What's next after an RFA and still in pain?

[jrwight]

Hi, I'm new here and hope to make new friends and also help while being helped.
I've had botox injections, ESI's, Median Branch and just had bilateral cervical RFA 10 days ago for facet joint disease. I was alert & awake but was given versed and pain patches for the pain. It really hurt and that night after it all wore off I couldn't sleep it was so painful. Ice helped so much along with my usual Lyrica & roxicodone. Insomnia is a side effect. The 1st week was painful, then it starting feeling a bit better, now 10 days later I'm in pain again :-(  Has anyone been in this situation? If so, what is next? Thanks.


This discussion is related to Radio Frequency Ablation for Cervical Facet Based Headaches?.

[aep123]

Hello, jrwight. I came across your post and it reminded me of what I'm wondering now. I've not had any responses to similar posts in other places. I was wondering if you would read my post and if you have any input.
My Post:
Since I had a mere 2-3 days of success in my Facet Joint injections, my doctor decided that Ablation was the next step. (Injections in C2-4 & Occipital nerve block for the neuralgia, also diagnosed with cervical spondylosis and am also hypermobile)
Anyway, the ablations were done a week ago. (C2-4 and Occipital nerve) At first I was VERY sore, now dealing with crazy spasms. He warned that I may feel as though my scalp is burned for a few weeks. That the pain would be worse than the pain after Facet Injections. I've not gotten to any burning yet. I'm wondering if that means this won't 'take'. I'm so desperate for what we do to be effective. He says that in my case, the pain is chronic by now- injury happened well over a year ago. But the Facet injections (with the steroids in them) worked for a couple of days, we are on the right path, correct? So, it seems that this should work as well.
My question is, How does it feel when it works? If I don't feel that, is it because its the wrong approach or is it that it may take another go at it due to the age of the injury?  It seems as though my normal pain before any treatment is definitely still here if not accentuated. Surely what we're doing is working, right? I don't want this to be given up on...

I do hope that you've found relief. I'm on a mission to stay informed and positive. Support and advise from others has already been a tremendous help. Thanks in advance for your time and input.