I'm getting an occipital nerve block

[pattycake]

Mei Mei -   I wish you didn't have to be on this website with the rest of us - but since we all are ....
I have had a different nerve block - on the Trigeminal Nerve which goes up the side of your neck & skull as well as the side of your face.  (OK I just looked it up & I'm wrong about that.  So I guess I'm not certain why mine works).  It might be more helpful for you, since perhaps the Occipital nerve is not the source of your pain.  Physical Therapy also helped me with the Neck pain - which was generally caused from bad posture because I unconsciously favored the tumor side.   Tens Unit therapy on my neck & upper back also helps; it short circuits the pain coming from your neck into your head area.  Just some ideas to think about; things to ask your doc about.

[Mei Mei]

Dear Patty Cake,
Thanks for the response.   We are all in this together.  I had a rare daytime headache today.   

You know, I don't know anymore if the source of my headache is from the occipital nerve.   The headache may not come from there but there certainly is pain coming from there during the daytime going down towards the neck.   I started gentle massage on the area with the PT last week and I use the hydroculator neck pad that I boil up but the relief is only temporary. 

I have a neurology appt. on June 8th.   Wish I didn't have to wait that long but in the meantime, I will be getting PT and wait it out.

Thanks for your support.
Mei Mei

[Lizard]

Mei Mei,
My opinion is that you should try the block, I knew the next day whether or not it worked...see what the Dr. says, but push for treatment.  What do you have to lose?

[Mei Mei]

OK, Liz,   I will try to find a doctor that does this.   I just don't know where to go.   It's really controlling my life.   My appointment is on June 8th and all I'm expecting is for him to refer me to someone else.   I'll try to get a sooner appointment.   Check out the 3 articles I posted on Retrosigmoid post. this morning.  I was wondering about brain dust.  They were talking about that at the meeting I went to on Sat. for the DC members.   We could have brain dust as a problem.

Mei Mei

[Lizard]

I've read about the bone dust thing, but its hard for me to picture getting headaches from bone dust?  I'm trying to imagine, but I'm sure it has happened before. 
Hang in there and keep me posted.

[Mei Mei]

I can't imagine it either, Liz.  but then anything foreign in your brain is apt to throw things off kilter;  it's your biochemistry. 

We'll keep in touch.   I'm still calling around for help.

Mei Mei

[Lizard]

All you can do is see Dr's and the more you see the better the chance you will be able to get help.  There are things that will help you its just a matter of what that cocktail may be....

[Captain Deb]

I got my occipital nerve blocks at my local hospital's Pain Clinic and they were done by an anesthesiologist.  I believe most of us have multiple factors that contribute to our headaches--soft tissue damage from head position, disturbed nerves, scar tissue, not to mention all kinds of stuff going on with the lining of the brain called the dura, which gets sliced and diced during surgery, no matter the approach.  Dr Leonetti's article in the last ANA Notes lists about a dozen different sources of post-op headaches.

Capt Deb

[Mei Mei]

Thank you, Capt. Deb.   I'll keep this in mind;  now only if I can find a doctor that understands this.   I brought the Leonetti article to my primary care and let him read it and he ordered x rays of my skull to see the placement of my plate to see if it is where my headaches are.  I will bring the x ray to my neurology visit on June 8.  I hope this doctor understands  as much as Leonetti.

As for Dura, every time I sneeeze I get a terrific headache that comes on immediately and then I take motrin and it goes away quickly.  I relayed this to the doctor and he said this had to do with the Dura.

Sincerely,
Mei Mei

[Mei Mei]

I found this nice explanation on Occipital Nerve Blocks:

http://www.medcentral.org/body.cfm?id=351


Mei Mei

[Mei Mei]

I was scheduling an Occipital Nerve Block and asked a friend that is a retired doctor to come along.   He just called me and like Deb, he said not to do it at the neurologist's office and moreover, he said you could have irreversible damage because it could be permanent whereas at the pain clinic done be the anesthesiologist it is temporary.   He is calling two places for me to try to get me in before I go to Taiwan and China next week.   Meanwhile I am trying to get the Neurologist on the phone to cancel the appointment for Friday.   

So much is going on.   I really want this to work.   I didn't know why the Neurologist offered if he knew the pain clinic was a better option.

Mei Mei

[Lizard]

Thanks for posting, sounds pretty much like mine, but they wouldn't let me drive and I had four blocks a week apart...have fun in China and Taiwan!
Liz

[Mei Mei]

I got an Occipital Nerve Block the Day before I left for Taiwan on July 1st and I don't think it worked.  It was at the accupuncturists office who has an MD PhD from Einstein in NY   I lifted some suitcases and may shouldn't

have  Now I'm back to ground zero with Ice packs on my neck.    Pins and Needles and a lump in my neck and skull.   How long is this thing going to last.    Taking a flight to China tomorrow.   Home in DC on Tuesday.   Will see the anesthiosiologist on the 14th.   Did  I do wrong by lifting the suitcase right after the block? Mei Mei]

[Lizard]

Mei Mei,
I don't think the block that you received in the acupuncturist office is the same as the one I received in the anesthesiologist office.  Scroll up to Capt Deb's comment..I think there is a difference.  I was also talking to someone else on the forum who I met out at lunch and she's doing the blocks at her pain management Dr's office, and the way she described the blocks she's getting is totally different.  Its almost like they're just putting some type of steroid in her in multiple spots, like quick little pokes, sort of like a botox injection would be like.  Mine was one big shot that blocked the entire nerve in one shot....see what the anesthesiologist says, hopefully they can help.

Hang in there honey, there will be relief I promise...but it does take a while to figure out what works for you 
Liz

[staypoz]

Hi, Mei Mei.  I want to second Lizard's comments.  I think the term nerve block is used loosely sometimes, so maybe you didn't get what you thought you did.  On the other hand, if you did receive an occipital nerve block and it didn't take, that's important diagnostic information, and your doctor can then move on to treating your pain another way. 

You should get a copy of your medical records describing the shot you got to take to your appointment with Dr. D. so he'll know what you got.  It's important diagnostic information, and doctors usually space out and limit the number of steroid injections you get.  Good luck!!!   

staypoz