Yesterday my hubby had Sphenopalatine ganglion block via intranasal lidocaine for the first time.  The procedure wan't all that uncomfortable.  Unfortunatly, he had a severe central nervous system reaction to the lidocaine, and ended up going from the pain clinic to the ER via ambulance.  He thought he was going to die.  About 9 hours later, he was well enough to go home.  We kind of joked around and said "what if the ch's go away - would any doc do this again knowing what happens to me?"  Well, guess what - no ch last night (first time since the start of August).  Anybody else tried this treatment?

I haven't had this treatment, but I am surprised no one has responded. It seems to me it's been mentioned before. The upside is...no attacks for the night you mention. Has that remained true? What caused the reaction to the lidocaine and how did they treat your husband for it? I know lidocaine isn't unheard of but I think the results have been quite mixed. God bless. lance

The procedure was done with long q-tips and lidocaine, and took about 20 minutes.  I'm not sure what the dosage was.  He was fine for the first half hour afterward, then got bad.  At first he was treated with anti-nausea meds and IV fluids.  At the hospital he was given more anti-nausea meds and lorazapam to help him relax.  They kept him on all the fun monitors and did random EKG's.  I think time is what healed the reaction.

He had what he called a "normal person's" minor headache last night.  We'll see what tonight brings.

Squirrel wrote on Sep 13^th, 2012 at 8:44am:

Good question! Lidocaine would only take the edge off very low KIP HA for me, useless for a full blown attack... but that is just me.
Curious to see what your final assessment is.

I've had the same SPG block twice and it made me worse. Not only do you get lidocaine or cocaine in the blocks, but you also get steroid medication which could also temporarily stop clusters. I do hope it continues to help you.

Good Luck

I4B