A pain pump is a hockey-puck-sized pump implanted under the skin that automatically, at timed intervals, delivers a small dose of opiate pain killers directly to the spine (or other area - in my case spine to act as a block).
It also has a manual "give me an extra dose now" option for when the scheduled dose does not do the trick.
The medication is delivered by thin tube to the site, and is periodically refilled as needed through injection into the reservoir.
Block injections works for some people and not for others. Hence the test. The doctor will use a needle to deliver a dose of opiates directly to the nerve bundle that comes from the rectal area, at the spine. If it works, then I can proceed with implantation of the full pump.
If not, valuable information is learned. Not sure what.... process of elimination I guess. THere are so many ways for nerves to deliver pain signals, that you can't guarantee that because you feel pain THERE, that it is actually coming from there..... it might be hop-skip-and-jumping from parts unknown.
Jan discussed rectral/spinal pain transference somewhere if I recall. I will try to find the link.
