I am going next Thursday to an anesthesiologist who is going to do a nerve block for my pain, all meds have taken have had no relief whatsoever and I have tried them all, Please reply if you have had one done and what "your"experience was I am anxiously awaiting hearing from anyone who has tried this Thank you in advance so much.
Update: Had nerve block done on 8/25 admitted to hospital- just for your information if you havent had this done you must remain awake during the procedure until they hit the nerve so they know they hit the right nerve, then praise be to the lord you are put to sleep for the rest of the procedure), I can best describe the nerve block to someone as such: you locked your keys in your car and you are using a coat hanger to wriggle down the side of the window to try and unlock the door, that is what it felt like as they ran the wire from my skull down the side of my face into the nerve, once they hit the nerve I was put to sleep, when they inserted the shots into the nerve, three days of recovery???? by the 5th day I was screaming in pain, ice packs for the swelling, and unfortunately this procedure has made my pain go from 3 in morning to 9 in evening to just about a solid 9 to 10 24 hrs 7 days a week. Was required to give it two weeks to see if steroids would kick in visited with specialist who did the surgery, in dire pain referred me back to TN specialist in Chicago.
Met with specialist in Chicago 9/26, had a batter of tests ran and another MRI as after the nerve stimulator surgery is done I can never have an mri- decided I was tired of asking everyone for help and took a Greyhound Bus on the 5 hr trek to the specialist, (at least I didn't have to talk to anyone as talking flares my pain worse) it was quite the experience now we wait for insurance to approve surgery, will update upon situation, if I can hang on that long........
Nerve blocks rock!, virtually painless, however they work differently on everyone…I praise God mine worked and no more pain…these do not last forever, however again different for everyone!, I had 1 in my lower back in Sept 2010 still good there~ More recently had one in neck, 2 actually…I suffer from wicked migraines, been almost a month now no pain no migraines…I wish you luck and pray you find the same relief i did! ~ GB
What kind of block are you having -- which nerve/ganglion? I haven't had one, but know a few people who have. Depending on the block, they may give you oral sedation or IV sedation, and it's done rather quickly. They don't last too long for most people, also depends on which kind of block.
Had my nerve block done on 8/25 it was painful to get as I had to be awake until they hit the right nerve, said three days of healing and then wait 2 weeks to see if steroids would calm the nerve down, well its 9/12 and I am in worse pain than ever, this treatment failed for my trigeminal neuropathy. I am headed for the neuro-transmitter surgery as the next step, any thoughts? anyone tried this? Thank you for your responses…
Jesus kwebster what a nightmare... So sad to read this
You mentioned that you have tried every medication. Have you tried opioids as many of us who have severe ATN, which is pretty much Trigeminal Neuropathy, find relief with these. you should join the opiate therapy group and ask the group any questions you may have. They really can make a difference and give you some quality of life back. You most likely have tried them though.
I hear you on not wanting to ask for help anymore and being self sufficient is what we all want, but sometimes we all need some emotional support with us when we have such major medcial appointments... I remember my dad came with me when we travelled inter-state to visit a renowned neuro-surgeon. When the surgeon told us that there are no surgeries which can gurantee pain relief for ATN, my fathers face went white and stayed this way for 20 minutes. I think he took it worse than I did haha... I had come to terms with my prognosis from reading source material on here, livingwithtn, and already new that surgeries for ATN and the likes were like playing pin the tail on the donkey.
So how does a nerve stimulator work ? and how long till your insurance kicks in ... Hope u are having some pain free minutes .. Luke
Bless all of you on this site! But I am the one who is blessed the best of all I guess...my chiropractor lasered the nerve endings on the left side of my face just so I could tolerate the pain, and it does work...well the nerve pain has ceased for now, but this past week I have been battling high blood pressure due to blood clot in left nasal passage next to left eye due to limited sinus surgery on june 27th...there was no let up but I have conquered this almost....irrigate nose 3 times a day, the regular doc doubled my blood pressure meds and I had to up it another half just to stay in the ballpark of 80 to 90 for the bottom reading......the top numbers now range between 130s to 150s. So bless all of you going through all you go through......I won't let it get the best of me! I am a singer and as they say....The show MUST go on!
I understand not always wanting to ask for help or have people around. Even loved ones who are supportive. I too had a nerve block done...however, I did not get put to sleep at any point of procedure.
I was in immense pain from the beginning. The block did not work for me either. I go next week to see if we try again or if I am a candidate for a peripheral nerve stimulator. How are you faring? Have you had any fair days? Who is your specialist in Chicago? I am located in Kansas City and am looking for someone who is knowledgeable with ATN.
Dianna, I know I wouldn't try the block again, agree with you just toooo painful, I can't imagine not getting put to sleep once they hit the nerve... I am still waiting on insurance approval as the PNS is still considered experimental- I see Dr. Konstantin Slavin at the University of Chicago Medical Center of Neurology- I have only had two appointments with him no surgery with him yet, so I will update once I can feel that I would be able to offer more information about him, but so far seems to be very kind and informed on the Neuropathy side of this TN. I will keep the site posted once I am approved for the surgery. I have alot of information on the surgery if anyone needs it. Healing and Blessings back to you as well.
I’ve had 3 nerve blocks done, and all I remember from the procedure is I was floating when I woke up after the sedation for about 3 hours… I seemed to have better success in 2’s, I just had one done 2 weeks ago, and am probably going to have another one done soon here, but after the first round of 2, I was atleast attack free for the better part of a year, either it was related to blocks, or they just subsided for a year…anyways when my blocks were done, it was a lucid sleep, so I couldnt really tell you what they did during the procedure
An update: I began drinking tea again after blood pressure went way up and soon I began to lose all the fluid that had blown up in my body; I lost six pounds of fluid and I lost a few more pounds as well; so from a high of 260 lbs. two years ago, I am down to 224ish and I shall continue the weight loss due to change of eating habits (I did not give up any foods) and manual labor outside since we have almost 4 acres to tend to. The nerve issue kicked back in on Friday night and got really bad yesterday, Sunday. I have found that the only strong pain killer that works for me is Apap/Codeine but this morning I took 4 Ibuprofen and I have no more pain. Guess the episode is over? But I did not miss my work! I only work on weekends…singer and musician!