I had my rhizotomy on 8/14/2014. Days 1-4 were not bad at all. All of the regular pains were gone” But I had new pain…left sinus area/eye with stabbing pain which has since resolved. But right under my left cheek bone and my left temple, they felt bruised; very tender to touch. I could hack it though, it wasn’t “that” bad.
Days 5-14 were "that" bad. Left side, right side, ears, throat….same old, same old.
Then, days 15 – 43 were the best; even my ear & throat pain was minimal. I thought the rhizotomy wasn’t going to help the ears and throat, but it did. The bruised feeling also subsided. My facial muscle spasms ceased to exist. YEAH!
It was at this time I felt so good I thought I would take myself down on my meds to combat the zombie effect it has on me. I’m not sure why the doctor didn’t want me to wean down, but I did it anyway to really gauge the results of this procedure. This was a very bad idea. Every pain in my face, ears, and throat is coming back, each day it seems stronger, more often and lasting longer. The facial spasms are back....and what the hell with the bruised feeling in my temple & cheekbone….it’s back.
I just really wanted to be one of those patients that benefited from a little neurosurgery. I got a couple of weeks; I guess that’s better than nothing. But I think for $32,000; it really wasn’t worth it.
youch, $32,000! that’s crazy. i guess i should be very grateful that my mvd surgery was completely covered.
i am so sorry that your procedure was not successful. i know i pinned all my hopes of returning to life on my mvd and when it was unsuccessful i was extremely discouraged. hard to wrap your mind about continuing the same pain pattern.
i does take quite a while to recover so perhaps you will still achieve more pain relief. give it time and let’s keep our fingers crossed.
and while you wait we will all continue to walk along side you. i wish you many pain free days ahead.
My heart aches for you, but don’t give up. I had my MVD 4 weeks ago and am struggling with pain still. I previously underwent a Gamma Knife which had damaged the nerve. So… Now having removed the offending blood vessel, time to heal…but I have found myself curled up in a ball weeping and screaming why why why. Why could’nt I be one of those wonderful success stories that woke up with all my pain relieved. I accept that is not my reality. I pray that different meds will make things more bearable or that I will improve with time. I come here, and you come too. There is strength in numbers. So as Patty said we walk beside you and hold your hand, "tight."I pray for a pain free today and tomorrow for you.
Patty, I couldn't imagine going through a MVD and have it not work....OMG, talk about having the wind taken out of your sails. And, Lou…I sure hope you start feeling some relief soon. My doctor told me it could take up to 30 days, and I did forget about TN for the most part for 28 whole days. Last Friday, I had somehow gotten a chemical burn on my eye. I do not recall getting anything in my eye…but my ophthalmologist told me to use antibiotics drops and ice it because it was so inflamed. Wow, did I feel stupid for doing that. Within 15 minutes I was in agony. It was truly TN at its worst. When you think or kind of hope you'll die because the pain is so intense. I took a bunch of meds and went to sleep. Yeah, sleep!! The ice pack made me fear winter, like seriously I’m on edge just mentioning it. I’ve at the very least have to get these ears fixed. Scarves, check….hat, double check….ear muffs, triple…I mean QUADRUPLE check.