medical procedure possibility - hexagram 58.6 to 10

[yinwithjim]

I have lived with chronic pain related to spine issues for several decades. I have opted away from surgical interventions such as fusions which i have had done in the past. I have seen an excellent pain management physician who has tried his best with injections to keep my pain at bay. He finally told me that injections were no longer an option for me due to my spine's collapse. He sent me to the neurosurgeon who said, "yep! you'll need a lumbar fusion, maybe in 6 months" I went back to my pain management doc and pleaded for something else, and he suggested a spinal cord stimulator - a device that sends 'shocks' up your spine to mask pain signals. The first thing you do is a trial period of about one week. Success is concluded if you have a 50% reduction in pain. I can't say it's been a miracle and since tomorrow i go back for the trial stimulator to be removed I'm not sure i want to go through the ordeal of the permanent one - which is invasive surgery - especially if it's not really going to work.

I haven't asked the I Ching anything of late but this morning thought I'd see what I'd get if I asked, "What if I get the permanent spinal cord stimulator" - i of course really want to ask and know the obvious yes/no question of "will it work" but i really tried to focus on my question instead of yes/no. I got 58.6 to 10.

Legge says "Joy- intimates that under its conditions there will be progress and attainment, but it will be advantageous to be firm and correct" and Wilkelm/Baynes tell us, "Success. Perseverance is favorable"

Line 6 changing for hex 58 confused me a bit...what I sense is that line 6 is telling me to not be diverted by short-lasting pleasures and false promise of immediate gratification...which...has been a problem for me this week with the trial stimulator...i wanted it all to work perfectly and immediately! LOL I do know from speaking with others who have gotten the permanent stimulator implanted that there is a very long recuperation time and need for patience....so...going forward with the perm stimulator i'd really have to keep line 6 in mind?

Finally - the resultant hex of 10, or Cautious Advance as Legge would say.

Proper conduct leads to progress and success?

Wilhelm/Baynes speak of "treading - the art of action by means of proper conduct.

So, for me hex resulting from 58.6 makes a lot of sense - it's as if I'm receiving a green light but with caution not to "floor it" through the intersection of transformation that I hope this perm stimulator would give me. If anyone out there is also in constant pain the thought of a new life without pain is nirvana indeed!

I would love to hear from everyone and anyone about what is thought about me interpretation of this reading. I have never asked a "medical" question before. And for those who know me, its a whole new type of question that doesn't deal with me going back to school or moving! LOL

Peace to All!

 

[BlindedFox]

What if I get the permanent spinal cord stimulator
58.6-10, actual moment (58.6) -> its the end of "joy", lots of chemicals trying to maintain it, you already know the answer, but you are fearful. Will it work? 10 starts with a go, don´t be afraid, do the practical things, stay behind the danger, which is what you fear.

Your interpretation seems good to me.

 

[Liselle]

I'm very sorry to hear about all of this.

Not sure exactly what to make of the reading but if you have to have surgery 6 months from now - and the stimulator involves "a very long recuperation time and need for patience" - those two things don't seem to go together. Or are you thinking about getting the stimulator instead of surgery? Have you asked Yi a companion question about having the surgery?

The relating hexagram usually isn't "the result" - it's more often the background, context, something subjective to you. Here's what Hilary suggests 58.6 changing to 10 might be like:

58 zhi Hexagram 10, Communicating Treading - you may be drawn into following the tiger. What are you getting yourself into?

So that reflects how having this done might be something you're drawn to, just as you said. It holds out hope to you. But there's no omen, none at all, not a good one or a bad one.

(I think your question was a good one, by the way. Much better than "Will it work?")

I wonder if you got an answer like this because the elephant (er, tiger) in the room is the surgery.

I think if I were you - maybe you've done this already - I'd ask the doctors some questions like given (a) the condition of your back, (b) the results of the trial stimulator, what's their best guess about how well the permanent one would work based on their experience with other people. I'm imagining educated prognoses like "it often works well for people with backs like yours" or "we've had really iffy results with people with backs like yours" and so forth. And also ask Yi the twin question about the surgery.

 

[my_key]

"What if I get the permanent spinal cord stimulator" - i of course really want to ask and know the obvious yes/no question of "will it work" but i really tried to focus on my question instead of yes/no. I got 58.6 to 10.

With this response Yi is saying that your life circumstances are all urging you not to stay where you have been sitting (10). Everything has just got too comfortable for you to take decisive action. It is time for you to venture out into fresh fields (58). It is not a natural position for you to be discerning, or to be decisive and then follow through on your decision, however that is the calling coming to you from the cast you have made here.

In 58 Yi advocates that you speak to people and discover a truth in the situation you find yourself in. Karcher says of Hex 58 'this means stimulating' - which seems apt in the circumstances.

Line 58.6 does not speak in itself to the good or bad of a situation but rather that it is the culmination of the process and one akin to 'Seductive Joyfulness' (Wilhelm). Here Wilhelm's commentary speaks to the dangers of becoming too passive and just being swept along by the course of events rather than standing in his power.

"He has given up direction of his own life, and what becomes of him depends on chance and external influences'

Summing up 58.6 <> 10 which looks to be a response that might be caught between answering what you really wanted to ask and what you tried to focus on.
Stimulate your power through you choosing a path. Base your decision on good research and advice beforehand and if you then decide to get the permanent spinal cord stimulator then that will be a win for you as you have chosen the path. Similarly if you decide not to have it you will have expressed your will.

... or it might mean nothing at all like this for you.