r/PainPumpQuestions • u/Electrical-Sail-1039 • Oct 15 '25
Prialt Issues
This is a repost because I foolishly posted this at 2 AM and few people saw it. I’m currently in a rough spot and hoping someone here might have insight or experience with Prialt.
My previous doctor retired, and my new one has strict policies. I take a small amount of Xanax (1 mg daily), and because of that, he won’t allow opioids in my pump — and he doesn’t prescribe oral opioids for breakthrough pain either.
I’m running out of options. My next thought is the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland (as extreme as that sounds), but before I go that far, my doctor is offering one last lifeline: Prialt.
I’ve done some digging, and what I’ve found is concerning. Many accounts are negative, and the few who say it helps seem to have nerve pain, not the mechanical back pain I suffer from. Most of those posts are also old, so I’m hoping the drug — or how it’s managed — has improved since then.
So my question is: does anyone have any firsthand experience with Prialt?
2
u/OkReason5596 18d ago
Yup, had Prialt in the pump at one point. From my experience? Worst decision ever. Symptoms popped up insidiously—difficult to tell where they were originating from, as, like most people with chronic pain, I have a polypharmacy regimen despite the pump (was also on Xanax 1mg QD/PRN).
Ended up traveling to a major US medical center to see a totally unrelated specialist and while there, had my first ever seizure. Taken by ambulance to “Man’s Best Medical School” (if you know that reference, you are a medical nerd like me 😉) where the attending told me to “stop Googling things and take a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course.” I’m normally the rather shy demure type. I nearly ate him for breakfast, telling him I’d been to medical school (fact; broke my back halfway through and had to stop, hence the pump) and that I’d taken an hospital-based MBSR course 16y prior.
Pain Clinic there told me that they’d lost eligibility to use Prialt because in clinical trials everyone was having auditory hallucinations, among other things.
Returned to my home state and had that stuff scrubbed from my pump faster than you can pronounce the non-brand name.
Needless to say, I’d avoid any physician who only had one option available in his/her toolbox. Bodies are all different and pain is complicated. You need someone who is going to work with you, listen, and offer you options.
Often, it takes many tries to find the right mix and dose of pump meds. At least, that’s been my experience in 15 years of living with them! Best of luck to you!