Nerve Block Injections.

apache

just wondering if anybody has any experience in nerve block injections and if they were successful? there is a thread here which is quite old and didn't look very promising so just wondering in more recent times has the procedure improved?

after having a discectomy 3 months ago L5-S1 it didn't work and i have herniated the same disc again so no pain relief.

my consultant has advised me to go down this road before doing the fusion. theres no harm in trying and i'm happy to exhaust all avenues before fusion as told lots of complications and big risks as a big operation.

anybody have any experiences good/bad? i know everybody is different and what might not work for one person may work for another.

livemusic4life

apache wrote: »

just wondering if anybody has any experience in nerve block injections and if they were successful? there is a thread here which is quite old and didn't look very promising so just wondering in more recent times has the procedure improved?

after having a discectomy 3 months ago L5-S1 it didn't work and i have herniated the same disc again so no pain relief.

my consultant has advised me to go down this road before doing the fusion. theres no harm in trying and i'm happy to exhaust all avenues before fusion as told lots of complications and big risks as a big operation.

anybody have any experiences good/bad? i know everybody is different and what might not work for one person may work for another.

Hi there.

I've been suffering with severe pain from a degenerated disc at L5/S1 and sacro-ilitis. I've had bi-lateral trigger point injections on my back which was useless for me. But i did have the nerve block done in the sacro-ilio joint a few times with reasonable success. I think the mistake that people make is that they expect the pain to disappear completely. The goal is to reduce the pain by approx 40% in the first go, and then hopefully a second injection further down the line will offer more relief.
My first one lasted 7 months with about 50% improvement, which to me was a blessing as i was absolutely in agony. The second one offered about equal. The third one however hasn't been quite as good in my opinion. I am going to get the nerves burned as soon as i can get the chance. The problem with nerves is that they are like the branches of a tree, and it can be difficult to find the offending nerve (if they're going into the joint, then its obviously a bit easier) it can be a case of trial and error.

Just be aware of the flare up that you should hopefully get (i say hopefully, as apparently that's actually a good sign that the steroids in the injections are working) so have plenty of painkillers on stand by for the first 3 days.

Best of luck with it, if you need to talk about anything, just let me know

apache

thanks for the info music.
i will defo try this option before the spinal fusion. what do you mean that you are going to get the nerves burned when you get the chance? are you in work still and hassle getting time off or is it because of the cost?
i am out of work over 3 months now. i would rather get it all sorted pretty soon. that was a long time for the first injection to last - 7 months. i didn't have a clue how long they would last - know though its different for everyone.
i would be happy enough to get the injections every 7 months if they worked to allow me to go back to work.
they are supposed to ring me this week with an appointment. hope they do ring. i am a bit nervous though - suppose with the discectomy i was knocked out and for this i will be awake and aware. yuck it sounds dreadful sticking a needle deep into my spine :eek:
how are you now? are you on many painkillers? i stopped taking the df118 2 months ago and was just taking ixprim and the odd xanax. the ixprim wasn't doing any good so yesterday i started neurotin and meptid so i will see how they go until i get the injection.

livemusic4life

apache wrote: »

thanks for the info music.
i will defo try this option before the spinal fusion. what do you mean that you are going to get the nerves burned when you get the chance? are you in work still and hassle getting time off or is it because of the cost?
i am out of work over 3 months now. i would rather get it all sorted pretty soon. that was a long time for the first injection to last - 7 months. i didn't have a clue how long they would last - know though its different for everyone.
i would be happy enough to get the injections every 7 months if they worked to allow me to go back to work.
they are supposed to ring me this week with an appointment. hope they do ring. i am a bit nervous though - suppose with the discectomy i was knocked out and for this i will be awake and aware. yuck it sounds dreadful sticking a needle deep into my spine :eek:
how are you now? are you on many painkillers? i stopped taking the df118 2 months ago and was just taking ixprim and the odd xanax. the ixprim wasn't doing any good so yesterday i started neurotin and meptid so i will see how they go until i get the injection.

I've been out of work now since october as my bosses were getting a bit fed up of me taking time off.
I'm not taking painkillers really now. Just Durogesic patches which were a god send as the painkillers eventually ruined my stomach. Taking Amytrip as well to help me sleep, it also blocks the nerve transmissions. I take some brufen or ibuprofen for the break through pain, and occasionally muscle relaxers when needed.

Although that said i have been on every pain killer/neuroblocker combination that you can imagine.

Today is a bad day though. Sciatica kicked up while i was crossing the road :eek:

In relation to getting the nerves burned, i'm now a medical card patient so its a case of suffering until they get a bed for me. It may take a while.

RUCKING FETARD

apache wrote: »

what do you mean that you are going to get the nerves burned when you get the chance?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056730725

apache

Hope you get sorted soon and the pain settles down. I nearly went back on the df118 at drs today or morphine patches but i'm reluctant to go back on them. I'll give these new tabs more time until i get injection.

Rucking fetard the question was already answered.

apache

so its a week today since i saw consultant and i was supposed to get an appointment or at least hear this week about an appointment for a nerve root injection but heard nothing.
so i rang secretary this morning and left a voicemail enquiring about it this morning. she rang me back about an hour ago saying thats its a usual waiting time 4-6 weeks but the reason i didn't get a definite appointment is because consultant is trying to push for an earlier date and has to write up a report and because i need to get done sooner he is trying to push it.
so i can't say fairer than that - they seem to be on the ball and trying to help me.

flutered

i had all that done, i had an appointment in the pain clinic last friday, to be told that no amount of operations or back injections would help, i was told to go home and that a homecare package (whatever that is) would be sent out, also to try and live my life as best i could.

martinedwards

I've had two sets of facet joint injections.

supposed to last up to 3 months but I got 2 weeks each time.

1st time 95% relief, 2nd time 80%.

next step is burning the nerves (google facet RF) this allegedly gives up to 50% of patients up to 2 years relief........ that's a lot of up tos for a cynic like me!!

livemusic4life

martinedwards wrote: »

I've had two sets of facet joint injections.

supposed to last up to 3 months but I got 2 weeks each time.

1st time 95% relief, 2nd time 80%.

next step is burning the nerves (google facet RF) this allegedly gives up to 50% of patients up to 2 years relief........ that's a lot of up tos for a cynic like me!!

Best of luck with the burning Martinedwards. its my next step too, god knows when though.....

martinedwards

Ha! I know that story!!

I was over a year between my 2 sets of injections, and heaven only knows when they'll get back about the burning.

Still, its the NHS, so its free, so I shouldn't complain......

flutered

martinedwards wrote: »

Ha! I know that story!!

I was over a year between my 2 sets of injections, and heaven only knows when they'll get back about the burning.

Still, its the NHS, so its free, so I shouldn't complain......

unless they tell you what they told me, go home and live away the best you can.

livemusic4life

martinedwards wrote: »

Ha! I know that story!!

I was over a year between my 2 sets of injections, and heaven only knows when they'll get back about the burning.

Still, its the NHS, so its free, so I shouldn't complain......

I was on to the pain services secretary who forgot to send me an appointment to see the specialist. Earliest he can see my is the middle of october to talk about it! I'll be in the poor house!

apache

flutered wrote: »

i had all that done, i had an appointment in the pain clinic last friday, to be told that no amount of operations or back injections would help, i was told to go home and that a homecare package (whatever that is) would be sent out, also to try and live my life as best i could.

I'm so sorry to hear that. I take it you've had a second opinion. That sucks.

apache

Martinedwards and live i don't see how burning the nerves would help me. I had a failed discectomy which prolapsed straight away. Its the bulging disc thats the problem so i want to get rid of that. I'm trying the spinal nerve root injections as a last resort before spinal fusion. Its good to hear there has been some relief for you martin. How long did it last? Not much point having to get it repeated but better than not working. Is that why you want them burned so you won't have to go back for top ups? Is it successful?
But now that i think about it more that kinda makes sense. If the nerves are burned i won't feel the herniated disc. Would prefer to fix the underlying cause of the problem though. Must bring this up with specialist next time i see him.
Guys is your problems also herniated discs pressing on nerves?
lost all power in left leg yesterday and nearly collapsed with pain. My own stupid fault for doing the grocery shopping and carrying 2 heavy bags home. Back on xanax again. Neurotin and meptid not working. Next stage put on morphine patches or back on pill form opiods again. Reluctant to do that. Being whacked out on the xanax is nice and helps a lot with pain but hate the withdrawels. Already withdrew a while ago. Looking like i have to go down that road again. Hope i get sorted at some stage. Trying everything anyway...

apache

after being going to the hermitage i have switched hospitals going to the beaumont private now. (as i have a new consultant - the other one does not specialise in it (spinal fusion) but i did see the other one in his rooms in the beaumont also). i am still waiting for my nerve root injection. i am still worried about being out of work - 4 months now! paying mortgage bills etc...
anyway i rung up to complain as i am waiting so long - little did i know that beaumont private has no facilities for the procedure so i have to use beaumont public - hence the delay. got a letter next day (interesting after i complained) so i will have the nerve root injection in 2 weeks.

i wasn't too happy about getting the injection as i know lots of people who it didn't work for but i was told it was for diagnostic reasons primarily and MAYBE theraputic reasons so i'm happy enough now to go with it if it shows up what the exact problem is in lieu of spinal fusion.

just think this is interesting for other people going through same thing. it seems a slow process but i have learned a lot from others so just think its important to throw this out there.....

martinedwards

got a date for the RF treatment.

25th of October in Ballykelly.


http://www.spine-health.com/video/cervical-facet-radiofrequency-neurotomy-video


love the last line of the vid. "Successful RF Neurotomies CAN last longer than steroid block injections"

I can look forward to three weeks relief than!!

still think it's more pulling the batteries out of the smoke detector than putting out the fire......

livemusic4life

martinedwards wrote: »

got a date for the RF treatment.

25th of October in Ballykelly.


http://www.spine-health.com/video/cervical-facet-radiofrequency-neurotomy-video


love the last line of the vid. "Successful RF Neurotomies CAN last longer than steroid block injections"

I can look forward to three weeks relief than!!

still think it's more pulling the batteries out of the smoke detector than putting out the fire......

My pain specialist says that the average is about 9 months relief from the RF, thats why he's recommending it for me. Only got 4 weeks from my last set of nerve blocks. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I got my appointment to see the specialist next week so i'll keep everyone posted.

martinedwards

well, my next sick line will run 4 weeks from 2 days before the procedure. it'll giver me a chance to see how things are progressing......

apache

Well i got that bloody nerve block injection today! I don't care what people say - i cried at least 3 times! The local anaesthetic was ok but getting that needle right down to the nerve root was horrendous. The staff were brill and so nice but dr chap was telling me nerve was so narrow due to bulging that he found it very difficult to get through. A good 40 minutes of torture!

I saw the pic after - very cool I know this might work for some people but 3 hours later i'm in same pain. No worse. No better. I only agreed to get it done as they wanted to exhaust every avenue before spinal fusion.

Maybe i should give it time......i'm awful impatient! But then again i am 5 months out of work. I just want things to move. Chop chop!

apache

Woke up this morning with zero pain in my leg and zero pain in my back! First time i haven't reached for painkillers or felt like this in so long Amazing!

I know its early days as just got nerve block yesterday but will be interesting to see how long this lasts. I've to ring consultant in 2 weeks to let him know if i got relief and if i still have no pain my fusion op will be cancelled.
I'd rather a permanent solution so would like the operation but i suppose theres always top ups and they do work for some people. I was talking to a neighbour of my mams the exact same situation. Out of work for months - got the injection and back in work the past 6 months with no bother.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Too soon to tell.

martinedwards

EXCELLENT news!

Ok, not the pain of the procedure itself, but pain free today is GREAT!!

some folks get 6 months, some get a lot less.

good luck!!

apache

Thanks martin.
i'm just back from a walk and couldn't stop smiling. The feeling is great.

I know what you are saying. Its a hit and miss. I won't be making any quick decisions until i see how this goes.

LegacyUser

I got rhisiology done on l5 late sept and injection in c6 early oct this yr and have been in agony ever since. Made things worse. taking pain tablets every 4 hours. Pain from injection in l5 nerve root terrible. Cld not walk on right leg for a couple of days after as it was numb

apache

Well that didn't last long - just 2 days!
So booked in for the spinal fusion end of next month. Tried everything else so going to give this a final shot. Out of work 6 months now. Wish this was done at start to reduce time off.
Might do a little blog on my op and recovery. I might bore yas but i found other people who have been through the same thing that their insight and advice was very helpful.

RUCKING FETARD

apache wrote: »

I might bore yas but i found other people who have been through the same thing that their insight and advice was very helpful.

Anyone post OP...say 12-15 years? How they now?

apache

RUCKING FETARD wrote: »

Anyone post OP...say 12-15 years? How they now?

tbh i wouldn't like to maybe know the answer to that

the way i see it is i can't work or pay the bills as i am at the moment. had to restructure mortgage etc so i don't have a lot to lose. if it dosen't work out so be it but at least i tried.

BRING IT ON!!!!

but of course i'm bricking it :eek:

edit -also hopefully things have advanced in the last 15 years or so so possibly a totally different scenario.

martinedwards

Today I'm off to Ballykelly for the Lumbar Facet RF Denervation treatment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xPKpi0ILJw

its radio waves.....

as a Ham radio operator, am I going to have to keep shouting out my callsign?

apache

Good luck with that. Hope you get some relief.

martinedwards

well, fairly hassle free procedure.

So far so good, but the local hasn't worn off yet.

martinedwards

got the RF treatment on Thursday.

relatively painless process, and SOME relief, but by no means fixed.

ah well!