unsure if I want to risk the complications pain pump can cause

I went through the morphine pain pump trial and it worked beautifully except that shortly after the catheter was placed in my spine I developed cramping in my lower buttocks. I complained of this when I was discharged the following morning and the doctor said it could be from the morphine. Later that night I had severe spasms in both legs and my lower buttocks and had to go to the emergency room. I was given a strong muscle relaxer injection and a shot for pain and put on muscle relaxer pills, 800mg advil and prednisone for 5 days. I only took the advil a day and a half and wound up with severe abdominal and esophogus pain and had to stop taking it. I also stopped the prednisone. The doctor said the pump worked well for me  and suggested I have it implanted. Currently I am reading all of the problems it can cause including death if it fails or the leads disconnect and I would like to hear from those that have the pump and have or have not had problems and how long they have it. I have osteoarthritis pain in my neck radiating into my arms and head caused by bulging discs and degenerative disc disease that causes severe burning in my lower back into my buttocks, along with chronic pancreatitis. The only med I take currently is 5mg of oxyir to sleep as I don't want to get hooked on it. At times I have to take two pills as I can't tolerate the pain.

I hope you see my post here on pumps, I have one and have had it since June of 05. I see your dr is saying it will help pain in multiple areas and I do not believe this is correct. My pump is in because of severe low back pain. The catheter is positioned in one certain area in my spine. There are no leads with a pain pump. You have one catheter and one only. It does not affect pain in my neck, upper back, no where but in my lower back. If you only need medication at night time, then no I would not have a pump put in. I ended up with the pump because of not being able to tolerate medications of any kind well.

The pump can be a wonderful thing for someone with CP, but it comes with it's own set of problems and drawbacks. The drs don't tell you it is next to impossible to ever switch PM drs and finding someone else willing to take you on because you have a pump. It is like anything else it does have its drawbacks. I urge you to do a search here at the forum on pain pumps. You should be able to pull up a lot of info pumps. Pumps are for people in severe pain 24/7, not sporadic or anything like that.

I did not have to go off my pain meds either when my pump was put in.  Finding a dr that is very educated and trained in pumps and the compounds that go in them is a must. Otherwise, you will end up being in severe pain and a dr too stupid to admit a pump patient is over his head, this happened to me. My PM dr that had me have the pump put in talked a good story to me, that is all it was, talk. All that wonderful time he told me about being pain free was a bunch of bull, he was over his head and had no clue and I suffered because of his ignorance. Finally, in 2008, he went back into anesthesiology and referred his pump patients to a retired neurosurgeon who was taking care of pumo patients only. This new dr had over a decade of experience with pumps and is the top pump dr in the state of Texas. Oh, if she had been my dr in the beginning with this pump my life would have been so much better off.

If I can answer any questions let me know and please do a search here at the forum you will find a lot of info there.

It took a year before my dr got my pump titrated up to where it needed to be.  When that dose  stopped working the increases were so minimal that the pain was never under control even with the weak BT meds. My dr was just under educated and way over his head. My new dr that he referred me to was shocked when she saw me. I could not stand up straight even walking with a cane. My medical records reflected a constant 9 on pain level for two years prior. My current dr said no patient should have a pain level that high for that long. My new dr is wonderful and she has given me a new life and I am so thankful for her. But the other one robbed me of two years of my life that I can never get back. My dr said the dosage in my pump when she saw me the first time is what you start people out on, if that tells you anything. That is why I warn anyone about pumps, make sure you dr knows everything about a pump that there is to know and they must also know medications that are used on the pumps. Your dr can make your pump either a success or a failure.

I joined Pumpsters too and it took several weeks before I was notified I could be one of their members. You may want to send them an email and ask what the holdup is. I know who ever is in charge of that site does a check to make sure the person is really who they say they are, lol. Why, I have no idea. He had trouble verifying me because of a phone number given did not match what was on record with what he was searching on me, lol. Medtronics could care less about a place like Pumpsters. I know sometimes if the guy is away or sick it delays anyone wanting to join their group.

Take care.

Hi, I hope someone is still checking these posts.  I am in need of help.  My mother suffers from failed back syndrome.  She has had 3 surgeries at her L4-L5 area and now as a result of an automobile accident has herniations in her thorasic spine and cervical spine.  Surgery isn't an option at this time for the thorasic or cervical due to the high probability of death.  This is what surgeons have said and won't operate.  As a result of the compounded issues and immense pain, she decided to have a morphine pump installed.  She went in March 2009 for the trial, which was only overnight and I have read in many different forums that people have trials for 5 days.  Is 5 days the proper trial period or is it to each his own?  The trial was great!  She felt amazing, she could walk without having terrible pains shooting down her legs and feet.  The only pain she had was muscle pain from all the years of that pain being masked by the other problems.  She went back in July 2009 to have the pump installed and it's been a nightmare ever since.  Pretty much since the day she had it installed, she has not been able to stand up straight.  She is very hunched over and looking at the floor.  Also, the pain has not gone away and now her spine is poking out at the installation site.  Her Dr put her on oral morphine as well and we had no idea, but she is allergic to oral morphine, which we found out about 3 months ago.  It makes her sick to her stomach and she can't eat, she lost about 20lbs.  Also, she was very unsteady all the time and had fallen many times.  Once in Nov she fell outside and landed on her face and now has a permanent scar from the patch of skin on her cheek that was scraped off.  But like I said the Dr finally took her off the oral morphine about 3 months ago when I went with her to see him and told him all the things that were happening to her and how they weren't acceptable.  He then mentioned that it could be because of the oral morphine. Since she has been off the oral morphine, she hasn't fallen and has actually been eating.  Thank god.  So, my problem now is, I can't find ANYONE who will even look at her to give a second opinion on her pump installation.  Her current Dr says everything is fine, but why wouldn't he say that, he's doesn't want to get slammed with a lawsuit.  But honestly she would just like the opportunity to have it removed if it is in fact causing the additional problems (not standing up straight and her spine is poking thru at the installation site) she is having.  I have called the Cleveland Clinic and they have one specialist there that deals with these things, however he won't work with anyone who has had a pump installed by anyone else.  I have called the Mayo Clinic but was informed that 2 Drs had just left them and they were rescheduling all their appts and nothing was available until the end of Nov 2010, but they weren't accepting any new patients anyways.  Can anyone help me or give some advice on who to contact.  My mother is only 52 and I've just applied to get her a hoveround chair because she is having such trouble standing up straight and walking.  We are in Florida as well.    PLEASE HELP 

Welcome to Healing Well's chronic pain forum.  I am glad that you found us but very sorry to hear what all is going on with your Mom. I have a pump too and I can understand your situation very well.

I will tell you it is very, very, very difficult to get another dr to look at a patient that has an intrathecal pain pump. Why, I have no idea, I found this out the hard way when my dr decided to quit pain mgt. He did refer all of his patients to another dr, but when I asked if one of the other drs in the clinic could take over my care that is when he dropped the bomb that other drs will not see you with an existing pump. My gut feeling is it is a liability type thing the drs do not want to get involved in, or they may think the patient really did not need the pump in the first place. 

My mother was terminal with cancer and her dr put her on oral morphine and she could not tolerate it. She started vomiting and ended up in the hospital dehydrated and lost 3 pounds in two days, it was awful so I know what you are talking about. The dr told me well most people don't tolerate oral morphine, I am like then why did you give it to her knowing this, I was livid. His stupidity cost her five days in the hospital and she was very ill. Once the morphine got out of her system she was much better and on a different pain medication too.

Has your mom's dr tried any other pain medications in her pump? Many of us have combinations of medications in their pumps. I have Dilaudid, Clonidine, Bupivicaine and Sufentanil. This combination has worked very well for me. My first dr was not educated enough in pain pumps or the medications used in them so the last two years I was under his care I was in horrible pain and was bent over and could not stand up straight. When he quit practicing and the new dr saw me that he referred me too, she was shocked at the condition I was in. I still cannot stand up straight and probably never will, walking bent over for two years ruined my posture. My pain is under much, much better control with my new dr, I have quality life now.  I do walk with a cane. If not being able to stand straight and having trouble walking sounds like more from her surgeries than what a pump would cause, but I am not a dr either. My pump does stick out in the front somewhat and more so since I have lost some weight.

I am not sure I am understanding what you are saying out your mom's spine sticking out. Usually pumps are implanted in the stomach, sort of to the side above the beltline. Now they do make an incision in your lower back and they feed the catheter from the spine around to the front where the pump is, of course all of this is done on the inside.

I do wish you luck in your search and hope that you can find someone willing to look at your mom. Please let us know what you find out. If you don't mind would you start your own post and not be on another person's post. That way everyone can see your post and reply. All you have to do is go to the top and where it says  new post and type new member with questions on pain pumps or something like that. Posting on an older thread most of the time is not seen by that many. If possible please bring your mom to the forum and have her introduce herself too. Take care.