Posted by Barbara (152.163.197.62) on July 05, 2000 at 19:46:31:
In Reply to: Ganglion Nerve Block posted by traci on December 20, 1999 at 16:43:37:
I have been getting SPG blocks for four months now for Fibromyalgia and associated chronic pain. The doctor is an internal medicine guy and he is at Cleveland Clinic, Florida. The technique has been used since 1909 for various things such as migraines, cluster headaches, shingles and a couple of other things. The block is done 3 times a week for a few weeks and then decreased. Although it has not ended much of the Fibromyalgia pain, the block has reduced the intensity and frequency of migraine headaches, which I used to get at least 2 times per week. Now I get the block once per week; I am afraid to give it up as at least my headaches have become a little more controllable, which is more than I can say for any of my other collective chronic pain symptoms.
The doctor inserts four metal wires with cotton swabs on the end. These swabs have been dipped in marcaine (the same thing the dentist uses to numb your teeth) and you feel a tickling sensation which usually makes my eyes tear for just a moment or two. I suck on a hard candy to keep my mouth from being so dry. Then I lay there for a half hour to 45 minutes. You may get up and walk around the room if you feel like it; sometimes you just fall asleep. There is no pain involved other than a little uncomfortable feeling when he inserts the wires at first. Then they are just pulled out gently, all at once, and you're done. The doctor has a 70% success rate with those disorders I mentioned above. It has helped many people with their chronic pain, and frankly, it is worth a try. If you do not get any relief whatsoever with the first 6 or 8 SPG Blocks, you may as well discontinue them then. So you kind of know in the first 2-3 weeks if the block will work. Hope this helps a little. Oh, the SPGanglion are located at the very primitive ganglion at the part of the brain which protects the Thalamus and Hypothalamus. These centers regulate Pain, Sleep, Mood, Bowels, Appetite and a couple of other things. The idea of the block is to block the pain impulses being sent to the brain which are abnormal. So Good Luck.