Aa
Central Block
Wow! I had a diagnostic branch block done a few hours ago. They said the results won't last long but it was diagnostic to see if perhaps the RF procedure would help with some of the related pain from Chiari in my shoulders. At this point... I say wow! Not that it eliminated anything, but I can actually lift my right arm. The painful areas on the right side of the neck and shoulder are still very sore, but the never ending pain.... I don't feel it at all. It's been about 6 hours since the treatment. I still have the very sharp pains if I turn my head too far a bit of a sharp pain a bit lower under the shoulder blade but only if I try to turn my head too far. Sitting here typing, my arm is just weird... not used to there being 'no' pain there.
Not recommending this yet, time will tell but it appears that this Dr may have hit on something. The next step if this proves successful is the Radio Frequency treatment.
Just thought I'd share in case anyone else is trying something similar and has good or bad experience.
Wolf
Not recommending this yet, time will tell but it appears that this Dr may have hit on something. The next step if this proves successful is the Radio Frequency treatment.
Just thought I'd share in case anyone else is trying something similar and has good or bad experience.
Wolf
I'm confused everything that I read when I look it up on the Internet about this is about vericous veins and celulight am I doing something wrong LOL
Molly
Molly
hi thank you for the education, its the left side of my neck and shoulder that is affected...iam still in the discovery stage-- they dont seem to know what to do but have ruled out stroke, and any issues with blockage in the main arteries...NL wont let PT even touch my neck anymore! so iam not sure how far i am going to get with PT or how long iam going to have to play this game before someone decides to help me...I am on no additional pain meds cant get them to give me anything they say the nortryptline should help pain but it doesnt has only helpt my mood...does squat for pain! so i suffer through the pain..which is getting quite OLD!......
but anyway I want to thank you for all the information you provided- I hope it helps you in the long run and look forward to the updates while iam sorry you have to endure more pain....HANG IN THERE....
but anyway I want to thank you for all the information you provided- I hope it helps you in the long run and look forward to the updates while iam sorry you have to endure more pain....HANG IN THERE....
COMMUNITY LEADER
Thanks Wolf....I will need to read it several times b4 I get the whole gist...lol....too much info for me to process at once.....but u r always very thorough...and explain things so well.....
Molly...u only forgot the e...syringomyelia.....good job : )
Molly...u only forgot the e...syringomyelia.....good job : )
Thanks so much for your explanation!!
My PT also mentioned to me the possibility of a nerve block for an area in my spine that just won't ease up. I wasn't really sure what it was or how the procedure went. It sounds like you may be having some success with it but that it also entails a lot of pain to get there. I'm sure in your case you are willing to do anything to get some pain relief. For me right now, it is not somewhere that I am thinking of going anywhere soon, I am going to keep giving these meds a try! However, I would really appreciate it if you could keep giving us updates.
Thanks
Carolyn
My PT also mentioned to me the possibility of a nerve block for an area in my spine that just won't ease up. I wasn't really sure what it was or how the procedure went. It sounds like you may be having some success with it but that it also entails a lot of pain to get there. I'm sure in your case you are willing to do anything to get some pain relief. For me right now, it is not somewhere that I am thinking of going anywhere soon, I am going to keep giving these meds a try! However, I would really appreciate it if you could keep giving us updates.
Thanks
Carolyn
Thank you for ur help. U r brave to under go something like that. Do u have syringomyelia( I think I spelled it right this time!) and is that something to consider with this?
Molly
Molly
Very good questions indeed Molly!
At this time I don't have a lot in the way of answers though. I'm kind of sticking my neck out here, literally. At least to extent of this Dr's knowledge this hasn't been done to treat Chiari pains. But here is the plan...
He has been giving me a combination epidural nerve block and steroids injects for coming up on a month now. The goal is to find the central branch of sensory nerves that are triggering the symptoms and or pain. Do they hurt? Well the first few where very uncomfortable. This one yesterday, yes it was approved by my NS, was in the lower c-spine. He went in right through a golf ball sized knot I've had for years on my right shoulder. I've been accidently hit in the mouth with a 8lb sledge by my brother. It really was an accident. But anyway I went in and ate my food with five teeth broken off. I felt it but it really didn't faze me. In other words my view of pain is considerably different from others due to a life time of chronic pain. However, this shot in the right c-spine.... YEOOOWWWWW yes it did hurt like heck. However, Today, this shoulder that has been useless due to pain for years now is stiff but useable. I even have some strength back in it, although I've been warned not to go lifting anything. So yes they hurt, at this point, the payoff out weighs the pain though.
The plan is that if we achieve at least 80% reduction in nerve pain then we will proceed to the RF. The RF, when it works properly, goes in and burns through the sensory nerves where your problem is located. The sensory branches and or nerves are not motor nerves rather they are the nerves that transmit a pain signal to the brain. Thus the need to isolate which nerves are doing the deed ahead of time.
The benefit of the RF, when it works, is that the effects normally last from 6-18 mos. The nerves will eventually grow back in which case you would need the procedure again. The process has to be done while you are awake. And no it's not pain free as they have to be able to watch your body react to be sure they have the correct nerves. From there it can cause additional pain until your nerves calm down. Normally this takes from 4-6 weeks so they plan to give me an additional strong nerve block at the time of the procedure.
This is done under x-ray so the doctor can direct the probe into the nerve. Once the appropriate nerve is located they apply the RF to the probe which creates the heat required to burn through the nerve. The pain from this is what can take 4-6 weeks to subside.
It's a tough choice as all of this is rather unpleasant. However, for me weighing the options.... At this point my inclination is that the additional pain for the short term is worth the cost. However, there are some downsides besides the pain. From what I understand this is commonly done for lower spinal injuries. But some insurance companies will not approve it for the c-spine as it's not commonly done for c-spine areas. Most will also only pay for 2 areas at one time. If you have numerous trigger areas as I do, this means that rather than just feeling a pain all over, which is bad enough, you now go through periods of feeling intense pain in only the untreated areas. Not sure if that makes sense to everyone here but I'm sure some get it. I explained it to my wife this way.
If you take a glass of water and overfill it until just before it runs over. Your left with a tension on the surface of the water with which you can float a magnetic needle to make a compass. If you add one more drop of water the glass overflows. That is where we are with pain, we can manage it. But if you add a pin ***** now we are in trouble because our brain can no longer process it. With these shots it's similar. Your body reaches a point where it adjusts and recognizes the painful areas. The shots are changing those areas that your mind recognizes as painful so now it must reorient itself. Kind of uncomfortable for the present... I'm hoping this will work. I'm not recommending this to anyone at this point Molly.
If you want to speak to someone about it you'll need a doctor who's specialty is in Pain Management. Most of which, who are any good, are anesthesiologists.
Hopefully that long winded answer helps a little bit. And yes as time goes I will update the list if the overall treatment is or is not successful. At this point my inclination is that we are on the right track however if you have diabetes, as I do, watch your sugar! It spikes your sugar bigtime!
Wolf
At this time I don't have a lot in the way of answers though. I'm kind of sticking my neck out here, literally. At least to extent of this Dr's knowledge this hasn't been done to treat Chiari pains. But here is the plan...
He has been giving me a combination epidural nerve block and steroids injects for coming up on a month now. The goal is to find the central branch of sensory nerves that are triggering the symptoms and or pain. Do they hurt? Well the first few where very uncomfortable. This one yesterday, yes it was approved by my NS, was in the lower c-spine. He went in right through a golf ball sized knot I've had for years on my right shoulder. I've been accidently hit in the mouth with a 8lb sledge by my brother. It really was an accident. But anyway I went in and ate my food with five teeth broken off. I felt it but it really didn't faze me. In other words my view of pain is considerably different from others due to a life time of chronic pain. However, this shot in the right c-spine.... YEOOOWWWWW yes it did hurt like heck. However, Today, this shoulder that has been useless due to pain for years now is stiff but useable. I even have some strength back in it, although I've been warned not to go lifting anything. So yes they hurt, at this point, the payoff out weighs the pain though.
The plan is that if we achieve at least 80% reduction in nerve pain then we will proceed to the RF. The RF, when it works properly, goes in and burns through the sensory nerves where your problem is located. The sensory branches and or nerves are not motor nerves rather they are the nerves that transmit a pain signal to the brain. Thus the need to isolate which nerves are doing the deed ahead of time.
The benefit of the RF, when it works, is that the effects normally last from 6-18 mos. The nerves will eventually grow back in which case you would need the procedure again. The process has to be done while you are awake. And no it's not pain free as they have to be able to watch your body react to be sure they have the correct nerves. From there it can cause additional pain until your nerves calm down. Normally this takes from 4-6 weeks so they plan to give me an additional strong nerve block at the time of the procedure.
This is done under x-ray so the doctor can direct the probe into the nerve. Once the appropriate nerve is located they apply the RF to the probe which creates the heat required to burn through the nerve. The pain from this is what can take 4-6 weeks to subside.
It's a tough choice as all of this is rather unpleasant. However, for me weighing the options.... At this point my inclination is that the additional pain for the short term is worth the cost. However, there are some downsides besides the pain. From what I understand this is commonly done for lower spinal injuries. But some insurance companies will not approve it for the c-spine as it's not commonly done for c-spine areas. Most will also only pay for 2 areas at one time. If you have numerous trigger areas as I do, this means that rather than just feeling a pain all over, which is bad enough, you now go through periods of feeling intense pain in only the untreated areas. Not sure if that makes sense to everyone here but I'm sure some get it. I explained it to my wife this way.
If you take a glass of water and overfill it until just before it runs over. Your left with a tension on the surface of the water with which you can float a magnetic needle to make a compass. If you add one more drop of water the glass overflows. That is where we are with pain, we can manage it. But if you add a pin ***** now we are in trouble because our brain can no longer process it. With these shots it's similar. Your body reaches a point where it adjusts and recognizes the painful areas. The shots are changing those areas that your mind recognizes as painful so now it must reorient itself. Kind of uncomfortable for the present... I'm hoping this will work. I'm not recommending this to anyone at this point Molly.
If you want to speak to someone about it you'll need a doctor who's specialty is in Pain Management. Most of which, who are any good, are anesthesiologists.
Hopefully that long winded answer helps a little bit. And yes as time goes I will update the list if the overall treatment is or is not successful. At this point my inclination is that we are on the right track however if you have diabetes, as I do, watch your sugar! It spikes your sugar bigtime!
Wolf
COMMUNITY LEADER
Great questions Molly...and u almost had it..syringomyelia...u forgot an e...lol....
I was wondering if u could talk about what this procedure entails. Is it a more then one time deal? Like weekly? Does it hurt while being done? How long does it take? Can it be done by any doctor? Can it be done at a doctors office or do u have to go to a hospital? Stuff like that. Thanks.
Molly
Molly
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