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Lumbar Pain Pump needed. Any Doctors for 65+?

Spine Health | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (31)

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@laurenseavertson

I have severe Adhesive Arachnoiditis & have an eval, by a new pain specialist, for Jan 9th. I have manageable pain, about 70% of the time. The other 30 % my pain gets so severe, i have to go to the hospital & beg for Dilaudid. I am hoping the pump can help, during these bad crises. I have been accused of drug seeking etc. Have waited on a miserable bench for over 6 hours to be seen, Hospital situation in Maricopa county ( Phoenix area) is terrible. have no desire to ever show up in a hospital here for help. Hoping i can get some relief from the pump

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Replies to "I have severe Adhesive Arachnoiditis & have an eval, by a new pain specialist, for Jan..."

Is there a medical school in your area, or another state close by? Another way to find docs that manage drug delivery systems is the manufacturer, in my case it is Medtronic they have a list for your state and nationwide. Look on their website and also other manufacturers of pain pumps.
I know it can be difficult to find somebody who does the work and seeing if they'll accept you. I had to have a clearing by a psychologist and a trial for a week. For me it is the difference between being part of life or a prisoner home bound with pain. I hope you can find what you need. Good luck.

I am in search of a doctor to start a pain pump for lumbar issues and have done simple research. It starts with either neurosurgeon or anesthesiologist who is trained with this “Intrathecal pump”. They start by locating the best area above the pain and inject a small amount of medication into this area. They will have you stop current pain meds for two weeks, assign a company to perform a Physic Eval to call and you answer a list of questions before the trial. The pump can deliver several types of pain killers you Dr. feels is best. They range from Dilaudid, hydromorphone, ziconotide, morphine sulfate, fentanyl, clonidine, bupivacine or sufentanil. You are released to go home with a driver and see the Dr. several more times to check healing, leakage, redness & fever. You get a handheld device that allows you to give a programmed extra dose if pain returns. The catheter usually will be held with stitches so it can not move or migrate. Pump is placed in the front and has location features that allows for a sterile template placed over the device to indicate injection point. They are 20cc & 40cc and make a peeping noise in a pattern to communicate with the patient or doctor during refilling if battery requires service. Best of luck. I hope I can afford the co-pay someday.