I traveled from Ohio to Manhattan to have the Potter MRI last September. My parents drove me and I laid in the back of their vehicle. It wasnt all that bad because we live only 7 hours away and we would stop every couple hours so that I could stand up and stretch. The weather was nice and warm at that time so it was actually a very pleasant road trip..
That said, I concur with Meliora and I feel that deciding on the Potter MRI is a unique to the individual. I have absolutely no idea how I became a PN'er, so I was basically trying everything that I could to figure out what was going on inside me. My MRI did not show any specific areas of entrapment, however Dr Potter did note that I had an asymmetrical sacrotuberous ligament as well as varices in the pelvis. My doctor and I feel that those two things COULD show that the nerve is being impinged somehow for variuos reasons that I have discussed in other threads.. The point is that only you can decide if that test is right for you. If I had a chance to go back in time I probably would NOT travel for that MRI. Hindsight is 20/20
However in your case, with such well known etiology, I might look at it differently.As far as the SCS implant is concerned,, my doctors tried the exact same approach that you mentioned with one lead on each side of the spine, and one injected cuadally. Unfortunately for me, the caudal lead caused me alot of pain - I remember my left hip literally jumping off the table when they inserted that lead. I am not trying to scare you! Everyone is different and your response to the procedure may be completely opposite of mine. I ended up with only the 2 epidural leads flanking the spine, but they were able to pull them down a little bit and get good coverage. So, I guess what you can take from this is that you dont need to be discouraed if the procedure doesnt go exactly as planned. When we got done with the procedure, I had tears in my eyes because I honestly looked at it as a failure because I was so pumped up that it would get me better coverage of the sacral roots (they told me during the procedure that they were pulling the caudal lead). In fact, it wasnt until 5 days into the trial that I started seeing benefit from the implant. My Boston Scientific reps were able to subsequently dial in the programming (it took several visits to the doctors office) based on the 2 lead set up.
Paulette, are you going to trial the Boston Scientific Spectra? I did alot of research on it and it is by far the most technologically advanced unit money can buy at this point in time. No other system has 32 contact leads... I know that Hulk Hogan, the legendary wrestler just got the Spectra as well!
Good luck with whatecer you decide to do, and feel free to PM me if you need additional info! Take care-
Matt
I hope comfort and peace will be with you. Also, I hate to hear you are hurting so badly.