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Wednesday, November, 25, 2009
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Chronic pain, failed back syndrome & more!

robtodnn
06/08/08
robtodnn
Topics:excising a morphine pump

I had a spinal fusion in February of 2000. That operation failed to clear my pain. They used my bone from my illiac crest (hip) and that in it's self is painful all the time. Then I find I have osteopenia. I'm a sixty-seven year old man that climbed poles all my life as a lineman. Always worked hard, loved my wife and children and was never sick. Now, what a change! anyway, now I had a morphine pump installed in Oct 2006 to ease the pain. I was taking eight Norco a day for my pain and that was not really enough. They bumped the pump on a scheduled basis until I got to 3.18mg per day continuous. That is a relatively small dose but I was still having to take the same Norco each day to function. My pain specialist thought I was abusing the oral meds and decided to take me off them completely. Needless to say, I wound up in the ER with withdrawls and severe pain like an 11 on the scale of 1-10. The surgeon who placed the pump decided to do a CT, which the pain doc never suggested, and guess what? The morphine was pooled up under my skin the size of a hockey puck. Seriously bad news. So this March I went in and had the catheter repaired. Then they start me back on 1 mg per day of morphine but this time without any oral meds and I tell you, I hurt so bad and these doctors are only concerned about the pump and it's functions. Then I no sooner had that done when I heard about the Class 1 recall from Medtronics on the pumps of which one of mine are listed. I know, I'm jumping all around in this post to you all but I have to keep getting up to relieve the pain as I can not sit more than a few minutes unsupported. The class 1 recall is not about recalling the pumps but is about the distal tip of the catheter which can and has formed a mass in the spine. They even mention serious injury or death but guess what? They leave it up to the physicians to moniter any possible growths. Don't get me wrong, I trust my doctors but they are human and as busy as they get it could get overlooked down the road sometime and then it's too late.

Well if you've read this far you are most likely half asleep. Thanks for taking the time to let me vent as I am home alone except for the cat. The wife lives is Portland and comes home a couple of day a month due to the tight budget but that's a different story for another day.

Oh yes, my question! Is there any surgeons who are willing to remove these pumps as mine when asked, talk all around the subject and even suggest trying new drugs but won't commit to excising the pump?

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Answers (2)
vickie bouten
vickie bouten
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I was in a bad MVA in 1985 where I broke and crushed a lot of...

Monday, June 09, 2008

Greetings,

I'm not sure if you have talked to your neurosurgeon (I assume that is who put the pump in and repaired the line) about removal.  He might listen better if you are not getting any answers from the pain doctor.  If no one will help find a new doctor and keep looking until you find one that will listen to you.  Pain is nothing to mess around with believe I've lived with it forever.

Life is to short to be in pain, some of us will never get rid of the pain, some of us live with pain with no meds and some are helped a lot.

Talk to another doctor there are a lot out there that will listen (okay maybe not a lot but there are some)

I know this doesn't help much, as pain makes you crazy sometimes but I hope it helps a little

Vickie

CRANKER
CRANKER
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CRANKER is A old hand at coping with the spinal pain

Saturday, July 12, 2008

DEAR FELLOW FAILED BACK SURGERY,, THAT MASS YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT ONLY HAPPENS TO LIKE ONE IN 3000 AND ITS THE PERSON OWN BODY THAT DOES IT TO THEM ,I KNOW  AT A DOZEN WHO HAVE THE IMPLANTED PUMP AND WHO SWEAR BY IT ,,, THE RECENT RECALLS ON MEDTRONIC WAS DUE TO A MECHANICAL PROBLEM , NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TUBING OR CATH , WHAT I CANT UNDERSTAND EVEN WITH MY BAD HEART WHICH THE MORPHINE GIVES ME A LOT OF TROUBLE WITH I WOULDNT TRADE IT FOR NOTHING EVEN WITH MY HEART . AFTER 6 YR WITH IT IN ME IM ONLY AT 15MG BUT I DO HAVE TO TAKE BREAK THROUGH MEDS BUT THE OTHER 12 I KNOW ALMOST TAKE NO OTHER MEDS AND ARE LIVING BETTER THAN THEY WERE BEFORE THE PUMP WAS IMPLANTED AS MOST WERE BED BOUND OR IN WHEEL CHAIRS , AS FAR AS THE POOLING YOUR SURGEON FOUND THIS NEEDLE/TUBE THAT HAS FAILED IS A NEW ONE ON ME MY PUMP FLAT OUT STOPPED 4 WEEKS AGO THE WITH DRAWLES WERE TERRIBLE , BUT THEY HAVE THE NUMBERS OF THE PUMP THAT CAN FLAT OUT STOP , SO IN NEXT FEW WEEKS MY NEW PUMP THAT GOING TO BE PUT IN SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM ,, BUT I WOULD THINK YOUR BODY EVEN AT 67 COULD TAKE A LOT MORE THAN 1 TO 30NG A DAY BUT I DONT KNOW YOUR HISTORY ,, MY ADVICE IS TO SEE DOCTOR GERALD YARNELL OUT OF INDY INDIANA ,HE IS TH BEST I HAVE EVER BEEN TO BUT I CANT PROMISE HE WILL TAKE ANY MORE PATIENTS , GOOD LUCK AND GODBLESS

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This video explains where back pain stems from by taking you through the anatomy of the back. 

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