeon on Friday, the 28th for a consultation and the VNS procedure. :) Something that I have been doing is writing a list of questions to ask the neurosurgeon during the visit. There are many things I basically am aware of so it will help. Another thing that will help is if someone also goes to the visit with you for moral support because they will be able to hear things that you may miss during the conversation. My husband is going with me because he is very good at picking up on certain things and asking questions that I sometimes don't think of.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Sue
Re: Re: vns implant
Submitted by txrhb1 on Sun, 2007-09-23 - 23:54
Hi Barb - I've had the VNS for 2 years now, and am extremely happy with it. It has cut down the time it takes me to come out of a seizure and to be able to respond to people around me. My husband believes that it has cut down on the frequency of my seizures also. I haven't had any difficulty with it, except for a bit of hoarseness in my voice at times. In June, my epileptologist turned it down a bit, but last week, turned it up again to see how I could tolerate it again. So far, no difficulties. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me through my profile page. ((( hugs ))), Barbie *************************************** "We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can fly only by embracing each other." -lucian de crescenzo