NERVE BLOCK

The pain center at UAB called last week to set up an appointment for me to come in. I was under the impression that I was coming in for an evaluation. So my mom called up there Friday to ask a question and we found out that I was actually having the nerve block done. So I was kind of scared- I was stupid enough to go on the internet and look up occipital nerve block- and that did not help at all. Well we drive up this morning and get there. When I have something that I'm scared to do I try to just not think about it until I absolutely have to. I can't figure out if that is a good habit or bad habit. But anyways, I meet with this nurse and she took my vitals. (yay- they were back to normal- all the meds from michigan made my heart rate go up and my blood pressure go down) Then this chick came in I think she was in her residency or whatever the proper term is for that. She asked me all these questions that I have to answer everytime I go to a new doctor. (I feel as though I could ask my way through a thorough evaluation on someone else these days) Then the doctor came in and we discussed the procedure. We decided we would try my forehead and neck, but the medicines are so strong you can only do one block at a time. I decided to try my forehead first since that is where most of the pain orginates. So it was bad at all. I felt silly for being so scared, but all they did was give me two injections along the edge of the bone above my eyes. The doctor told me that the injections were mix of steriods and novacaine. It was weird when they gave it to me- it was like my eyelids became really heavy and i felt like the stuff was really thick as i felt it move around through my eyelid. He asked me if I was ok and I told him it felt "thick" (that was the best word I could come up with) and they both kind of laughed at my description. After they were done they put alot of pressure right above my eyes where you can feel the bone. I sat up and I could barely open my left eye. And they tell me- there will be a lot of swelling, and don't be surprised if it turns black and blue. So all afternoon my left eye was nearly swollen shut. I kept ice on it all afternoon and it's a little bit better now. It looked so pathetic, it was crazy. Too bad I didn't come up with this like crazy story- it could have been really funny. So we drive home to montgomery and the doctor called my house right as we were getting in. He was checking on me and wanted to know how my headache was. I was so surprised- I've never had a doctor call to check on me after!! My forehead and the whole front half of my head is numb- it feels like how your mouth feels after you get a cavity filled. Kind of crazy. The wierd thing is that I still feel the headache. It's like under the numb area. There is still a good chance it will help. In two weeks I head back to get the nerve block along the base of my skull. When I say nerve block I mean that they insert the injection right where the nerve is (I'm just repeating what the chick told me, but it makes good sense) See here's the thing- Look how much I know about the medicines, the procedures, the side effects- and not just about this particular nerve block but everything else conerning my head. It makes me wonder if I should go into a field where I can use this knowledge. I just don't know- I'm still praying through that one. So thats all for now. If they turn black and blue I'm tempted to take a picture to show everyone- it would be pretty funny. But I hope everyone had a wonderful start to the week and for now, that's all folks!!
-christy