Tame the Pain

• What is chronic pain?
• Treatments for chronic pain
• Patient testimonials
• Pain centre location
• Resources

Section Navigation

• Non-surgical treatment
  • Physiotherapy
  • Psychological therapy
  • Alternative medicine
• Medication (Pain relieving medicines)
  • When drugs don’t work
• Electronic treatments
  • Neurostimulation (Nerve stimulation)
    • What is neurostimulation?
    • Why neurostimulation?
    • How does it work?
    • Clinical evidence
    • Who should have it?
    • What happens next?
    • System selection
    • Post-operative care
    • FAQs
  • Intrathecal drug delivery (IDD)
    • What is IDD?
    • Why IDD?
    • How does it work?
    • Clinical evidence
    • Who should have it?
    • What happens next?
    • Post-operative care
    • Living with an IDD pump
    • What are some of the risks of the pump therapy?
    • FAQs
• Surgery
  • Nerve blocking
  • Corrective surgery

Living with an IDD pump

Your awareness of your programmable pump will lessen soon after the operation. As there are no external parts, you may even forget it is there. You may find that wearing loose clothing is most comfortable. Depending on your size and body type and where the programmable pump is placed, it may not show at all under your clothes.

Practical Issues

When receiving IDD, it is very important for you to follow the instructions of your medical team. You should also:

• Always keep your follow-up and refill appointments
• Immediately notify your medical team if you hear a pump alarm (a beeping noise)
• Carry a patient identification card with you at all times, detailing the name of the pump system implanted and the drug name and current dose (amount) of the pain relieving drug you are taking
• Tell your other doctors and your dentist about IDD and the presence of the implanted pump
• Make sure your family and friends know about the programmable pump, so they can help in an emergency
• If you plan to travel, tell your medical team so they can make sure there is enough medicine in  your programmable pump

Physical activities

You will be advised to avoid physical activities that could damage the pump site and activities that greatly affect the temperature or pressure of the pump, such as deep heat therapy or scuba diving.

Follow-ups and refills

The frequency of follow-up visits varies from weeks to months, depending on the dose of pain relieving medicine. These visits are necessary to refill the programmable pump and adjust the dose. The medical team will establish how often your programmable pump needs refilling.
During a typical visit the programmable pump will be emptied and refilled by a needle inserted through the skin. It is important to keep all the refill appointments to make sure you have enough pain reliving drugs.

Pump and system maintenance

During refill visits, the medical team will check the pump and the battery. The pump has alarms that will beep softly to indicate when it should be checked. The alarm will sound when only a limited amount of drug remains in the pump reservoir. Another alarm will sound when the pump is nearing the end of its battery life.

Magnets

The Pump may be affected by any magnetic fields, like the ones created by CT scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X rays, radiation treatment or diathermy. Always consult your doctor before having any additional treatments or tests.

Alarms

If you hear the alarm, call your medical team to determine the cause and make the necessary adjustments.

Battery

The pump battery lasts several years. The exact battery life depends on how much medicine the pump is programmed to deliver each day. Before the battery runs out, the pump will need to be replaced with a new one, which requires a minor surgical procedure. Usually, the tube can stay in place and be reconnected to the new pump.