I am scheduled to go in on January 8th for a Sympathetic Chain Block in my lumbar spine. Has anyone had this and if you have, what can I expect? My injury is to my left shoulder from a fall at work and I have dealt with the pain in conjunction with Adhesive Capsulitis and Brachial Plexopathy since June of 08.

Not sure what to expect or if the procedure is painful and long? Any info or advice would be great

Thanks

Hi,

I have had block for my legs, and shoulders.
soon I will be having a semi permant block done in my lower sine that will help both legs.
the trial blocks last different for everyone, the first one lasted jest a couple days. the next one lasted 4. and the last was almost a week. if you will be sedated it is much easier. if not , it does hurt. and your back will be sore a day or 2.
I hope you get some relief.

Hugs

Thanks. I guess my biggest concern/question is why they would do a lumbar spine nerve block for my left Brachial Plexus in my left shoulder? Any ideas?

the only thing I can think of is . at the lumbar is where the Sympathetic nerve bundles are.

I have had them a few times, and just make sure that you really don’t have anything to do after that. I was given the choice to have sedation or not. The first time I had the block the sedation didn’t work, and I cried the entire time. My back was extreamly sore after wards for two days and that made the RSD more severe. I felt every little movement. The second time the sedation worked, and I don’t remember anything until the next day...thank goodness for great neighbors who took care of the dog that night. Sadly, neither of the blocks worked, and I am still at sqare one.

Oh, wow. That sounds scary. I am having general anesthesia and I have heard that it can be painful. The one I am having is actually a Cervical Chain Block so it is up more by my neck (left shoulder Adhesive Capsulitis with Brachial Plexopathy and RSD) and they say that they eye and mouth can droop with partial numbness in the face.

Thankfully, my hubby will be my driver. I will not have it on the 8th; the doctor wants to do a more thorough consult prior due to the severity of the nerve damage

Thank you all for the information and feedback. I really appreciate it

Hi My name is Sherry. I havent been on here for awhile... I had been in remission for a few years but Feb 20th my RSD/CRPS came back with a vengence. So this past friday I had a Stellar Ganglingion nerve block in my neck. A week before that I had a steriod injection in my left shoulder joint. My RDS/CRPS is in my left arm, neck, chest and upper back..all on the left side....but I wanted to know if this kind of block is successful? I have had good results but still on neurontin 2100mg a day, and I still have pain off and on...just not as bad...my pain clinic Dr said it might take a few more injections to completely get rid of the pain. It is an uncomfortable procedure and I was awake the whole time.

Hey! Your Doc is right. Sometimes it takes more than one block to work. Also, the faster you treat RSD, the better off you are. Be aggressive with it, if you can’t get in to your Doc because they are busy, ask to be put on a cancellation list, or call everyday around 9 or 10 (if you can) to see if people call in and cancel that way you can get in. Good luck!

I ended up with 3 injections and they worked great!!!! NO PAIN! I was thrilled weaned off all the meds..but now with the weather changing, possibility of being laid off within the next 6 months, college starting and working full time Im stressing, tired and the burning has come back in my arm...not bad but its there again. Although I have been using some homeopathic remedies that take the burning away. I have increased my B vitamins, I am also taking Curamin which believe it or not takes the burning pain totally away! I also found a wonderful homeopathic gel for nerve pain called Neurogen it has a website and I was amazed how well this works...I gave it to my friend who has this in her foot and it was the 1st time she was pain free in 3 years..she passed it along to another friend with diabetic neuropathy in her feet and she had complete relief also! But a co-worker who had a lumbar lami with a cage done had no relief with that product...
Also found research that ALA 800mg daily not only improved diabetic neuropathy it also healed those damaged nerves. It only works with sympathic nerves..so I am going to give this a try and see if I have more improvement.
Another RSDS friend under went 40 hyperbaric treatments here in South Lyons Michigan and had great results. Health insurance doesnt cover the treatments and it cost a little over 5k, but they do have payment plans and if another person goes with you it is only $15.oo extra..so 2 people can split the cost of the treatments.
Thank you for letting me share what I have discovered that works for me and my friends. Its amazing how many people I know that have this disorder.
Good pain free days to all! God Bless Everyone!

My experiences with the nerve blocks was ok. I did 6 blocks over 3 weeks-boy what a bitch that was doing 2 a week sucked. Most nerve blocks are done in some kind of series. Out of the 6 chemical nerve blocks (for my left shoulder, entire arm and hand, as well as my neck and jaw), the best result I got was about 12 hours of almost total pain relief! I was so excited, but it didn’t last long enough to have to go through the procedures. Next we did a stellate ganglion radio frequency rhizotomy. Basically similar to the chem. nerve blocks, but instead uses a radio frequency needle and they basically burn a bunch of small holes across the nerve pathways to temporarily cut off the nerve signals. This procedure gave me probably gave me about 50% pain relief for about 9 months. We did it a second time for some reason it didnt give me as much relief, but I believe this procedure is what caused my RSD to spread to my neck and jaw because they needles for all the blocks go into my neck, right next to my jugular vein. I believe due to all the trauma from the needles from the different blocks is what caused it to go to my neck and jaw, so now I wont do the blocks any more. My doc wants me to do the spinal cord stimulator now. That seems really scary to me, I dont know if I can let that be done to me. Most of the experiences i know or have read, Id say about 80% of the scs implants have failed for 1 reason or another. If anyone has had an scs please write me and let me know your experience, and add me as a friend too! =+)

My sister has had the radio frequency procedure done numerous times but for fibro. I have had great results with my procedure but I think I have a more mild form of RSDS but now the burning and pain is coming back. Happened when the nights dipped to the 40’s here in Michigan.
How would they do a SCS for the pain in the arm? Cuz that is also where I have my pain, neck, shoulder etc. Seems like that would have to be implanted pretty high up in the spine to be effective...
Is there a support group where you live for people with this disorder? We are trying to start one in the northern genesee county in Michigan. A old friend from school has RSDS in her lower extremities and she had hyperbaric treatment and had great results.
This is just such a strange disorder. Good luck to you and I hope you find some way to relieve your pain!
Sherry

Thank you all so much for your advice and support. Since my original post, I have had surgery on my shoulder for the Adhesive Capsulitis but the nerve issues continue. I am being evaluated now for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome so it is back to the drawing board.

Don’t think I’ll be doing the sympathetic chain block until they know if further surgery is needed for the Thoracic Outlet. All of this from a fall from a 3 foot high platform

Thank you everyone for your advice