Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

Hi...my name is Bonnie. Like so many others here, I have alot of chronic pain. I am going to have a pump installed next week that will replace oral morphine with morphine filled pump that will automatically medicate. Has anyone else gotten one of these?

I gave Buprenorphine a try for over a year, hoping I could switch to that from the MS Contin I'd been taking for years. When that didn't work, I tried Topamax for several months until I got to the place where I was feeling cognitively impaired. Now I'm taking Dilaudid.

I certainly didn't start with an opioid for my CIDP pain. I tried at least two dozen medications over the course of 8 years, and they either did nothing, or had unacceptable side effects, or sent me to the hospital. I had a spinal cord stimulator implant in 2017 that gave me 80% relief! I'd forgotten how good that felt! After the first year it gradually decreased in efficacy, but it's still turned on with the thinking that it probably helps enough to keep it. People find them quite effective for back pain (most of my pain is in my feet and ankles), as well as several other areas.

I've heard from people who have been helped with Buprenorphine, so it's certainly worth a try.

Jim

I've been waiting for several years to get a pain pump, but there's no one in my area who would maintain it. It reduces the dosage of medication exponentially from the oral dose. As I understand it, the hassle of government regulations is gone because of the delivery of the medication. You can't overdose or abuse it or sell it like the government and many doctors think you will. I just keep waiting and hoping and pressing for someone to provide the service of maintenance. I'll be interested to hear from you how the pump compares to oral.

You didn't mention the source of your pain. I hope you are delighted with your pump.

Jim

Hello Jim..I have degenerating bone in my back. What I was always treating as Fibromyalgia, but I now think might be PMR instead, vein disorder and artheritis. I am meeting with pain management doctor next week to discuss before surgery, after a bad nite of pain last nite. My pain management doctor will be the person who refills my pump, approximately each 3-4 months. I have been on morphine many years, without any real issues, but at age 80, I am trying to avoid any stomach problems, or difficulty in obtaining refills. You are also right about dosage., smaller dose, more relief!

Jim have you tried cannabis yet since I didn’t see it mentioned? After much experimenting I’m now using CBD tincture 100mg 4x day with 25mg THC tincture 4x day with nice results. I no longer require breakthrough pain meds. Cannabis alone didn’t cut it though.

It wasn't enough relief for me. I am now wondering if one has a pump, and should at some stage require surgery, would the pump and the morphine interfere with anything?

I just noticed I answered a question posed to Jim...please excuse.

There are a few choices available for pain control you may wish to investigate to achieve better pain control. Your pain doc is where to start. I’m hoping I can continue to obtain adequate pain control with buprenorphine adjustments when necessary.

I have neuropathic pain/ central pain syndrome syndrome which began six weeks after an ischemic stroke in 2018
Welcome any suggestions for relief/ help. Have tried all I am aware available without success

I deal with bouts of very painful flares from Fibromyalgia, which I was diagnosed with two years ago. The only medications I take during flares is 5mg Flexeril (muscle relaxer) at night and some supplements recommended by my functional medicine Nurse Practitioner that don't seem to be helping. I'm in the middle of a flare now and in extreme pain all day. I try to stay busy to take my mind off it, but it's very hard to cope.
I'm very reluctant to go on meds such as Cymbalta, Lyrica or Gabapentin. I've read they often don't help and have bad withdrawal issues if you want to stop taking them. Most doctors don't offer much help except for offering drugs, with little knowledge about their effectiveness and side effects.
I'm looking for support or help with how to continue living with this chronic pain. What works for others with Fibro to lessen the pain? (I am also part of the Fibromyalgia Support Group.)