I’m not yet clear about the effects of Nerve block No. 3, but I’m calling it… I’m going to be positive… I believe I’m building! It’s just a sorta three steps forward and two back situation.. I hope. So far, my building blocks go like this: • Nerve block No. 1 (December 7, 2011), • Nerve block No. 2 (April 18, 2012), • Nerve block No. 3 (November 23, 2012)
...please gear up with me, imagine the drum rolls and the biggest mountain you can imagine with me standing on the tippy top yelling because this IS real, IT'S true, IT'S official: I'M BACK AT WORK!!!!!!!" No, I've not overdosed on my medication and the stress of a chronic pain issue has not damaged me enough to be hallucinating.., I. AM (wiggling heaps but all the same). SITTING. IN. A (very nice ergonomic). CHAIR. TYPING. THIS. POST!!!!
I've been contacted by a few males who feel their symptoms are similar to the ones I share on my website. There is help, for males with pudendal neuralgia in Australia:
(Excerpt from the Daily Mail's newspaper) Feminist Naomi Wolf finds enjoyment in sex again after her nerve 'wiring' is repaired by surgeon • Author felt something different was happening after sex • 'I felt I was losing somehow, what made me a woman' • Doctor found she had been born with mild spina bifida
...So with my returned senses came dreams, with senses and dreams came diagnosis, with diagnosis came, finally, appropriate treatment, and with the right treatment came great pain relief and some much deserved and needed increased capacity. I feel I've arrived on a very high mountain but had to crawl all the way up over 5 1/2 years. So, here we are on the mountain, I mean, in Italy, and boy did we pick the right place! Not only did we have a divine holiday but we stumbled on what feels like a miracle treatment for my form of PN and that was part of the Italian lifestyle: bidets and siestas...
.... As documented many times with this condition, treatment isn't just about relief, it also provides more detail about the issue and this becomes a guide for the next step. It's like taking mini steps of progress and it really feels fabulous, I feel as though I gain some control, I foresee future options and ultimately, I regain some hope. Without this I'm travelling blindly.... I began to really struggle 12 weeks after the first block and even during that time I had a few flare ups. I wondered if my implant perhaps had interfered with my nerve block as it's known to cause pain if you keep it on whilst the pain is at a low-level (yes, try to figure that one out!!) By the time I realised my nerve block was well and truly wearing off I was at the 14 week mark, and having been very excited with what relief I had, Theo and I booked a holiday to Italy. Thankfully the brilliant Dr Courtney was able to fit me in for another nerve block at the 19 week mark which was exactly two weeks before travel time. Why am I mentioning the holiday? Because I believe a nerve block needs support, it needed me to get out of the pain routine and team it up with as much distraction as possible... I felt my brain would freshen up, have a new shot at life and not have to face my day bed, aids, daily pain routine etc etc. I set off to live a dream in hope distraction would bring a positive change and another step forward...
What’s also revealed here is the origin of our Jack Russell’s name, Zephyr (who is actually more like a hurricane), but… back to my life moment, back to one of the big, completed circles of my life… I was moved completely. So moved I couldn’t move, stuck to the floorboards with only one way to go, closer, if only everyone else would get out of MY way!! I almost felt I had a special right after loving the piece for most of my life, painting her, drawing her over and over. I almost couldn’t understand why no one could see these facts, and why didn’t they all also know I was the one with the tattoo of Venus on my tail? I contained myself, I was in danger of setting off the alarm and for the life of me wasn’t about to live down to Theo’s expectations...
The clinic offers an alternative approach for women who have tried other treatment options but still have a high level of pain. The staff in the clinic come from a range of health professions. Together we will work with you to explore the range of possible causes for your pain and to offer ways to treat or to help you manage your pain. There is good evidence to suggest that this approach to chronic pain is beneficial. Our aim is to work with you to increase your quality of life.
Your symptoms & history indicate that the nerve in the pelvis, the pudendal nerve, may be responsible for all or some of your pain and other symptoms. The pudendal nerve runs from the lower back, then passes between 2 ligaments, then runs along the top of the pelvic floor muscles, then through to the base of the pelvis the pelvis and out to the perineum. Adjacent to the ligaments are muscles: the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) at the front and the obturator and piriformis at the back.
It felt like a miracle and took all of about 15 minutes for the phsyiotherapist (at the chronic pelvic pain clinic at the Women's here in Melbourne Australia) to give me her French infused explanation that my pain was most probably coming from my Pudendal Nerve (yes, a name, I had a name!). It took another 15mins for her to put me in on my back (I never lay on my back as it was too painful) and apply a pressure/postural technique that switched my pain off! (Yes, OFF... calm, silence, stillness, roar gone, no spasm, quiet, peace)... unbelievable but this is true.
