[richjobeman]

hello,my name isRich i have had oc for 2 years,i have tried lots of conventional things.The only thing that kind of works is 200mgs of lyrica and steroid inj. every3 weeks.Sometimes i feel like it is getting better,but most of the time,its just all over my head.Has anybody ever healed?How did this happen to you.My neurologist think it was phn from shingles and i think it could of happenen from a rough massage.Is the reason it occurs have to do with if it heals quicker or not?How did you other folks get this?I have been recomended for the stimulater.Do you think this will help.The injections help some.Once,after 4 months of injections the pain went away for a month and a half.But a month ago I rubbed it wrong for a couple of seconds(stupid move) and the pain is back,pretty bad.In the last 2 days it has felt a little better.Dp you think it will get back to what it was a month ago,kind of free of pain?Do you think the stim. will help?Please write back. I have never been able to find someone else with this.

[richjobeman]

Is there anybody out there with on pain that I can talk to?

[EE03]

Originally Posted by richjobeman

Is there anybody out there with on pain that I can talk to?

I haven't been able to get rid of this pain. It waxes and wanes and mine comes from my neck problems. When the muscles tighten and go into spasms, the pain is worse. I've gotten some respite from it through nerve blocks done with locals and steroids, but the relief isn't permanent. My pain management doctor has talked about radio frequency ablation, but I'm not too keen on it for this as I fear when the nerve regenerates, the pain will be worse. If your doctor has recommended a stim, you've got nothing to lose by trying it. Have you searched the forum for others experiences? There is a lot of good information on the board, but you've got to read through it all.

[JVerive]

Any procedure that destroys the nerve's ability to function has the potential to cause traumatic neuromas (benign nerve tumors) to grow. This is because regular nerve function inhibits the release of a substance (called nerve growth factor) that causes the nerve to grow in the absence of normal nerve signal conduction. The tumors are usually a mixture of new nerve growth and scar tissue, but may contain other tissues dependin on the reason for your neuralgia. Besides the new nerve growth and possibility of even more pain, the ablation procedures usually have to be repeated every six to 12 months, and each procedure isn't guaranteed to help. Nonetheless, people have been helped by the procedure, at least in the short term.

I've had the procedure done (with no perceived benefit,) but my case is complicated by the surgeries I've had to remove neuromas (some caused by an unknown process that originally caused my occipital nerve to develop tumors in the first place,) and the rest most likely caused by the surgeries l had to remain the first tumors. Once the doctors realized they were causing more tumors to grow, they decided to stop all ablative procedures.

There are many medications available for neuralgia, with Elavil, Pamelor, Cymbalta, Lyrica, and Tegretol very commonly used. I personally recommend exhausting all drug options before opting for a surgical procedure that stands a good chance of making things worse in the medium- to long-term.