implantation of pain pump

Hello,
I am new to this site and found it under pros and cons of the implanted pain pump. I was prepared to read articles but am thrilled to find actual people willing to share their good and bad experiences or ups and downs to having this done.
I am scared but hoping this will give me back a life with some actual happiness and ability to live rather then exist and plan that around my pain.
Anyone who would like to help with the good bad and otherwise of thier plain pump experience?

Thank you,
Slgreene

Thank you Vickie...your the only one so far to respond...I appreciate any and all help on here..
Have a great weekend.
Stacy

Hi Stacy, welcome to the chronic pain forum. I thought before heading to the hospital I would pop on the forum & I am glad that I did, lol.

I am one of the folks Vickie was talking about that has a pump. Mine is for low back pain & I can tell you if you have a dr that is very knowledgeable about pain pumps & your trial is considered a success then you should be able to have quality life once again. Your pump is only as good as the dr managing it, meaning he has to know them like the back of his hand & understands the meds used in pumps & the dosages. Ask the dr how many pump patients he has & how long he has been treating patients with pumps. These two questions are perfectly reasonable questions to ask the dr..

The surgery to implant the pump is an easy surgery, usually done as an outpatient procedure. I am now on my 2nd pump, the most recent one was implanted last February a year ago as the battery finally died & the pump had to be replaced. The batteries usually last 7-8 years then they put in a new pump. If the catheter is fine they do not change those out, just the pump.

I was pretty young when my first pump was put in, I had just turned 52 days before it was done, kind of like a birthday present to myself. I was sick & tired of being sick & tried if that makes sense. I had a few rocky years after that because of an inexperienced pump dr.. He was a good dr & I really liked him, he just did not know about pumps. I was pretty ignorant myself but learned a whole lot real fast. I ended up with a new dr about 2-3 yrs later & she was smart with pumps, she only handled pump patients, what a difference she made with my life.

Stacy, if you will click on my name here to the left you will go to my profile & find my email listed. If you will shoot me an email there is a couple of things I can tell you & run by you. Be sure to put in the heading you are from Healing Well, otherwise I may delete it by accident, lol

WhiteBeard is another mod here at the forum that recently had a pump implanted & his is a success too. He is very happy that he went that route & is finally off of all oral meds.

Another mod named Laura has one, however, she has CRPS & she has mostly Baclofen in her pump with a very low dose of Morphine I believe it is. She is also in Australia & they seem to do things differently with pumps than what we do here in the states.

I am running short of time, if you get a minute drop me an email. Ask all the questions you want, we will do our best to answer them. Take care.

Hi Stacy and Welcome to Healing Well Chronic Pain Forum. Straydog mentioned me, I just got my pump implanted this past June, and it was the best thing I have ever done! I have been on pain meds for a very very long time (since the end of the nineteen nineties for lower and lower mid back pain) I recently moved to a state that makes it very difficult to be treated for chronic pain. So my PM Doctor back in Illinois made me a referral to get a Pain Pump Implanted! I think the hardest part of being taken off all the pain medications for a period of time prior to getting the pump implanted. Instead of repeating myself If you look at the post I made on this other thread: You will see, the details that I went through with getting my pump. Just copy this link into your address bar and it will get you to the post.

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=16&m=3184194

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me,

Good Luck to You!

White Beard