[Spiney95]

Does anyone know what the status is on the Medtronic SynchroMed11? My spinal pain is totally out of control. Today my pain doc asked if I would consider a pump trial. I have been avoiding that option for years for various reasons but I am now at a point where I will consider anything reasonable, short of surgery. I was given a packet to take home and read and the device is the SynchroMedII. Was the trouble/recall confined to one specific model? Thanks.

[Dr. Smith]

Originally Posted by spine95

Was the trouble/recall confined to one specific model? Thanks.

I found this:
http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Sa.../ucm243634.htm
which has numbers to call for further information. This recall (the only one I could find relating to the SynchroMed II) is over a year old, and apparently applies to units made prior to that time. I would think the problem has been corrected by now, but that's something to ask your doctor about, or call the 800 number on the link.

You might (if you haven't already) also ask on the SCS & Pain Pumps forum:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum118.html

HTH,

Doc

[Spiney95]

I called my doctor's office and he had already left for the four day weekend that the office was taking. I called the 800 number you referred to and was given a pre-arranged answer...........that the issue was settled. All I wanted was reassurance that the defective models were off the market or sent to third world countries. I spoke with several people at Medtronics, working my way up the food chain and kept getting the same response. Nobody would say that the model was off the market, just that the issue was settled. I tired posting at the other site and for some reason it wouldn't accept the post. I guess there was some temporary glitch so I will try again tomorrow. Thanks for the input.

[Dr. Smith]

Originally Posted by spine95

All I wanted was reassurance that the defective models were off the market or sent to third world countries.

Doc

[Spiney95]

Originally Posted by Dr. Smith

Doc

e

You're a doll. Not only do you have the gift of wisdom, you always give me a badly needed chuckle at the right time.

No responses from posting at both locations. I spent the day combing the internet and have decided not to go with the pump, regardless of make or model. The procedure is more invassive than I want to deal with. There are various reasons why I don't feel like I am a good candidate.

The pain is just unbearable but I will just have to learn to deal with it. I am running out of steam after 30 years of this BS. I have been so reluctant to have another sched.II increase as I live alone and now fall at least twice a week. With the infamous Medicaid cutbacks, I am receiving less and less Home Health assistance. I agreed to a bedtime increase but am remaining at the same level durring the day. Hopefully, I will get a bit more rest and that might improve matters a bit.

Everyone agrees that I am not safe, living alone. Yes, I have a lifeline button and use it as needed if the fall involves hitting my head or a seizure. The kids don't have room for me and I am not ready, mentally, for a govt. subsidized nursing home. I just can't chuck my belongings and move into a semi private room that is smaller than my living room. I stayed in one for five months for intensive PT about ten years ago and it was pure hell. I felt totally stripped of my privacy and self respect. Forgive the complaining. Hugz to one and all.

[Dr. Smith]

Originally Posted by spine95

The pain is just unbearable but I will just have to learn to deal with it.

Getting your adrenal hormones tested (pregnenolone, cortisol, testosterone for starters). The adrenal hormones have a lot to do with pain & stress, and how (well) we handle them.

Testosterone? For women? YES. Women make, and need, testosterone too - just in much smaller quantities, and being too low in it can definitely effect how you perceive & deal with pain.
http://www.practicalpainmanagement.c...-pain-patients

Both longterm chronic pain and opioid medications can deplete and suppress these adrenal hormones, and pain, left untreated, can have even more dire consequences.
Google: effects of untreated intractable pain

I don't ask that anyone take my word for this. Check into it. Talk to your doctors. I've posted the pertinent article links here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread156416.html
(To skip the off-topic posts, just read the first and any I posted that are titled Update)

This therapy is working so well for me I want to scream it from the rooftops! It is not a cure-all nor does it end pain, but it can make the pain and coping with it much easier by up to 1/2. Some patients have been able to decrease their medications by up to that amount, but realistically, I think it would be better to expect less and take what comes.

"You can learn to live with it" and "You’ll just have to tough it out" are two of the phrases NOT to say to peoople in chronic pain.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post840028-5.html

Doc

[Spiney95]

Keep blowing your horn about being tested for various hormone deficiencies. I found my pain doc (physiatrist) when he picked me up on his case load when I was put in the local physical rehab hospital 12 years ago. He tested the various levels and found me low in testosterone and several others. Getting that corrected helped the pain somewhat but certainly improved my mood. I was able to go off of antidepressants at that point. I now have complete bloodwork done every three months. Pain patients need a doctor who is current, well read, and has a big bag of tricks.