Trigeminal Neuralgia Procedure

I had my Rhizzotomy procedure Thursday afternoon at the University of Iowa Hospital. I guess like everything there was good and bad. I met some wonderful people as they prepped me for the procedure. The anesthesiologist used to work in John Hopkins and had performed this same procedure with Dr. Ben Carson. I found that very interesting and for some reason it was calming. The anesthesiologist nurse was named Jim and he let me call him Jimbo. He was very entertaining and the most helpful person in the whole thing.

They had warned me many times that the procedure would replace numbing for the pain. Of course numbness has its downside but it is a fantastic change from the pain. The pain was more than I thought was humanly possible so it seems like a fair trade. I won’t know for sure how well this procedure will work for about a week or so. I do have numbing in places that didn’t apply but I told the doctor and the team that que sara sara. Some of the team were old enough to remember that was from the Doris Day show. I do have some numbness in my nose, browI   and mustache on the right side. Hardly even a nuisance and it may pass. I was supposed to stay on the trigeminal medication for a week but because of circumstances I’ve gone a few days without it and no pain. So I’m hoping for the best.

One thing about the procedure that they didn’t really tell me specifically was how painful it would be when they burned the nerve. I was told I would feel it but the pain was pretty high on the scale. I had explained to Jimbo that I found pain easier to endure if I knew how long I had to hold out. He was really great at telling me how many seconds were left. They were different temperatures they use and the only ones that really hurt were when they did the 90° C burns. They did the burn about six times. Someday I hope to cross paths with Jimbo and buy him a beer.

The procedure went pretty well except for some pain. I was never out totally because I had to respond to the doctors questions. They would send electric shock through the needle and I would have to tell them when it made my cheek on the right side numb. That was how they knew they were in the right spot to burn the nerve. Afterword I went to recovery and I felt really good. I drank a glass of water and I really had no bad feelings. They told me not to have alcohol for 24 hours or Janette and I would’ve gone to old Chicago.

As it turned out this would’ve been a huge mistake. By the time I got home I had developed problems with my stomach. After we got home I found I could not hold down food. I found I couldn’t even hold down water. So my medications didn’t stay down either. This started around six at night and finally around midnight I was able to stop enough to go to sleep. Today (Saturday) is the first day I could eat. Yesterday I could drink Gatorade as long as I drink it slow. Part way through the day I could take the medication. I developed an awful headache and couldn’t take anything for until yesterday afternoon. This morning I finally could eat breakfast. I haven’t eaten anything since Wednesday. It was really hard not drinking anything on Thursday. I miss the liquids much more than I miss food.

We had originally decided to have the radiology type procedure. Then after meeting with the radiologist we still thought it was a better option. He was very concerned about my MS and he said is procedure probably only had a 50-50 chance. The more we thought about it the more we decided the Rhizzotomy would be better. After going through it I still agree the Rhizzotomy was the better choice for me. With the radiology you would not know if it is effective for months. With the Rhizzotomy it can be performed again if the result are less than needed. I can’t say I want to go through it again but I would if I had to.

One thing I didn't mention is that with the numbness the right side of my face feels a little bit like after Novocain in a dental filling. One of my worries before the procedure that the numbness in my cheek would be so significant I would drool or have problems drinking. Was afraid my drink would run out the right side of my mouth. Even though there is numbness I'm still able to drink and no drooling or face sagging. It's difficult to chew on my right side I think I will get used to it. Most of you know how much I like eating.