Multiple cranial nerve blocks

I am currently having a treatment called multiple cranial nerve blocks. This involves 3 injections just above my eye, two around my ear and two at the base of my skull at the back of my head.  Needles don’t bother me, medical procedures don’t bother me… I had my stimulator fitted while I was awake… I’m that hardcore! However these injections sting like a bitch (pardon my language!) my neurologist told me I was being very brave. I told him that when he does something to me that is more painful than cluster headaches I will kick him in the shins…. I nearly kicked him in the shins!!

The injections include a local anaesthetic and a dose of steroid. The idea is that is blocks the pain message in the nerves that are injected. I used to have these injections in one of the nerves at the back of my head called the greater occipital nerve, this used to give me anything from no pain relief to six weeks of pain relief. I can’t have those injections anymore because of my stimulator which is located in that nerve now and a nerve block may have an impact on the leads that are sited in that nerve.

So I went into this treatment knowing roughly what to expect both in terms of the procedure and also the potential benefits.

I had forgotten quite how much it hurts, but for the 30 second each injection takes, which is hell, the pain stops as soon as its finished. The back of my head in particular is bruised at the moment making sleeping hard and moving my head painful, but I remain optimistic that this might help… so it’s worth it isn’t it!?

But we don’t know…. We don’t know if it will work. My neurologist is taking a new approach at the moment by repeating these injections a number of times in quick succession. We are about 2 thirds of the way through, and if I take the time now to think about the impact the treatment is having, I would have to say it’s largely positive.  

The different types of headache disorders that I have that may or may not be responding to the treatment make analysing this quite complicated but I would say there has been a reduction in the frequency and level of my attacks. As I’ve said in previous posts, there is so much more to living with this illness, such as muscle weakness and language problem’s, so considering the impact on this part of my condition is a factor too.

I am confident that this will have a positive effect, enough of an effect that this can become part of my regular treatment regimen… despite how much it stings!