Going for a Pain Pump Trial next week!

Posted , 3 users are following.

I had the series of three lumbar sympathetic blocks which we all knew weren't going to work but you have to go through the motions or insurance isn't going to pay for the high dollar stuff LOL.  Dr. E gave me two options but he was pushing for a dorsal root ganglion spinal cord stimulator, as opposed to an intrathecal pain pump. Now, that would bring me up to three spinal cord stimulators.  Well, for one thing, I have run out of butt cheeks to put the dang generators in LOL. Second, the SCS in my neck really isn't working all that well and so I have neuropathy in my arms. I am on a fairly high dose of what I fondly call my " Fat and Foggy " drug, gabapentin to deal with the arm pain and also the CRPS pain in the leg.  It does it's job, it works pretty well for the pain, but I am getting tired of being both fat and foggy.  Not to mention, I have a host of other drugs besides gabapentin I would love to wean down. So, the more I thought about what would be best for me, I figured that DRG would only help my right leg and that pain pump would help my WHOLE BODY.  The answer became crystal clear, even to old fat and foggy, and fortunately for me, Dr. E is a pushover for me and he let me have the PP with no argument.

I have run into other CRPS patients online who have PPs, some of them for over a decade and they seem to like them very much for the pain.  I know that my lower SCS reaches to my ankle and it just can't seem to kill this pain.  I know the DRG was going to hit that ganglion, but somehow I think morphine straight to the brain sounds best to me. Anyone on here have any experience good or bad?  I will let you all know how my trial goes in case anyone is thinking about doing it. It is going to be a 10 day trial, I hope I get the home bolus feature!  LOL.....I have this fantasy that the morning after I will wake up for the first morning in years and have NO pain, NO aches, just feel normal.  I can't wait. To just feel normal again.

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3 Replies

  • Posted

    I certainly hope this works for you.  Ketamine infusions helped me but I worry about long term side effects.  A very difficult road to travel.

    I fractured my ankle 2 weeks ago and am worried that CRPS is developing there. Have to wait another week before I can see the doctor.

    Wishing you great results from your treatments.

    • Posted

      Thanks very much, I hope your doctor visit goes well also. I was never offered the ketamine infusions, only the cream,  That is nasty stuff, it can eat away your nail polish! I was shedding skin daily and the new skin was super sensitive, worse than the skin before it, so I felt it was making me worse and I stopped using it. As for the infusions, I just don't think my PM is set up to do it.

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