That's the same exact advice I got from my doctor. I have my spasms under control and he refused to even consider the pump unless I have some sort of problems with the medication.
On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 1:23 PM, Aaron Mann <[email protected]> wrote: > Welcome, Karan! While each of our disabilities affect each of us > differently, none of us are alone in this new adventure. > > My Uncle is a Dr. who studied the effects of indwelling medicinal pumps. > His advice: "Only as a very last resort." I took 20mg Baclofen 4x a day > for 20 years, then switched to 600mg Neurotin 3x a day. > > If you talk with a Dr. who really understands muscle spasms as the > neurological level AND understands what each of the receptor inhibitor drugs > do, then you will find the right option for your specific needs. > > I, too, have a son. He is a great motivator for me. I've been considering > writing a book on my experiences being a Dad in a chair. There are many > tricks I had to learn on my own in raising him. > > God bless and welcome. > > Aaron Mann > C4-5, 9/8/88 > > -----Original Message----- > From: karan alexander [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, April 26, 2010 6:59 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [QUAD-L] new to group with lots of questions > > Hi, I was walking with my children 2 yrs ago & was struck by a teen who > went off the road & struck me as I was bent over. I am c4, 5 & 6 > incomplete with feeling to the toes, just very altered sensation. I was > in the hospital for almost 1 yr. I use a manual chair & to amazement, I > have bladder sensation & bowels. Although I have my share of spasms (I > take 10mg ditropn b.i.d), leakages at night and my bowels respond every > 2-3 days with no added help. Pre-accident was normally every day. I > have lots of tone/spasticity in L. leg & am considering baclofen pump. > I only take 20mg now of baclofen which does nothing. Any higher dose > tires me & liver function tests go abnormal. I am hooked on 25mcg > fentanyl patches q48 hrs and still have pain. I refuse to add more > meds. I do not ever sleep for more than an hr. every night. Waking in > the a.m. is horrible - never used to be. I want to wean off fentanyl. > Since I transfer to toilet with the transfer board (lots of work), I > would love to find pants that help b/c I can't pull them up under me. > This injury has caused our world to turn upside down & some days it is > so overwhelming. My kids keep me going & God's healing. I feel like > I'm the only mom in the world going thru this. At the time of the > accident, I was 5wks from grad. college (RN). Since then, I graduated & > passed boards. Now what???? I LOVE nursing & it's not easy to find it > from a w/c. If I am assisted to stand, I can hold a walker for 5-10 > mins & a few steps - left leg hinders advancing it so dr. wants me to > consider pump. I have great use of my dominant hand & arm, left fingers > are closed. Anyway, I could go on forever, so thanks for listening. > >
