Nerve Blocks

The following an email that I send out yesterday about my upcoming Nerve Blocks. You can click here for a link that tells more about what happens during a nerve block and how it is done.


I know that I haven't been sending many updates, but I have been doing ok. Nothing major happening with my health, but I am in constant severe pain 100% of the time and because of that I am on extremely strong pain meds.

However, the pain meds seem to not be doing the trick any more. I saw a new Dr. a few weeks ago at my pain clinic and he suggested doing a nerve block. Having a nerve block done means that, if it works, I could be pain free for 3-4 months at a time, and during that time I wouldn't have to rely on my other pain meds as much.

I am asking for prayers specificly for these upcoming procedures ( I have to have 2 for the block to work). Doing a nerve block is very risky and a last effort preocedure. The doc. will be inserting a needle filled with an anthestic into the correct nerve group in my spinal cord. I will be sedated and a x-ray or CT will help show the Dr. the correct bundle of nerves to inject the meds in. Normally, the doc. would inject several different meds, but I am allergic to some of the different ones that he would use. Because of that, the doc. doesn't know how well the block will take, but anything is better then where I am at today.

My biggest fears is that 1) the nurses will be unable to start an iv on me. The last time I needed an iv started in took 5 hrs to find a vein that would not blow. They ended up using a vein in my foot. 2) the procedures will not work. Considering I have had 2 huge botox injections in the past year and neither of them took, I am very afraid that the nerve blocks will not take either. 3) any time a Dr. starts messing with a spinal cord there is fear that something will go wrong.

The "good" news is that my doc. own a surgery center that is right across from the main office. The office and surgery center are less than 5 min. from my house. So, I won't have to go to a "real" hospital and if all goes as planned I should be in and out within 5-6 hrs. If something happens, it could be an all-day affair. My first procedure is October 12th and my 2nd is Oct. 26th.

I will update if something changes and I will update after my procedures. Thank you for your continued prayers.