No Pain, No Gain....

I have been struggling with chronic pain for over 7 years in various parts of my back. I have have two neck fusions, several steroid injection series, two rhizotomys in my lower back and have had a spinal cord stimulator (scs) implanted as well. Unfortunately none of these procedures has led to any great relief, so now I have gone back to the drawing board for what the doc call the last resort, implant of an intrathecal drug delivery system. I had the surgery on Tuesday Dec 31st (what a way to spend New Year's Eve). The doc also took out the scs as it was useless and interfered with being able to obtain an MRI if I ever needed one. So now, I have a hockey puck size pump implanted in the lower left abdominal wall in between the skin and muscle. A catheter is connected to the pump and the catheter is then placed into the intrathecal area surrounding the spinal cord when the medicine will be pump directly to my spine to help relieve my lower back pain. In theory, since the medication will dissipate up the spine, the relief should continue up through my shoulders and neck. I did the trial, and I worked great! No pain, but itched like crazy. I don't think the pump is on yet. I believe that will be done on Tuesday, when I go for my post-op visit. Looking forward to pain free days ahead!!! Keep me in your prayers and I will keep you updated! Until next time...Here's looking at you kid....