I am having it done next teus. in tulsa, don’t know what to expect, he just said he wasn’t adding any achohol? I was just flabbergasted that they would start me out with that! There is already damage done to the head and i geuss around the head of Panc. I am learning to take one day at a time and ty for all your welcome words, feels good to not stand alone!
Kate
Is it a Celiac plexus block? If it is there is a thread on here that explains it better than I ever could ever hope to. I can't remember the name of the the thread but it is authored by cager21. I will be praying for you and hoping that all turns out well. Please keep us posted?
hugs and prayers,
dream
Yes, definately try to find that thread. I’m sure it will explain things. I had one done and it did seem to help a bit. Then I had a second and it did nothing. My pain spec. said that often with CP the first helps then after that they don’t help at all for some reason. Now he is trying to get my insurance to approve a spinal implant, but they don’t want to approve it. I really, really wish they would.
I can give you all you need to know about CPB. I have had several with great results every time. The first one is without alcohol because they want to see if it successful. They will use a numbing agent (probably bupivacaine aka Marcaine or Sensorcaine) and a long acting steroid (probably triamcinolone aka Kenalog). It is done via EUS (endoscopic ultrasound). After my first one, I told Doc K that I thought I died and went to heaven. They are short lived, though, 4-6 weeks. Mike has been doing them for me every 2 months since last November. He once tried with the alcohol but it landed me in the hospital for 2 weeks or so. He bypassed this last time because he put in a feeding tube and was afraid he would not be able to visualize the aorta very well. That is the downside, the clinician MUST be very skilled in the procedure as he/she will be right next to the aorta. If he/she hits the aorta, there could be major problems. My anesthesiologist friends feel that this approach (via EUS) is very non invasive and not as dangerous as the anesthesia or radiology approach (where they go through the abdomen or back). My pain specialist friend, though, feels that the aorta may get burnt out over time (years) if you keep bathing the area with steroids but this is only an hypothesis. I just can’t say enough good things about the CPB.
Keep us posted and good luck
Teresa