pump not working?

[hobbsie]

I had morphine pump implanted on April 9th. I am not getting the pain controlled, it is as if I had no pain implanted at all.  During trial I had complete pain relief. my pain doctor has tried morphine(terrible nausea, and I stopped being able to eat! now he has switched me to straight anesthesia, and I feel worse.  should I try dilaudid? my daughter told me it changes your personality. Is this true?  I would appreciate any comments.
signed: not sure what to do?

[horselip]

I am not on the pump but I do use dlilaudid as a break thru pain med along with a long acting med.

My family and friends are pretty supportive of my pain treatment. My hubby, in particular has not noticed any negative personality changes.  As an aside, now that my pain is under better control, I know that I am not so moody.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do!
Horselip

[zbignue]

I've had dilaudid in my pump for the past 4 yrs. Morphine wasn't doing the job. Dilaudid is no more effective. An MRI and X-ray confimed the cathiter from the pump had been placed properly.I also had a trial with Prialt and it too was ineffective in pain relief,but didn't cause constipation as did morphine and dilaudid.Because of it's expence and the fact that it didn't provide any more relief than dilaudid,I went back to dilaudid.I called Medtronics,the maker of my pump,and they couldn't offer any explanation as to why I wasn't getting adiquate pain relief. One of my ex-pain specialists advanced my daily dosage to 7mg/day and still no help.The next pain specialist said "My God,that setting is way too high".Right now my setting is for 2mg/day.Sorry I can't offer you some hope.As to personality changes:I can't say that I've noticed any changes and my wife says she can't see any changes either.What has been noticeable is loss of appitite resulting in loss of about 15 lbs.

[James_18]

You should talk to your doctor and see what he thinks I personally have tried Dilaudid (Hydromorphone) for over 8 months and it produces effects similar to weak opiates than morphine. I personally had no nausea, and the doctor can titrate increase or decrease the dosage very easily.

I've also had personal experience with I.V. morphine since I had cancer and It did cause nausea at high doses 15mg-25mg I.V. but after some time... the nausea goes away your body developes tolerance to the drug so side effects experience at the beginning disappear.

I've never tried oral morphine or a pain pump; only I.V. morphine pain pump.

They're also medication to help with the nausea example: Zofran, Ativan, Phenergan, Vistaril, Kytril, etc... Zofran being the best and most expensive Second being kytril and ativan. Kytril is expensive so if you don't have health insurance Ativan (Lorazepam) is a better option.

Bottom line give the medicine some time 2-3 months at the most or switch to Dilaudid, there's also Fentanyl patches...

[Tuckamore]

Hello Hobbsie,

I am sorry to hear that you have having such problems with the pain pump and narcotics. I may not be totally understanding your post. Is your physician using the narcotics you spoke of in the pump....or orally?

I would not give up on the pump yet. Make an appointment to see the physician that implanted it to determine what will work the best for you. It can take some time with trial and error and it is aggravating because when we are in pain we just want it to stop now.

Morphine did (does) not work for me either. I gave it several months and the side effects did not diminish. Everyone's system is different. And as I have said here many times what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.  

All the "Big Dog" narcotics have the potential of changing our personalities to one degree or another. In fact even the less potent ones can do that. Oxycodone makes my mother "crazy", paranoid, aggressive and hostile and yes, changes her personality completely.

I suggest you have a heart to heart with the implanting physician and follow his recommendations. I don't think there are a lot of ppl that are on Hydromorphone, trade name Dilaudid for long term pain control. In my state it would be very rare. Again discuss medication options with your physician.

Best of luck to you. Please let us know how you are doing.
Peace, Tuck

[Mollyrae]

Hello Hobbsie:

While I am not familiar with the Pain Pump, I do know that your body will take time to adjust to the medication. Let's use the Morphine for example. You will be nauseated for a while but that will pass. Your body was not use to the new way the medication was introduced. I switched from pills to a patch which is much stronger. I was nauseated for at least a month until my body became adjusted to the meds.

I feel that if you were to give the Morphine another chance, you may find very good relief. The Dilaudid in my opinion will be no different than the Morphine. All the Opiates will change your personality. They do with me. I am much more emotional than I ever use to be.

So in my opinion, i would have stuck to the Morphine for at least a month or even two. See if it doesn't get better.

Please take care and good luck in your choice.

Mollyrae