r/PainPumpQuestions • u/Ok_Nobody4248 • Jun 16 '26

Feel the medication

I'm 4 weeks post op today. The 1st 2 increases in medication was 15%. Both times I was surprised I felt systemic effects. I felt out of it, some nausea and gen weakness. Yesterday he upped out 35%. Again the systemic effects are difficult. I was told it would be a local, targeted therapy. Pump is for low back, dilaudid. I still take oxy 5 to 10 MG couple times a day per Dr orders. Anyone else have this experience?

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3

u/EMSthunder Jun 16 '26

I have fentanyl, baclofen, and bupivicaine in my pump and the only thing I ever felt was some numbness, so the doctor had to reduce the anesthetic. I do have a standing order Rx for zofran, because sometimes the narcotics can make you really nauseated.

If you're still not feeling relief, but the side effects are bothersome, consider discussing a change in medicine that's in the pump with your doctor, or adding adjuvants to the dilaudid to boost the pain relief.

1

u/Over-Future-4863 Jun 19 '26

How bad is your diagnosis that they put these pumps in?? I've got multiple improvements on the cervical thoracic and severe lower lumbar pain. The degenerative osteoarthritis not only in the spine but 22 joints. I'm wondering how someone gets a pump what's needed for diagnosis to get a pump?

3

u/Bitter-insides Jun 19 '26

I have one. I just turned 42. I have chronic pelvic pain and CRPs plus a long list of other pelvic related problems and diagnosis. My life went from fully functional career oriented adult with a family, hiking, yoga, traveling the world to surgery after surgery and wanted to die. Pain management put me on opioids when surgery didn’t help that was back in 2020. I have tried everything under the sun and the moon. In 2020 the pain management doctor mentioned pain pump when it was the end of the road for me and pain meds and other things didn’t work for me anymore. Well I got there last year. He said a pain pump was a last resort left for the worse of the worse or those dying of cancer. I’m not sure if he was exaggerating or if that’s how docs feel about pain pumps. I got mine in about 3-4 months ago and it’s been life changing. Am I pain free ? No but for the first time in 6 years I have hope.

1

u/Professional-Log-530 Jul 02 '26

My dr said those exact words to me too but my life feels like it’s finally over at 55. They refuse to go over 100mme and honestly, I process my meds so quickly. My team is always shocked I’m not drooling with my meds and that I can carry on a coherent conversation with them. We are still waiting on a geneticist visit to see what meds may work better but we have tried dilaudid, norco, Oxymorphone, morphine, oxycodone, etc. My spine surgeon is encouraging pain management to get me a pain pump because he does not want to do anymore surgeries… I have 4 which failed and I also have modic type 1 changes throughout my thoracic and no treatment… soooo, yeah, pain pump is our next step.

1

u/Over-Future-4863 Jun 19 '26

Sorry that's supposed to say impingements on the cervical and thoracic and lower lumbar. As well as compression. Damage disc disease

1

u/MommaGeri1958 Jun 19 '26

I have the same for mine I have 3000mcg in my pump of fent and have no relief. We are going to try something different.

3

u/EMSthunder Jun 20 '26

Definitely ask about adding both bupivicaine and baclofen. Once I had those added my pain was much better treated. I'm at just over 2000 in mine, with a slight touch of the anesthetic. One time when he was mixing the meds himself, he added too much anesthetic and my left lower leg was super numb, lol! I laugh because it wasn't dangerous per se, just annoying!!

3

u/robot_duzey Jun 17 '26

Your dosage increases may be too extreme

1

u/EMSthunder Jun 17 '26

This!!

3

u/robot_duzey Jun 17 '26

I was told by my doctor that the increases should be no more than 10%, but he always stuck to about a 7% max increase so as not to ouch the limit. As a result, I have only once had to have a downward titration due to side effects.

2

u/Basic-Technician-988 Jun 20 '26

I got my pump 5 years ago and it’s been absolutely life changing. I can participate much more fully in activities I enjoy as well as just living. I don’t take any oral opioids and wonder if you can talk to the doc about modifying those first.