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Pain pump, I have one, how about one for you?
I have had an implanted pain pump in my abdomen for about 18 months. It is a miracle. I get a total of 4.764 mgs. of Dilaudid, If I administer all of the 10 extra micro does I can have in 24 hours. If I don't use those extra doses I get 2.74 mgs. over 24 hours. The effect is 300 times more effective than if I took the same dose orally. I go to my doctors office every 3 months to have the pump refilled. I'm there for about 15 minutes. The actual process of refilling the pump takes no more than 5 minutes and is painless. No prescriptions to worry about, no one wondering if I'm misusing or selling my pain meds, no one making me feel like a drug addict or a criminal. In our current climate this is even more important than it was two years ago. Many Doctors want nothing to do with pain patients or writing scripts for pain meds. I know many of you have been there. This method is especially good for back issues as the drug is delivered via a catheter which runs up my spin. Yes, I still have pain but it's pain I can live with. If your Doctor doesn't know about this or doesn't want to do it contact a pain clinic. The Doctor who put mine in is a Neurosurgeon. If you have any questions please respond.
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@sherry , @ga29, and all. .I use medical marijuana, THC/CBD 1x1 tincture at night for anxiety, and pain relief and it's excellent. No pain meds are required. My son uses the THC/CBD pain lotion, as do I, on his bad pain areas. It's costly but it works well. Helps take the edge off some for him. He also vapes and takes pills and tincture. He uses them at different times for different reasons. Seem to help. But his situation is so severe he's needing a lot of help and is now in need of residential help to regulate and figure out what meds he needs now. There may be nothing more that can be done for him. 20 years is a very long time to make it through this kind of pain and the mental pain associated with it. Not sure about his survival, how or what kind of life he's facing.
But, the pump is an important vehicle after other attempts are unsuccessful. With whatever oral meds and therapy are called for you. Be sure you have a pain doctor you trust and who listens to you well.
Blessings to you all. Elizabeth
Hi I’m 59 had a Medtronic pain pump implanted 4 years ago It was the best thing I ever did recovery wasn’t bad I had to wear a back brace with extra padding on my hip for about 3 months to keep the pump in place to form a pocket I started off with Morphine but made me nauseous than Dilaudid now I have a mix of Dilaudid and Bupivacaine is what works best for my leg pain. If I’m in more pain then I go get it adjusted.
I hope your son finds some relief.
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2 ReactionsHi, I have a question I had a Medtronic pump implanted 4 years ago using Bupivacaine & Diluidid but my question is have you noticed any Dental issues since your pump? I had excellent teeth up until a year ago I started getting tooth decay in & out of the Dentist.
Hope all is well,
Thank you for your reply. Very helpful. It's the first time I've heard of having to wear a brace to keep the pump in place.
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1 ReactionFell skiing 7 years ago on lower back and buttocks, Severe, chronic pain for a year and a half until a neurologist prescribed several drugs including tramadol. gabapentin, and diazepam. Within a week I was back to cycling and doing almost everything else. I did experience increased pain the next day. In 2018 I had a spinal cord stimulator implanted which helped with the pain. Continued to cycle, hike, work in the yard almost as well as prior to my accident. I ventured out onto the slopes in early 2019. Just gentle slopes for about an hour and a half. No problems. In late Feb of 2021, went for the usual short, easy stint of skiing. A few hours later, my buttocks felt as if they were going to explode out of my butt. Slowly, all the old pain returned. I have seen 8 or 9 pain specialists who are baffled. I am scheduled for morphine pain pump surgery in two weeks. Is this really my last hope?
The pain pump is preceded by a trial. Usually one or two injections of the appropriate medication. If you get decent pain relief, you will likely be sheculed for the actual pain pump procedure. There is no guarantee that the actual pain pump will work as well as the trial, but, in most cases it will. You may have to have the pump recalibrated to get optimal pain relief. Depending upon how much medication is delivered into the intrathecal space around your spinal cord, you will have the pump refilled every one to three months, arelatively simple procedure that takes no more than 15 minutes.
I have read that many patients are required to wear some sort of brace for the first 2 or 3 weeks in order to help insure that the implanted catheter will heal properly in place.
What condition do you have that warrants a pain pump? I’ve been thinking of asking my pain doctor for one, but I have no diagnosis and the only symptom have is horrible pain down both legs. I’m glad yours works for you.
Usually a pain pump is recommended when all conservative measures, i.e, pain meds. PT, etc. have failed to have an effective measure of pain mediation. I have seen at least eight pain specialists over the past few years and had a spinal cord stimulator implanted. I have been on a cocktail of meds to help control pain, but nothing has really been helping for the past two years. I went to another pain specialist who does the trial of the pain pump. An injection on two separate occasions. The second injection reduced my pain by 70 to80%. I am now a candidate for the actual pain pump surgery.
Who is the manufacturer of your pump and you know of any here in Florida Central like Lakeland Florida?