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Had pain pump implanted. No relief. Anyone have similar experience?
After virtually every med, procedure I could imagine to ease the pain in my lower back, buttocks, and feet after a ski fall 7 years ago, I finally had the Medtronics pain pump implanted in April of 2023. After more adjustments than I can remember, there is still no pain relief. I am going back in a week to see about having another med added to the hydromorphone (morphine did not work during the trial. I had 80% pain reduction with hydromprphone). The pain pump is supposed to have a success rate of 94%. Anyone else out there have a similar experience?
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Common stuff that comes up:
-tolerance builds faster than expected (even intrathecal)
-catheter placement isn’t ideal, so the drug isn’t hitting the right level
-opioids alone don’t work well if there’s a neuropathic component (butt/feet pain especially)
-people sometimes only improve after adding another med (clonidine, bupivacaine) or switching to something like ziconotide
Also that “94% success rate” is pretty optimistic vs real-world results, especially with long-term injuries.
If your trial was a bolus and now you’re on continuous infusion, that could explain a lot too.
Honestly, you’re doing the right thing pushing for adjustments—I'd definitely ask about combo therapy and possibly checking catheter placement at your next visit.
@gizmojay Thanks for your reply. I’ve had the catheter checked a few times. All is good. I had the output cranked up to 4.2 mg/24 hours with 6 boluses. I soon went into spasms of vomiting. Had to have it turned back. I’m currently at 3.2 mg/24 hours. Still no relief. Next week my PM doc will be adding clonidine. Hoping against hope it helps.