I'm having an ilioinguinal nerve block for chronic lower abdominal pain on Wednesday and was wondering if any of you had any experience with nerve blocks? I'm a bit nervous and don't really know what to expect.
I've also just been prescribed gabapentin by my GP for pain, what experiences have people had with it?
Thanks ^.^
Gabapentin is what doctors give us when they can't give us what works anymore. My advice is never tell the doc it's kind of working, when we all know it's worse than a placebo. Let's not encourage the charade. Tell them how f.....g hard it is to get through a day and a night in chronic pain. It sucks! Let's stop telling them what they want to hear. Tell them the truth. Then maybe we can get our real meds back!
I've used gabapentin and had a real horrible time on it.. Side effects were horrendous to say the least.. Others on this site take it with no problem.x
Nerve block injection s are not designed to be permanent have u found the source of yr pain. If u have inflammation of the stomach this could make it worse . They have never worked for me and also made me quite poorly. But some get short term relief from them. Remember there just masking the problem they won't take it away .
Gabapentin is horrific to come off. As for the nerve blocks I wouldn't have any quality of life without them. They take away the worst of the pain. As they wear off I use my TENS machines too. If they don't work the first time give them another chance. Remember you are having needles in your facets so there will be some after pain from that. I find that it's about 4/5 days before they really kick in.
Everyone is different and I hope they help you but treat the Gabapentin with serious respect. Good luck.
Im on gabapentin and have been for quite sometime but they arnt doing anything mixed with my naproxen and morphine . I had root nerve block injections 2 and half weeks ago im in so much pain. But that's different to what you are having and also everyone reacts differently.
Hi I have been on Gabapentin for years I found the best thing is to increase the dose gradually. I know that it helps as if I am late or forget to take it my nerve pain/phantom limb pain starts'jangling'. Good luck
Hi Xzina-x I have been on GP for many many years and it works well for me. My doc wanted me to take it morning and night but it made me so tired we decided I would only take it at night. If it wasn't for this drug I would go crazy at night with nerve pain and the pins and needles. The reason I know this is because I have forgotten to take it and I did not sleep at all. Hope you find something that will work for you. Let us know how you are doing .
Janice
The doctor thinks the pain is being caused by the abdominal wall, the nerve block is kind of diagnostic.
Will Gabapentin not work for all types of pain then? I'm also taking co-codamol which I absolutely wouldn't survive without.
Hi Xzina,
I was diagnosed with a degenerative lumbar spine several years ago, nerve blocks didn't work for me, just made me worse.
I was prescribed gabapentine and cocodamol, which seemed to work for a while.
I then did some research and found that we are supposed td transfer on to pregabalin, which my GP agreed with.
In terms of exercise I was advised gentle walking is best though I like swimming.
It's tough but we'll worth the effort.
Last year I managed to drop the cocodamol completely, this year reduce pregabalin from 150 to 100mg twice daily. If I need to I can slip in a midday dose.
I've been also had several sessions with a chiropractor who has worked wonders unlocking my back.
Sometimes I think we need to give nature a chance, which perhaps pain killers can inhibit.
For me it's all about a balance that works for us, taking control of our medication regimes.
Good luck
Hi zinc
I have had illiioguinal nerve blocks regularly for femoral nerve pain. Been very effective but sometimes not for long. If that happens they can repeat them to build them up. I also take Gabapentin, couldn't manage without. You start on the lowest dose and if ok every three to four days you increase it until pain relief gained. I haven't had side effects with it. If you do you could always try Pregabalin, its newest replacement!. Good luck today for the injection, hope they work for you as I know how horrible the pain can be. X
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