Dennis, I had a baclofen pump put in in July 2006, one year after I diagnosed with TM. My PM&R doctor, at the time, talked me into getting it. At the time I was walking on a platform walker, over 500 feet at a time. This was good for me, since my TM left me paralyzed on the right side and a quadriplegic. I say, she talked me into getting it, because I was not spastic at the time I had it put in. She told me I will be able to walk further and better. After having the baclofen pump put in, and having two weeks of therapy (which I was promised more therapy time), I was only able to walk 95 feet at most. Over the course of time, I became weaker, received subacute therapy and my Pop site costs need to be hospitalized three times for swelling and pain. My neurosurgeon's nurse, told me that the pump was a foreign object, and my body was constantly trying to reject it. With each hospitalization, they told me that it was not infected, but gave me intense, IV antibiotics, after which the pain and swelling would subside. This led me to believe that there was some infection involved. I was tired of the whole ordeal and opt to have the pump removed. Dennis, I had a baclofen pump put in in July 2006, one year after I diagnosed with TM. My PM&R doctor, at the time, talked me into getting it. At the time I was walking on a platform walker, over 500 feet at a time. This was good for me, since my TM left me paralyzed on the right side and a quadriplegic. I say, she talked me into getting it, because I was not spastic at the time I had it put in. She told me I will be able to walk further and better. After having the baclofen pump put in, and having two weeks of therapy (which I was promised more therapy time), I was only able to walk 95 feet at most. Over the course of time, I became weaker, received subacute therapy and my Pop site costs need to be hospitalized three times for swelling and pain. My neurosurgeon's nurse, told me that the pump was a foreign object, and my body was constantly trying to reject it. With each hospitalization, they told me that it was not infected, but gave me intense, IV antibiotics, after which the pain and swelling would subside. This led me to believe that there was some infection involved. I was tired of the whole ordeal and opt to have the pump removed. Once I had my pump removed, the PM&R doctor's attitude toward me changed. To make a long story short, she's no longer my doctor. I felt I was talked into getting the pump unnecessarily and when she was no longer servicing it, she had no use for me as a patient. My new PM&R doctor said that I should have never gotten the baclofen pump, if I was planning on walking. I don't know if this is true, but I do know that with the pump. I was so flaccid, I could not even stand. The day after I had it removed, I have more tone and was able to stand on my own. I've lost so much doing that. I had the pump, but I don't think I'll ever be able to stand and walk again. I stayed in the hospital for six weeks, last October, to receive acute therapy, and I had so many minor issues that needed to be addressed, that made it impossible for me to walk. Because I wasn't walking and standing (due to no therapy, and no one to help me at home), I did not realize that my right heel would not even touch the floor, and I could not straighten the upper part of my body into an upright position. The doctor gave me Botox and then a phenol nerve block, in my leg to try and get my heel on the floor. After I managed to get my heel on the floor, I wasn't able to throw my hip forward, to move my right leg forward. I was doing all of these things before I got the baclofen pump. I'm not blaming it totally on the pump. It's also a lack of therapy and a lousy doctor. Dennis, maybe you have a caring doctor who mean well and know what they are doing. Just because it didn't work out for me does not mean that it won't benefit you. I wish you well.
Dennis, maybe you have a caring doctor who mean well and know what they are doing. Just because it didn't work out for me does not mean that it won't benefit you. I wish you well. Have a Blessed Day, Naomi -----Original Message----- From: dennis rabalais <dennis_rabalais20...@yahoo.com> To: tmic-list@eskimo.com Sent: Tue, May 18, 2010 3:57 pm Subject: [TMIC] baclofen pump hi my name is dennis. i have had tm since 2002. i am getting a baclofen pump put in. has anyone in this group have had one? if so, has it worked? i am a little bit nervous. dennis, texas
