I had typed out a rather lengthy response to you, but, right in the middle of it...boom! it all disappeared! I will retype when I have more time.

OK, let's try this again. The pain pump was surgically implanted in my abdominal wall after a successful trial. I had been on Gabapentin, Diazepam, and Tramadol since 2017. Those meds, along with a spinal cord stimulator (implanted in 2018) got me back to about 85% of normal. Then in Feb of 2021, all the pain returned like a sledge hammer. No one can explain it. Innumerable pain specialists were baffled. That left me with the option of the pain pump. Was put in on April 15 of this year. I believe it dispenses hydromorphone or some such morphine derivative. No pain relief at first. Took several readjustments of pump's output before I felt any relief. Even then it was minor. Another few adjustments began to offer real pain mitigation. After getting the remote set up a couple of weeks ago and getting another readjustment or two, I am able to work for almost a full day without screaming pain. The remote allows me to deliver a "bolus" or extra medication, if I am having a bad day. Usually heps a lot. The pain pump was a result of my own digging until I found a pain specialist who was willing to do the trial. The successful trial led to having a neurosurgeon do the implant surgery. No big deal. I only took a couple of Tylenol for a few days to help with incision pain. I was able to wean myself completely off the Tramadol. Is the pain pump perfect? No. Would I have preferred a surgical method of correction to get pain relief? Yes. But, this is the best thing I could have done, apparently. I thank the Lord for guiding me through this process. Please feel free to reach out for any other questions.