Hi Donedeal,
Welcome to Healing Well. I am so glad you found us but very sorry to hear about all of the troubles you have been through.I think you will find this to be one of the very best forums out there. We have a great group of compassionate and caring people here.
I too have a pump, mine was installed back in 05 before the PTM's. What you need to do is get a hold of Medtronic and they can get a representative out to your drs office and teach him how to program your PTM. I say this because once you have a pump implanted finding another dr willing to take you on as a patient is next to impossible. No one will say why, but I assume its liability issues. New drs don't want to touch us with a ten foot pole. Oh, yes, thats one of the things the drs fail to tell us before having these things implanted. I don't know where you live and what your access is to pain mgt drs in your area. I am in Tx. My pain mgt dr quit practicing (that was a blessing) and he referred 45 of us out to a new dr who is awesome and knows these pumps like the back of her hand. She does her own mixing of compounds for the pumps and is very smart. What is the mg strength used in your pump? I have 37.5 mg of Dilaudid and I receive 8mg over a 24hour period. Yes, because the medication is in a concentrated dose we use much less medication and it bypasses our liver. I also have Sufentanil, Clonodine and Bupivipcaine in my pump as well. My pump is a 90 day pump, however, my new dr changes the meds out in my pump every 6 weeks. She says the medication starts losing its effectiveness sitting in these pumps and letting one go beyond 6 weeks the medication really breaks down. My new dr did more for me in one visit than my prior PM dr did in 2 yrs. He was not educated in pumps and medications used in pumps and his patients suffered needlessly because of his ignorance.
Do you have any medication to take for BT pain? My dr says all pump patients needs oral meds for BT pain. Not many drs I understand will give BT meds. I trust my new dr totally. She has over a decade of experience with pumps and she is the leading pump dr in the state of Tx. She has more pump patients than any dr in the state and all she takes is pump patients. She is a retired neurosurgeon, very smart lady.
If you are serious about a new pump dr, number one you will need to be referred to one, perhaps your PCP can do this. If you have trouble finding a dr willing to take you on let me know, I can perhaps find a dr in your state. But in the meantime call Medtronic and they will send a representative out to your dr to show him how to do it. It does sound like you need a new dr, just don't burn no bridges until you are sure another dr will take you on. Again welcome aboard.