#sphenocath

So, that’s what’s going on there.

I got a nerve block for the first time in six months and I feel so much better I can't even believe it. Some fluid got in my ears, even, but still a massive improvement. I didn't even sneeze in my doctor's face.

I’ve had migraines for as long as I can remember and was diagnosed with chronic migraines at the age of 6.  Doctors from military installation hospitals loaded me full of strong, adult doses of narcotics including Midrin (isometheptene mucate, dichloralphenazone and acetaminophen), a combination of a pain reliever and fever reducer, a sedative, and a vasoconstrictor.  It made me sluggish and unable to perform basic motor functions; I usually spent the rest of the day in bed.

I was asked by my boss to help with a multi-channel marketing campaign for a hospital promoting a product/procedure call Sphenocath.  I spent many hours researching, watching youtube videos of the procedure, and reading the blogs of people who had tried it.

For those of you who don’t know, Sphenocath is a minimally-invasive (and I do mean minimal) procedure in which a flexible tube is inserted into the patient’s nasal cavity and a lidocaine mixture is sprayed onto the sphenopalatine ganglion, a bundle of nerves located in the nasal cavity. 

Ok, so, that’s the official talk.  After reading about the procedure, I decided the only way to really understand it, was to do it.  In the past year, I have had this procedure done over eight times.  I go to my pain relief center, where they place me on an office bed with my neck on a rolled cushion that places my head at a downward angle.  My doctor fills an injection tube with a long, flexible tube attached to it. They use a live X-ray to ensure they are placing the tube in the right spot and not poking my nasal passage. This is mildly uncomfortable, but not painful.  When they’ve reached the right spot, she depresses the lidocaine onto the nerve, they do not inject it INTO the nerve.

This is the worst part.  I don’t know if you’ve ever tried lidocaine; it’s nasty.  Imagine crushing a plain aspirin and mixing it with water and that almost comes close to what it tastes like.  So they do this in both nostrils.  I have gone in with massive migraines and while the taste of the lidocaine is disgusting, there is an almost instantaneous relief. 

There are multiple kinds of migraines and this procedure works best for allergen related migraines, usually triggered by a sinus headache, and barometric pressure shifts.  I am sensitive to both.  My migraines are also triggered by hormonal changes around my menstrual cycle and food triggers (highly processed foods, artificial food coloring and dyes, high tannin wines, and MSG).