Scary reaction of nerve block

[judy c]

Yesterday I had another cluneal nerve block in a series of 3 and had a strange reaction. I had difficulty walking and talking and my tongue felt funny. It may have been swollen. I was just like a drunk trying to form words and staggering when I walked. Unfortunately the only one left in that area was us. The Doctor's normal pattern is to talk to me before and directly after the procedure. then come back about 15 minutes later to see if I got numb and make sure I'm OK. I planned to talk to him then but he didn't come back nor did anyone else. Because of overcrowding I and another pudendal patient were stuck in a separate area. We left and my husband held me up on our long walk thru hospital. My plan was to lie down in the car until I felt better or go back in if I didn't. Fortunately I was doing much, much, better by the time we reached the car. To add insult to injury, I didn't get any numbing relief like I usually do. It was a CT guided scan by an excellent, experienced doctor and I'm curious about what went wrong. Do any of you have any ideas?

[janetm2]

Hi Judy,
Just takinga guess but maybewith it being after the first in the series you just neededa a little more time to adjust? They should have stayed to check on you! I had of my SI injections Tues and he said I would be able to drive after but glad I had hubby drive. I was not up for the drive mentally a bit off and sore in that lower area which makes droving a little hard. Could be some state of you body and system at the time making some difference from the other time.
Janet

[shana]

I'm knew to the forum but I'm very experienced in adverse reactions to medication (oral or injected) your reaction sounds exactly like an allergic reaction especially the fact that your tongue was swollen. I would follow up with the doctor and ask if its possible u were having an allergic reaction bec if yes u don't want them injecting it into u again. If ur anything like me...I react badly to just about every kind of meds that I take whether its oral or via injection IV etc. I had a cortisone injection done today into both hips I was told I can walk and walk out and don't need to bring anyone with me. Last minute I got nervous and made my husband cone with me. Good thing there was no way I could have driven home. Its now over 8 hrs since the injections and I stil wouldn't feel comfortable driving. I feel nauseous and my head hurts and I feel extremely faint.
Anyways if it was me I'd definantly call the doctor and is turn to my "best friend" google and do research on the drug to see if its normal
Good luck
Shana

[HerMajesty]

I agree with Shana, I think you could be developing a sensitivity to whatever is being injected or to the sedative if you were getting one. Those reactions tend to get worse with each exposure so I wouldn't recommend having another one unless you have talked out the whole scenario thoroughly with a doctor you trust, and are given a good rationale for any action you take. If a swollen tongue is due to an allergic reaction, you are one step away from a swollen airway and a breathing emergency. Regadless of whether you get another block, you should follow up with this doc and find out exaclty what was injected (probably at least 2 substances), and what was given for sedation, so that you know what you might be sensitive to. You should never get any of those products again until you have been tested for allergy to each.
Another possibility, since you didn't get any numbing relief as usual, is that he actually "missed" and some or all of the product was injected outside of the nerve, giving you more of a systemic reaction to the injection products. If that's the case yu might have felt pretty weird even without an allergy. This is not to say anything against the doctor because the reality is, even the best practitioners "miss" sometimes.

[judy c]

Thank you all for your replies. I tend to agree with Her Majesty about the doctor missing the mark this time. Seems to me it must have gotten into my bloodstream to cause a central nervous system response so quickly. I've had about 5 nerve blocks, 2 diagnostic and I never take a sedative so an allergy should have shown up before now but the strange feeling in my tongue and difficulty forming words could be exactly that. Perhaps it's a cumulative effect. The pain flare is down my thighs rather than in my buttocks as it normally would be so I think placement may have been a bit off. Hope you feel better Shana.

[Violet M]

Judy, I wonder if there might have been a preservative that you are allergic to in the steroid. I agree with the other gals that you should find out exactly what was given. They can hit a blood vessel when giving a nerve block - it happened to me. The doc realized he had hit it though and he did not give the medication on that side which was a real disappointment because I had flown a long distance for the injection.

Violet

[judy c]

Yes Violet, a preservative is certainly something to consider but there again why wouldn't it have shown up in the first four nerve blocks. Perhaps they have just been too close together, Oct. Nov. Dec. and now in March. I must discuss it with the doctor of course but I hate to do anything to prevent the cluneal ablation he is arranging for me with the participation of the pain clinic. I haven't been able to sit since last June and would feel true grief if this procedure falls through.Will let everyone know if he gives me his opinion. Thank you all for your ideas even if it just enforces the fact that I must discuss with him. Judy

[Violet M]

HerMajesty had mentioned the possibility of developing a sensitivity over time. That's what I meant to refer to, Judy, but I didn't make it clear enough. Maybe you developed a sensitivity to the preservative if there is one in the steroid.

Violet

[Emily B]

When I had the pudendal nerve block in Texas, the doctor injected directly into my bloodstream. He didn't follow the protocol of first pulling back on the syringe to make sure blood doesn't enter to make sure he wasn't in a vessel.

Immediately, my face and tongue went numb. Whole body went numb. I was begging for help and the nurse just kept telling me it was just me being nervous. Then I passed out. Went into tachycardia. Woke up to people running around me and hooking my heart up to monitors.

This was all caused by the anesthetic (xylocaine, lidococaine) entering into my bloodsteam. It was a frightening experience. My tongue was numb for hours. This was not an allergic reaction, but my tongue felt swollen because it was numb. It was like when you get numbed up by the dentist and your tongue feels thick.

Judy, maybe some of the anesthetic got into your system and caused a similar, lesser reaction.

Emily B.

[helenlegs 11]

That sounds so scary Emily, with everyone else I imagined an allergic reaction to be the cause of this type of reaction