Possible VNS surgery, feeling a little overwhelmed.
My rheumatologist told me about the Setpoint VNS last year, and had me sign up for updates for whenever it would be available locally. A few weeks ago, I finally got notice that it is coming to the northeast soon, and after some phone calls, I am at the point where my rheumatology office is sending my recent labs and whatnot to them so they can submit a preauth. It’s all happening a lot faster than I expected it to, but the timing is really good because I just stopped taking Rinvoq. The next drug was going to be rituximab… which scares me a little because I was already getting sick frequently on the Rinvoq.
As far as I know, the implant is less risky, but the thought of surgery is intimidating. I am also anticipating a fight with my insurance because… well, it’s always a fight. I’m excited, but I’m afraid to get my hopes up, because the drug roulette over the last decade since my diagnosis has been really discouraging.
I don’t really know if I’m looking for advice or support or to hear other people‘s experiences with the implant… But I am feeling a lot of different things at the same time and it’s kind of overwhelming. I’ve been educating myself as much as I can about it. I’m reading Kevin Tracy’s book about the vagus nerve, and the science is so interesting.
Maybe I’m just venting because I feel like I need to say something somewhere about it...
*screams into the void a little*