Author Topic: Capt Deb's research file (Read 27935 times)

cin605 · « **Reply #45 on:** December 02, 2010, 09:50:43 am »

Your doing better then me Deb....I had just got back from zip lining in Mexico,had my own business,was engaged to be marriied....then ...I came home and three days later got the news....You have a tumor..we have to do " minimly invasive surgery"....I do know know what invasive surgery is and never want to find out!
Now i am single....the only place i zip is one side to other in the isles at the grocery store!Business?Poof gone!
But...Hey...Life has other plans for me bigger better ones are on the horizon...do not look back becouse "you WILL fall!

Lizard · « **Reply #46 on:** December 02, 2010, 02:31:52 pm »

Quote from: pattycake on November 30, 2010, 01:19:53 pm

Hello Ladies - Pattycake here after some time off. Sometimes I have to take a break - but today light bulbs are popping off in my head. I can so relate to (1) "vegging in a chair watching TV being quiet"; (2) exertion headaches are real causes? thought I was being lazy or nuts; (3) Nerve blocks in my head have worked well, Botox did nothing for me, (4) managing my meds is a daily chore - guessing how bad it will become today & how much drugs to take; (5) People are tired of talking about it - sympathy has limits after several years (6) Life is passing me by & I miss it !! I am very interested in the results of your blocks ... I am afraid to do them - but if it works perhaps fear can be left behind. My Boston Pain doc suggested it once, I asked him to try something else - didn't want anybody in my neck! I think my headaches are becoming less Intense, so I'm feeling lucky. It is still a daily battle & I live a very quiet life. But my mood is lifting - even the minor change has been a relief. Thank you all for sharing your journeys - Chronic pain can be a lonely place.

Pat,
Miss hearing from you on here, good to see you're back! Exertional headaches are real! No joke...

People don't know how to respond to others who have chronic pain. Did you ever get the book that Phyl recommended? Its living well with a hidden disability. I can let you borrow it if you would like, or you can get it on Amazon. Its a really easy read and eye opening...
Here's the link to buy it on or give me a call and I can bring it to you.

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Living-Well-Hidden-Disability-Transcending/dp/1572241322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291321843&sr=8-1

Welcome back,
Liz

Captain Deb · « **Reply #47 on:** January 14, 2011, 09:25:03 am »

I have quit Botox injections and expect my headaches to resume within a few weeks to a month. I really want a permanent fix, or at least something that will last more than a few months so I can travel a bit more. Here's what I'm looking into and have found a doc that does it. I may have this done on the damaged sacrotuberous ligament in my lower back that has been killing me since May of 09.

http://www.prolotherapy.com/articles/blumenthal.htm

Capt Deb

Captain Deb · « **Reply #48 on:** January 14, 2011, 09:37:30 am »

Pattycake--nerve blocks are really nothing to fear--they only hurt for a few seconds and you can ask for a few Xanax or something which really takes the edge off. Mine involved 2 injections in the occipital area. The best place to go for them is a reputable pain clinic. I had them for a year and it was the first year I actually got any relief. I can't believe I waited 4 years to get them--had huge deductible which was a big factor. I quit them in favor of Botox, which involves a lot more injections--around 15 or 16. You get used to it knowing that this 5 minutes of mild torture helps get your life back.

If the nerve blocks work, you may be a candidate for a radiofrequency nerve ablation, which puts the offending nerve to sleep for a really long time, sometimes permanently. My pain doc is currently working on my back and when the Botox wears off--will start on the head pain.

Capt Deb

Mei Mei · « **Reply #49 on:** January 14, 2011, 03:36:45 pm »

Pattycake,
I know where you are coming from. I don't even bring up my problems with my family because they really aren't listening. That's why this Forum is so important to me and all of us. Chronic pain is no longer a lonely place because we have us and I feel so well supported. If I need to say something, I just get on the Forum and write to a friend that I met through the Forum and know someone's there listening that really understands.

Don't be afraid of the blocks. I did the first three without anyone holding my hand and the last one in Cleveland Clinic, the nurse held my hand but what happened afterwards was a disaster. I don't want to lie and say it doesn't hurt. It really does but it is over fast.
Hugs,
Mei Mei

Captain Deb · « **Reply #50 on:** January 16, 2011, 09:22:50 pm »

Quote from: pattycake on November 30, 2010, 01:19:53 pm

Hello Ladies - Pattycake here after some time off. Sometimes I have to take a break - but today light bulbs are popping off in my head. I can so relate to (1) "vegging in a chair watching TV being quiet"; (2) exertion headaches are real causes? thought I was being lazy or nuts; (3) Nerve blocks in my head have worked well, Botox did nothing for me, (4) managing my meds is a daily chore - guessing how bad it will become today & how much drugs to take; (5) People are tired of talking about it - sympathy has limits after several years (6) Life is passing me by & I miss it !! I am very interested in the results of your blocks ... I am afraid to do them - but if it works perhaps fear can be left behind. My Boston Pain doc suggested it once, I asked him to try something else - didn't want anybody in my neck! I think my headaches are becoming less Intense, so I'm feeling lucky. It is still a daily battle & I live a very quiet life. But my mood is lifting - even the minor change has been a relief. Thank you all for sharing your journeys - Chronic pain can be a lonely place.

Video on nerve block technique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udDaNhPNwT8

article on occipital nerve block from Johns Hopkins

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/specialty_areas/headache/procedures/greater_occipital_nerve_block.html

and one on radiofrequency ablation. This site has also info on nerve blocks==

http://www.medcentral.org/main/RadiofrequencyAblation.aspxl

Capt Deb

Larry · « **Reply #51 on:** January 16, 2011, 11:46:42 pm »

I had nerve block injections 3 times all to no avail. They didn't hurt at all due to the anaesthetic

laz

Mei Mei · « **Reply #52 on:** January 17, 2011, 08:33:34 am »

That's strange that you didn't have pain because of the anesthetic. I had Lidocaine with my blocks and still felt them going in. I wonder what the difference is. It might be worth discussing with our doctors.
Mei Mei

cin605 · « **Reply #53 on:** January 17, 2011, 01:17:08 pm »

MeiMei.....When i had my nerve blocks they gave me some thing that made me forget the whole ordeal for about 15 minutes..can't recall any thing after they started the IV till i got to recovery room all of the sudden i am drinking a coffee and eating a muffin

Mei Mei · « **Reply #54 on:** January 17, 2011, 02:02:27 pm »

Yay! That's what Money Mag Survey said: NH is the best place to retire in the US. What am I doing here where they give nerve blocks with nothing to help you out?

NH is the place to go!

Mei Mei

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