United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

My husband is hoping to have a Stellate Ganglion Block in the hope he'll get some real pain relief. The doctors near us (Sunshine Coast, Qld, Australia) say it won't last very long but, after 8 years of living with this, we are desperate for more than all the drugs can offer. We've read a post here from a success story, which gave us courage (and an idea for our doctor to follow up) and we long to hear from anyone who has had this procedure. KT - wife and carer of husband in pain

hi, i had a stellate ganglion block in april/may of 2011. i had 4 of them. each one a week apart. i was having the extreme burning and crushing pain and could not touch my elbow to the side of my body without excrutiating pain. i had them because the doc would not do my surgery with all the pain i was in. i was almost pain free for about 2 weeks before the surgery because of the blocks. i had surgery in july 2011. i was on pain meds for a few weeks due to the surgery. then i did not need them, and quit taking them. i have not had any pain meds for over a year now. not saying i dont have any pain, but it is tolerable. extremely annoying, but oh well. if it gets too bad, i just take some tylenol or ibuprofen.

good luck!! i hope he has great success with the blocks.
the best place to get them is a pain management doc. they have lots of experience and are less likely to mess it up.

Jmar, thank you for your reply; it was actually your post that we read and were encouraged by. What operation did you have? My husband is waiting to have surgery mid next year for a Peripheral Nerve Stimulator. I thought the SGB was the reason you have less pain and we hoped he would not need surgery. It would be great for Matt to have a decent break from the pain - he still has to get through another 6 months (even though its been 8 years, the days don't get any easier, as you would know). In your experience, was the Stellate Ganglion Block worth the side effects for a short break?
Keeley

yes, it was the stellate ganglion block that eliminated the burning and crushing pain. it did not, however, eliminate ALL the pain. in my case, i had some pain relief the first block i got. by the fourth one, the pain was drasticaly reduced.
i had to have 3 nerve transpositions and a tendon transfer to get some function back. (all done on the same day) the surgeries were not for pain relief. they were for regaining function, which i am very happy with the function i got back. it is no where even close to normal, but i at least have a helper hand for my good hand. in my case, i had some pain relief the first block i got. by the fourth one, the pain was drasticaly reduced. i hope he has the same relief i got from it. but like anything else, it works for some and not for others. but it is well worth a try. let me know how it goes.

Hi Jmar,
We were booked in Tues 23rd for the SG Block (through our GP's specialists) but our pain specialist said that studies showed only 2% success rate in 'normal' necks. My husband's neck is skewiff due to the injury, so we chickened out. The specialist has given us a referral for radio frequency ablation/neurotomy instead, saying it has a high, mid-term (1-2 years) success rate. The first session will be done on 20 Nov. We will let you know how it goes.
A friend had it done on his back about 3 months ago and so far, so good.
Out of interest, does hot weather increase your pain?
KT

i was totally confused with the statement of a high failure rate. my doctor told me it had a very high success rate. i looked it up and found out the difference. it DID in fact, have relativley high failure rate. the high failure rate is due to the old way of just blindly putting in the needle and hoping it was in the right place. mine was done with guided imagery. i was under an x-ray type machine and the doctor could actually see where the needle was going. you might want to check out a different doctor who uses the guided imagery. it now has an 85% success rate. good luck to both of you in whatever you decide to do

as far as hot weather, it does not bother me. i do have to be careful around anything hot, because a lot of time, i cant tell how hot something is.

cold weather, OUCH. also i can not touch anything cold. it makes my entire arm feel like it is flash frozen. if i was to close my eys and someone put an ice cube on my arm, i could tell there was an ice cube on my arm but dont know where. i would only know because my entire arm would be instantly cold.

Thanks for that info. We have just booked in again for SGB under guided imagery on Mon 5th. Will keep you posted! KT

hope it helps him as much as it did for me.

Hi Jmar,
The Nov 5 date for the SGB was postponed til the 13th by the doctor, but on the 6th he was given a Medial Branch Block in trial for Radio Frequency Ablation (where they electrocute/burn the nerve). The first block was unsuccessful so there's no point going any further with that. The SGB on the 13th was also unsuccessful - he had no pain relief at all. Understandably, we both feel deflated. I think the biggest issue is that eight years have passed since his accident, seven years since his nerve graft and nothing (except drugs) until now. There's still one thing to try but we have to wait until at least end April 2013 (and get through a hot summer. Matt has been affected by heat since his accident. He sweats profusely and his pain is extra difficult to manage). The specialist wants to insert a Peripheral Nerve Stimulator which apparently blocks the pain signals.
Will let you know about that next year.
Thanks for everything,
KT