Pain pump, I have one, how about one for you?

Like many others my journey with pain started many years ago. Along the way i have had injections,ablation, PT ,accupuncture etc. At 74, I am struggling stil,,but able to endure my condition. In 2012, when my neurosurgeon told me I had reached the point of being inoperable i felt completely desperate. At that time I was a prisoner of oral pain medication and spent most of my time sleeping or awake in pain. Couldn't drive, or even sit through a movie with friends. Pain had completely dragged me into the vortex of suffering. After a trial of the morphine pump, I was offered the chance for a Medtronic pain pump. I had some apprehension and felt like I'd become a drug addict, but my tolerance to meds was quickly climbing to dangerous dosage levels. Addiction in my family has touched many people I love. Both my husband and my son died due to their addiction. I decided to have the implant due to the low dose and lack of increased need in my life for stability in my life. The di fference it has made in my life has been remarkable. I am now able to get out of bed amd start my day. I liken the transformation with this example: with the pump it's like central air conditioning, constant and temperate, with oral pain meds i was constantly going up to effective, then coming down and feeling little pain relief. Two years ago,i had my second pump implanted and in seven years, if Ii'm still here, will welcome my third implantation. I am forever in the debt of Dr. Thanki, my nuerosurgeon that gave me the chance to take back my life. I have had both hips replaced, left shoulder, left knee, rebuilt neck, and complete lumbar spine fused. Don't give up!

Hello @morkat, Welcome to Connect. I see that this is your first post although you've been a member of Connect since May. Thank you for sharing how you have been helped with a Medtronic pain pump and your message of "Don't give up". What a great message for all who are suffering from chronic pain - keep searching for answers and don't give up!.

Do you have any other suggestions or tips that have helped you through your chronic pain journey?

Hello, I’m 62 years old and a CRPS patient who has been living with severe pain for over 22 years . I’m fused from my sacrum to T4 and C3-6. I’ve had both Flowonix and Medtronics pain pumps. After a dozen years on the pumps I must say I’m very pleased with the Medtronics pump. It is less complicated to use versus the Flowonix which has many programming problems. My pain is so severe and wide spread I still require oral opiods. My pumps utilize Hydromorphone and Bupivicaine but doesn’t cover all of my pain. I only get relief in my left leg and foot . It does nothing for my back and upper portion of my body. I know it’s supposed to cover everywhere because it drip meds into the spinal column. But I believe the location of the catheter and damage to my spine limits it’s effectiveness.
The other major issue I’m having now is my pump it pushing through the skin of my abdomen. This has happened with two of my pumps and it gets infected and very painful. I’ve been trying to find a doctor that will help me with this since moving to Florida but without success. I’m totally flustered by the shortcomings of the medical system here. Most doctors that I see have no hospital affiliation thus trying to get tests and surgery done has proven to be a real challenge. In Chicago this would never happen.
My situation is getting critical but I’ve given up. I can’t take the stress of dealing with all the crap. I have to take a step back to try and reduce my stress. I just wish I could find a pain management team that could help me. No doctor wants to work with a CRPS patient on opiods who’s had over 57 surgeries and requires more. I’m just to complicated for them.
Argh!!!!!!

I am on my second Medtronic pain pump. Every seven years it needs to be replaced, it is a same day procedure. Every discin my back is either herniated or compromised. I've had both front and back cervical C2-C7 operations. My complete lumbar spine was fused with a laminectomy. My left shoulder hip, knee and hip are replaced. About nine years ago I became in operable, and was offered either the stimulator or a morphine pump. I spoke with two women who had the stimulator and tney told me don't waste your money or your time. So i choose the pain pump. With it I can get out of bed in the morning and goo about my daily rountine. It is like getting your life back. Sometimes there is breakthrough pain - if i overdo it or the pain comes from somewhere else, like my shoulder. I can take some meds by mouth ffor that problem.I;m 74 years old and I have to adjust to my condition, which sometimes is hard. All in all, if you have patience and follow the instructions you can feel a lot better.it's better than being knocked out all the time and unable to drive, etc. hope this helps.

Good afternoon, @morkat. It was great to see this post from you. I would guess that you read a lot more posts than you write. Members in this group would benefit from hearing more from you. I have had several spine surgeries including a laminectomy in the lumbar area and fusions in the cervical area. Both my shoulders have been surgical candidates.....the right one three times until a reverse replacement stopped the pain. I have heard my surgeons tell me.....".don't fall I can't fix you." Does that mean I am reaching inoperable status?

The other statement that rang a bell with me was your recommendation that you must have patience and follow instructions. So what else do you do to adjust to your condition? Do you do mind/bodywork like mindfulness and meditation?

May you have happiness and the causes of happiness.
Chris

I do meditate and pray. I don't allow myself to project lnto the future. Letting myself live one day at a time. I am a longtime member of a 12 step program This helps a lot. I think each person has to go through the peocess of what works for them. There was a time when accupuncture worked for me and then it stopped. Remembering that my condition keeps getting worse, Being careful about pushing myself = when I do I have a day or two that includes a lotof rest. As far as being inoperable,thats a question for your doctor. I hope I;ve answered your inquiries. Good luck.

I also have a Medtronic pain pump. I am just wrapping up my first year with it. It has prevented me from taking large amounts of oxycodone. It is amazing how much less medicine you need to use. I have scleroderma (year 23) with severe calcinosis. In the past the calcifications have caused both my elbow and my femur to break. In addition I have rheumatoid arthritis, Raynauds syndrome, Sjogrens disease, pulmonary hypertension and am hypothyroid. Using the pain pump instead of taking the narcotics orally will help with narcotics induced constipation.
I had my pump put in right in Florida, but I needed to get a refill while in New York. It was very difficult finding someone. I ended up going to Manhattan.

Yes, I just changed docs. I was sad to leave him, but he will be retiring and I needed somone closer. He offered me the morphine pump - thank God. I was his patient and he did his best to keep me going. I was his patient for 21 years. I looked in the Medtronic guide on line to find him, the new doctor. He is with a large pain specialist group at the hospital, I agree it is amazing such a small dose is effective. I wrestled with the decision, but once I made it I stuck it out. By the time you get here you are running out of options. I wonder do you really have a choice? I was so done with the pain. The journey we are on is not an easy one,but once you give up the self pity.and drama its much better. Hang in there I'm glad it worked for you.

Hello! My name is Angel. I have spinal Adhesive Arachnoiditis. It is a nonstop pain that is debilitating. I had a pain Dr that punctured my spinal cord and shot depo medrol into my spinal cord. After the puncture, they had to do a blood patch to stop the spinal leak. In the rush to so the blood patch, while transferring me onto a gurny, they dropped me and broke my back. This is 5 years of hell. There are no Dr's that even want to touch pain patients. We are discriminated against and left to suffer. This is inhumane and its all done to cover the butts of the Drs who harm their patients. God bless you! I pray that one day we can have some help. One day at a time sweet Jesus

Sounds like the medical system has failed you. I would think Mayo could help you in some way. Yes, one day at a time.