Originally Posted by Leesha33

Hello everyone!

I just joined this site today and after searching all over the internet it seems I have come to the right place

My main reason for this thread is that I currently have a pain pump and I am considering having my it removed. I am not making any sudden decisions, I am just looking for others experiences out of curiousity.

My quick background:
I will be 32 in 2 weeks and I have had chronic back pain since age 19. I had a spinal fusion at L5/S1 at age 20, another fusion at L4/L5 at age 24 (they also redid L5/S1). In 2007 I was diagnosed with "Failed Back Syndrome" and had a Medtronic Intrathecal pain pump installed.

Like most of you here I have been on any possible pain medication you can think of. I have built up such a tolerance that nothing worked anymore. At the time of my pump installation I was on 100mcg of Fentanyl patches every 48 hours because I would spend the entire 3rd day in withdrawal. I was quickly approaching that even on the 100mcg patches so I and started leaving my old patch on until the new one kicked in- terrible I know
So from the reading I have done online so far it seems pretty common that the side effects of the pump are not always thoroughly explained. I asked several times and consipation was the main one that was mentioned, except for the rehearsed general surgery complications disclaimer that they have to give you. Despite this I do have a very intelligent and talented Dr. It just seems that not much is really documented (or maybe he wasn't concerned due to my tolerance to medication).

So here I am- exactly 4 years into my pump and although I still have quite a bit of pain like the rest of us. It does help with the pain especially since I do not take oral meds.
My problem is that I retain so much fluid that I am umcomfortable all the time, I am always tired, never feel good, and my quality of life is not good. I am young and have always been so social, desperately want children, and now all I want to do is be home- any chance I can get. Lastly, I have gained 50 pounds. I am 5'5" and went into the surgery at 125 pounds and now weigh 175. There is a lot of debate online about the pump not being the cause of weight gain but I know my body and I have always been a super healthy eater (still am) and I workout in ways that I can- you do not just gain 50 pounds from being a little less active- I don't care what anyone else says. I even lost weight recovering from my other operations. My body is just not right-I have not mentrauted in the last 4 years (sorry for the TMI)- ironically all of this started when the pump was put in.

I'm sorry for the long post, and I apologize if this topic has already been posted but I couldn't find anything. I am looking for anyone that has had their pump removed to PLEASE give me your experience. Again, I am not taking this lightly and know that my pain will be very high and I will go through withdrawal. I just really want to hear from someone that has gone through it.
Even if you have not removed your pump maybe you can share your side effects and how you work through them?

Thanks in advance and I appreciate the support!