Okay, so I know it's been a few days since I last posted. But this time I have a very good and reasonable excuse. (Chuckle). I have been recovering from surgery. If you are disabled, you most likely know the routine. Doctors come to you with a possible treatment or surgery in a effort to make you more independent or the least bit manageable. In my case, I've been lucky to have positive responses to many of those surgeries. Having cerebral palsy or any kind of chronic pain, you may already be familiar with the medicine baclofen. Baclofen is a muscle relaxant, which blocks the messages and makes relaxing easier. Taking this idea a step further, patients can opt for the baclofen pump. Although more intense, patients usually find the pump to have more of a impact. There are several steps patients may go through before finally deciding to install the baclofen pump.
First and most importantly is the baclofen trial. During the trial, patients endure a spinal tap. This allows doctors as well patients to see a greater impact when the drug is introduced directly into the spinal fluid. Measurements are taken in terms of how flexible or relaxed they are, in order to determine whether this would be a affective course of treatment. It is important to note that the oral doses of the drug are not always as effective as the intrathecal kind. That is because more of the drug can be blocked in order to protect the brain; whereas, less can be blocked when introduced through the spinal fluid. Individual results can vary, but after that, a decision is often made.
There are several other factors to keep in mind while determining whether the baclofen pump is for you. I will briefly go through some of them, but like I said, my blog is not the see all and end all of your resources. Do your own research.. You know your own body better than anyone.
Things to keep in mind..
1. There are side effects to every drug.
2. There are two different available pump sizes. In most cases, doctors prefer to use the larger size. This just means less time in Dr.'s offices. It is a plus for anyone.
3. This is a lifetime commitment. Although the positives outweigh the negatives in most cases, patients must realize what they are getting into. The pump has to be replaced at some point or another. In my case, it's every 10 years.
That's all for now. I would encourage you to do more research on the pump is this post has peaked your interest. Here are some places to start:
http://www.medtronic.com/physician/itb/index.html
http://www.neurosurg.wisc.edu/pedbaclf.html
http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article228.html
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