Anyone just recently have a pain pump implanted?

Hi JMZ and welcome to HW. Sorry your in the hospital and hope you get better and out soon. We actually have 2 moderators who have pain pumps, ones had it for a good deal of time the other just recently. They both will be glad to help you. I will alert them to your post and get them to stop by and say hi and see how they can help. Please check back as others will be along to welcome you to the forum.

Hi JMZ...I've had a pump for 6 1/2 years. Mine is more for dystonia management (I have a combo of high dose baclofen/low-ish dose morphine in mine) but it has been a life saver. I am actually coming up for a new pump in the next couple of months.

I'll have to leave one of the others to talk you through the trial part as the baclofen trial isn't done in quite the same way, and I'm also from Australia - which often seems to make a difference to the way things are done. But the surgery itself - for me was sore, but not a big deal in the greater scheme of things. I had some issues with a little bit of nerve root bruising, and with local anaesthetic 'leaking' - which left me with extra problems of altered sensation and numbness in my groin and down my leg for a few weeks after ... but in terms of surgical pain I had two days in hospital, a couple of extra days on paracetamol (acetominaphen if you're in the US) and I was right.

The most important issue with pumps (in my opinion anyway) is having a good relationship with a doctor who is experienced with them - as the biggest challenge is working out the drug combo and right dose that will give you relief.

Hello JMZ & welcome to the chronic pain forum. I have a pump, my first was implanted June 2005, a Medtronics brand that runs off of a battery. The life of the battery can vary from 7-8 years. Mine lasted till Feb 2013 when it had to be replaced.

Have you had your psych evaluation done? If not, that is the next step. Do not let this evaluation scare you it serves two purposes, one is that you have reasonable expectations about the pump lowering your pain level & you are ok with having an implanted device. Believe it or not, some people cannot handle the idea of having something implanted. Even with a pump you will have pain but at a much more tolerable level.

There are plenty of older posts discussing pain pumps & if you would like to read them, please use our search feature at the top here. Type in pain pumps & those posts will come up. We do ask that you not post on those older threads as we like to keep them off of the front page. You will get better responses by listing any questions right here. If you have questions you would like to ask privately, you can click on my name & it will take you to my profile where my email address is listed. If you email me please put in the heading you are from Healing Well, otherwise I may delete it without realizing its from you.

The pump turned my life around & WhiteBeard who is another mod here at the forum. He just had his implanted over the summer. He too is having success with it & he told me he wishes now he had done it alot sooner.

His dr too took him off of his pain meds before the trial & implant & he went much longer than you without meds because the facility dropped the ball & let him fall through the cracks. The drs do this to attempt resetting the pain receptors, not sure I buy the theory as I did not have to do that with my first pump. You will most likely be on a lower dose of meds because with a pump the medication is in a concentrated form, huge difference over oral meds.

I will stop here & encourage you to visit www.Medtronics.com, as they are they leading mfg of pumps. They have a wonderful user friendly website that is very informative & you should check it out. I could probably write a novel about pumps, lol, however no point in repeating myself over & over plus I would be wasting valuable space, lol.

Take care.

Hi JMZ15 and Welcome to Healing Well Chronic Pain Forum. I just got my pain pump implanted the middle of June! It has been a real Godsend! I had my trial in the first part of May. I was weaned off all my pain meds in just a week, starting around the end of April, Then I had my trial for the pump a week or so later, and was suppose to get the pump implanted ten days later! Those ten days turned into several more weeks! I was not a happy camper! Besides going through withdrawals, and those are not pleasant, but trying to deal with the returning pain! Sleep was all but impossible, and I spent many many nights pacing the floor! After more than a few phone calls, I finally got things moving and got the pump implanted.

It was an out patient procedure, of course I had to have a driver with me. When they implanted the pump it was already filled with morphine, and was operating within 30 minutes. I have the Medtronic pump, and with it I have a little device called an PTM ( Patient Therapy Management) it is about the size of a small cell phone, and I can put it against my skin on top of the pump, and press a couple of buttons and give myself a premeasured bolus dose of morphine into my spinal canal. So besides getting the continuous infusion of morphine into the spinal canal, I can give bolus infusions for break through pain. Every thing is preprogramed by the doctor, and you can only give yourself the bolus as often as the doctor has programed it. I can give myself a bolus no more than every two hours, and not more than ten bolus's in a twenty four hour period. The amount of the bolus just like the continuous infusion is all preprogramed by the doctor! I have heard that not all doctors give their patients the PTM. After I got it implanted I had to go back every week for a while so they could get the amount and infusion rate correct for my pain levels. Last time I was there was in July and I don't have to go back till December to get the pump refilled.

I might note that right after I got home ( within 24 hours) I started running a temperature, ( over 101 and had red streaks going around from the front of my abdomen ( where the pump was implanted,) following the implanted catheter around to my back where it entered my spine. I ended up being put on antibiotics for a week or two because of the infection. I was lucky as there was one person on this forum that said they had to have their pump removed because of infection. Prior to the surgery, I was given strict instructions on washing my abdomen and back with a special antibacterial soap for a week before the surgery. If you have to do that make sure you follow the instructions to a Tee! The reason is to try and prevent infection at the surgical site during the surgery. I did it just as directed but I still had problems.

Anyway after they got the dosage right, this pump has been terrific, and I am completely off all oral pain meds. I will tell you though, it is not the answer to all pain everywhere! For me it takes care of my lower mid back pain and sciatica pain in my legs, but does nothing for any upper back pain I may have. It primarily takes care of the pain related to the nerves in the area that the pump is infusing the pain meds at, it will not cover the entire spine!

I wish you well and if you have any questions, just ask. Good Luck to you and again Welcome to the forum!

White Beard

Thanks Susie and White Beard! As I lay in the hospital bed not being able to sleep...again, I have decided that it's worth the try. It's gonna take a lot of hard work and feeling crappy but I've decided to see a the pain psychologist who gave me the evaluation as a regular patient of his (he offered if I needed the help) and even though I'm an adult....I have my mommy ;) strongest woman I know! And now I have you guys! Thanks for the info!

Prayer for tonight
How about at least a nap?

I can't believe the encouragement and support I get from all of you. It is truly appreciative. I've had to recently go back on pain meds, which I'm so unhappy about. Why? Well what happened is while going through WD's I became seriously dehydrated and was in excruciating pain. The combination of both led me to pass out and didn't come to till 20 minutes later. My parents thought I was dead. In passing out I felt it coming and tried to hold on to a door knob. In the process I broke snd sprained my foot. So getting the pain pump is pushed back about 2 months. In talking to my doctor I explained to him that I cannot put my parents through that again and I think it's a good idea I participate in an in-patient program with medical professionals that can assist me through the medical parts of going through WD's. I really scared my parents and I just can't do that to them again. I'm so disappointed that I have to start all over again. And I can't start till November because I am going back to NY for my daughter's birthday. I can't miss it, it'll break her heart if I do. It's bad enough that I am temporarily living in Texas to take care of my medical issues plus my family transplanted to texas 9 years ago and I need their support. I'm heartbroken that I have to be away from her but in the long run I know I'll be a better mother. Enough complaining for now. Still sad and terrified.

Hugs and prayers

Hey JMZ...I apologize for my failure to welcome you.  You've found a good place filled with folks who are warriors not only in their struggles with pain, but also with the compassion to support others in pain.  I am so sorry for your ongoing suffering.  I am thankful you have your mom...what a blessing!

I have no experience with pain pumps, though I've read good things here.  I must confess the mere idea of my daily pain being managed would be a Godsend.  I started PM in January of this year, though I've lived (existed) with moderate to severe daily pain for most of my life.  Thus far, I've had little success but I'm trying to remain optimistic.  It was difficult to "push through" the pain without narcotics in my younger years.  It's become impossible to do so @ 53.  I, like you, want to be able to have a quality of life.

I'm thinking positive thoughts for us all, though I'm sorry for your latest injury...tough break (not funny)  Take care and stop by anytime.

Hugs~~Dixie