Question before my DOT physical.

Is it a morphine based pain reliever? I’ll bet it’s a no-go with DOT. But I’m just an amateur know-it-all.

 

Trucking is hard on backs with the sitting for long periods, roads are very rough anymore.

 

It's probably narcotic.

That's no go. As of Jan 1 this year anything in narcotic schedule drugs II, III and IV on DEA list for pain relief is disqualifying.

You sir probably are worse than I am to have a pump installed and I am a pain patient with several chronic and pernament problems in my bones among others.

The one advantage of a pain pump it holds 20 to 40 ml of fluid, usually morphine sulfite liquid and doses it in small amounts at the site of the pain. Bypasses the much larger oral pills which don't always work. It also puts it directly into your cerebal spinal fluid area which links directly to your brain. If it feels it YOU feel it.

You probably fill monthly. In order to do that, you have to be with the original prescribing doctor to write a prescription and submit it to your home state pharmacy board (All narcotics in any amount must be reported) and then injected into your pump. Trucking does not always get you home in time for that.

You can do trucking if you take the half life of that drug dose length of time in hours, multiply by 7 and take a test to prove you are clean, then you can drive a 18 wheeler. But with pain pump already inside of you it's a safe bet you have been taking pills a long time to where they don't work well anymore for you. And whatever the problem in the spine most likely or even cancer etc will escalate over time.

Morphine is the drug of choice when measuring daily MME given to people. Many states like mine restrict it very heavily. Im limited to 50 as of this year daily. Last year I was on between 90 to 130 daily to achieve no pain. As of this year those are reserved for cancer patients and excludes hospice which gets unlimited drugs as needed such as the powerful hydromorphine which is really really good.

Another drug that might be used is baclofin. It's a muscle relaxer with a known anti addiction property that is useful for alcohol addiction or some light pain medicine addiciton. It's not for everyone and sometimes useful in small doses where pills don't do the job.

 

I have 3 bad disks in my back. I have no problem driving. Now walking is a different story.

 

Was wondering if I should just get them discs fused together so they stop smashing them nerves to end the pain, docs said would never walk again 35 years ago, proved them wrong with pain all the time, you get used to it, and then we wonder why they call us cranky old farts.

 

Talk to a neurosurgeon. Might be the answer. Not like you need agility at your age (or mine).

 

I don’t have an answer to your question but possibly an alternative to explore. I don’t know your history, but have you checked into a Spinal Cord Stimulator as an alternative to the pump? I went through the trial of one with amazing results. They put a permanent one in me and unfortunately it has been a struggle to get it to perform as well as the trial. I know the struggle with those #### pills and regardless of the pain I will be done with them after they replace my knee next month.

 

That is a very good question.

I have a major nerve that is being compressed over time as I write this where it attaches to the spine. Fusion wont work for me, but one other type of surgery is to take the disk above the nerve output connector, cut the bone of the disk away until you have about little more than half a disk and done. The nerve has nothing pressing on it. It does however come with some pretty harsh lifting restrictions that are permanent.

That's one of the surgeries I am contemplating. The price of failure to do that is to see the nerve die and with it any motor control of that leg among other problems.

I have played laser games as a youngster with people who have had spinal fusion and you can always come at em from the side faster than they can come around to shoot you with the weapon. However being a good sport I try not to force the closure too fast I don't want them to get hurt turning too fast.

I already know I don't want fusion, it wont do me any good.

A pain pump is a option however it is a surgery and carries with it some risk. Liquid morphine is wonderful in IV, but I prefer Demerol above anything. That would be what they need to use if they installed it that way it can meter out a tiny dose and call it good.

 

I know a guy who can fuse them disks for cheap. Cash only.