My Rheumy called, could use suggestions

Well, my rheumy called and I need to return his phone call today, he wants
me to do a pain pump for my pain, this comes because I basically can't
handle any of the pain medicines by mouth other than vicodin and I've tried
many..So this is a difficult decision to make and he needs an answer soon
so please any and all help would be welcomed...Wow I didn't expect this this soon
I've had this pain for so long ( 13 yrs since the car accident), only lately it's been
hard, now it seems some one cares. Should I say yes, it is surgery?

Well, I decided "No" and will talk about it with my PM Doctor next year.
IT's just too much of a hassel to get things rolling on this for now and the holidays here..
I also want to make sure Jasmine, my daughter will be home from University
long enough to help out...So he's going to try something else that'll maybe help
with the pain.

I was going to say the same thing as Francis, I'm sure you've probably tried the patches? I find them wonderful, sort of take out all the background noise and then I just use codeine with tylenol for BT unless I'm really bad when I have other meds at my disposal! They just sort of dampen down the pain, allow me to manage it. Don't work for flares but for everyday stuff.
Took me awhile to get the dosage right. Definately worth a try.
What med would they use in the pain pump anyway?
Best of luck, golitho

Chartreux,
With the new matrix of the patches, there isn't supposed to be as much of a problem with the patches releasing too much medication at once due to the heat, so you may want to talk to your physician again about trying them once more.
I wish that there were more options available but for now, you can maybe find that it works better for you if you do try it again.
Sandi

Straydog has mentioned a site called Pumpsters.com several times that is suppose to be devoted to people who use a pain pump.

Char, I think you gave the rheummy an excellent answer. The pump is not something you rush into. It took me 3 months to decide on the pump, mainly because I was in denial that I had ran the gambit on oral pain meds. I had tried them all and either I had a full blown allergic reaction or the side effects were unbelievable. I have a quirky system that just does not want to tolerate medications of any kind very well. I was fine with my decision once I made it. I too had the very same problem with Fentanyl patches. What happened is as soon as I went outside in the heat they were releasing too much medication and made me sick as a dog among a few other things, then by day three I was in withdrawals because all of the medication was used up. It was horrible so I can relate to what you went thru on them too.

Last week when I had my pump refilled my dr & I were talking about how long I have had my pump and they claim they usually last 7 years before the batteries run out. But they have been known to last longer depends on what rate the pump is set at to release the medication. Mine has been in since June of 05 so I do still have plenty of time left. She wants my next pump to be a Codman and I am all for it. The Codman pumps run off of a gas that is in the pump, no batteries to run down, meaning you never have to replace the pump like you do the Medtronic pumps. I love the idea of no more surgeries once its implanted. She has been switching all of her patients to the Codman when its time to replace their pump. I spoke with a couple of her patients before we talked a few months back and they say they are very happy with the Codman, they can't tell any difference in the pumps. The only way you would have to replace the Codmam is if it were to fail. I asked if any of them had failed and she said no. The nurse told me she had heard Medtronics was coming out with a new pump like the Codman. That does not surprise me at all they are pretty much the leader of the pack in these things.

I don't know if you have ever gone to Medtronics. com but they have a very good site with lots of info, you may want to check it out just to get basic info. I did join [email protected] some time after I had my pump but I did not stay with them any length of time. They do some sort of a background check on you to determine if you are who you say you are before they will allow you to join. They have lots & lots of rules nothing like here at HW, very, very secretive almost to the point of paranoia as far as I am concerned. I have no problem with rules but they go overboard. Back when I joined there seemed to be a lot of people not doing well because of their drs and I just did not feel comfortable posting anything positive going on with me because all of them were doing so poorly or so they said, a real downer. I checked out the website SE posted but only found posts dated back to 2007 so they were really outdated, unless I missed something.

You will have to do a trial if you decide to go with the pump. You will know immediately if its going to work for you too. The surgeries are done as an outpatient, two incisions, mine is on my low back and the stomach sort of high up on the side, above the belt line. I had a couple of rough days at first like most surgeries and was home alone during the day and had no problems. If you have any questions and want to ask, my email is listed here and you can send me an email if you like.

Bottom line, its the best thing I could have ever done now that I have a dr that knows what she is doing. Take care.