Pudendul Nerve Block, now what?

[GriffsMommy]

Okay, I guess this will work to post here since I had a pudendul nerve block done on both sides on Monday.

I am hoping some of the girls who have problems with their pudendul nerve will be able to help me with this. As most of you know, I have been having a really rough time and have been in a lot of pain. When I went to see my new pelvic pain specialist at the start of the month he did a lot of tests to figure out everything that was causing my pain and problems. While he was doing my pelvic, mind you the most gentle pevlic I have ever had, he pushed on my pudendul nerve on both sides. It hurt really really bad and it shot a pain up straight through my whole pelvis. I don't know if this is PNE or what but he said this was def contributing to my pain and suggested the nerve block on both sides.

He wanted to know if it hurt when I sit and it does sometimes in the car but I didn't notice any other time. He thinks because I'm in so much pain it's really hard to figure out where it's all coming from. So I def learned where my pudendul nerve was on Monday when he did the nerve block. It felt great while it was working and I had greatly reduced pain. While it was wearing off those is when I really noticed how much those nerves have been bothering me. I started having shooting pains in those nerves and by Wednesday I was having a really hard time sitting for long periods of time at work due to the pain in my butt where the nerves are.

So finally my question, people who have problems with your pudendul nerve how do you sit for long periods of time? Is there a type of cushion you use to make it bareable. I thought a doughnut cushion might work and went to Walmart looking for one. A co-worker told me she had bought them there in the past. Well I couldn't find one and now hubby is wondering if it will even be the right kind to help. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Bessie]

Christine,
I bought one of the cushions from the ICN network and it really helps when you have to sit for a long time. Check it out, I think it would make a difference. It seems like it takes the pressure off of your bladder. I hope you feel better soon.
Take care,
Laura

[GriffsMommy]

Thanks Laura,
You're always so helpful! I'm going to look at that one but I was hoping to find one that I could get locally asap as sitting at work is getting horrible. I'll be sure to check it out though.

[Bessie]

I am sorry Christine that you are dealing with this. I know you have been through so much lately. If you can't find one locally maybe you can call to find out how long it would take to ship it to you. I ordered mine last year and I don't think it took very long to get here. I used it alot when I had to sit at my computer but I have a laptop now so I don't have to use it as often. Good Luck and I hope you get something to help you out. Hang in there :hi:
Love,
Laura

[leelee88]

Christine,
Another thing that I have seen that I have thought about buying for myself is a memory foam cushion. I know I have one on my bed and can not sleep without it.

[hdb1982]

Rite aid has memory foam seat rings. They are like the donut rings that you blow up but are memory foam instead. They are with like the bedpans and stuff I think. I hope this helps. We bought one for my paps wheelchair after his legs were amputated and he said it helped him a lot.

[GriffsMommy]

Thanks Ronda and Heather. I'm trying to find one that's not going to break the bank. The one in the ICN shop looks great but it's more than I can really afford to spend to be comfortable at this point with so many other bills and my realization I can't take any more help from my parents as my father is being really mean about it and constantly making me feel like I'm a piece of sh*t.
Maybe I'll try the memory foam kind or if I can't find anything that's not really expensive I might just wait till my next appointment for my 2nd nerve block and see what my dr recommends.

[hdb1982]

Go to ebay and type in memory foam cushions. I ordered my memory foam mattress topper off ebay and I had it in 5 days. I got a 3inch queen size for 70.00 and they are way over 100.00 in stores. Just make sure to check the shipping costs. Foam is light though so it shouldn't cost much to ship. A few days wait to save that much money is well worth it when you are broke. Trust me I know all about being broke. If you have a Walgreens or Rite Aid in the area call them and get a price quote. I seriouslt think my paps from Rite Aid was 20-30.00

[Bessie]

Christine,
The cushion I got looks like it is made out of the egg crate foam. Do you know how to sew? Maybe you could buy a twin size egg crate and cut out down the middle and put a cover on it. I don't think the egg crate twin size are too expensive. Just a thought.....not sure how it would turn out?? My cushion looks like egg crate on both sides and cut down real low in the middle section. Like I said, I am not sure that would work but maybe it is worth a try or maybe that is too much work :) I have tried the donut cushions but I have not had much luck with them. Good Luck!
Laura

[Briza]

Christine,
The cushion I got looks like it is made out of the egg crate foam. Do you know how to sew? Maybe you could buy a twin size egg crate and cut out down the middle and put a cover on it. I don't think the egg crate twin size are too expensive. Just a thought.....not sure how it would turn out?? My cushion looks like egg crate on both sides and cut down real low in the middle section. Like I said, I am not sure that would work but maybe it is worth a try or maybe that is too much work :) I have tried the donut cushions but I have not had much luck with them. Good Luck!
Laura

I think this is a great idea....I also have the ICN cushion, but it could easily be made, I think, for less money, out of egg crate foam or just ANY kind of spongy foam about 3-4 inches thick...just a square that would fit in your work chair with like a 2-3 inch deep, 3-4 inch wide channel cut down the middle. A sharp utility knife or anything similar to a scalpel, sold in arts/crafts section, is best for cutting foam, in my experience. Probably fabric stores sell foam by the foot or yard, but I know for sure that Academy does sell foam for camping, you might need to ask b/c it's not always displayed, and also Army surplus stores, or probably cheapest would be at at a nonprofit resale shop...like Purple Heart or such...and if you don't know how to sew or don't have the energy or time to do it, just tuck it in a nice pillow case and voila...no one can see that it is special... that's what I did.
No offense intended to the ICN, but mine did take much longer than was expected for delivery (several weeks) and I was so looking forward to having it for an upcoming road trip, but it didn't arrive in time b/c of back orders or something.
Best of luck...in the meantime, just having a really soft pillow, particularly a soft down pillow, along with another firmer pillow for back support to keep you in a upright position, can give a lot of relief. That's what I'm sitting on right now.
Hope this helps. Sorry you are suffering! :grouphug:
Bri

[JanL]

I found my cushion at Tuesday Morning several years ago. It has the memory foam in it. I saw a similar one at Brookstone recently--very pricey!! I made a tote bag for mine out of black quilted fabric. I even bought the handles made out of cloth to put on it. I have an embroidery machine so I monogramed it with my intitials in red and put some red fringe on it. I use it a lot at church, car, etc. No one even really realizes what it is when I am walking in with it. If they see me sitting on it, they just think that I have back problems or something.
On a different note, my Pt thinks I have prudendal nerve damage. My doctor thinks I also have Vulvar Vestibulitis. Whatever, sitting is the pits. I
use lidocaine ointment down there and I wear lidoderm patches across my front, back, and at the top of my hip bone. They help a lot. I will be interested to hear how your nerve blocks actually work. Keep us posted.

Janice

[GriffsMommy]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to go a couple of places this weekend if I have the engery and see what I can find. I really want to get something as soon as possible to help me at work so I'm not so uncomfortable.
As for the nerve block it def helped the first time but started to wear off after about 24 hours. I think the next one will help better becuase of the steriods he's going to put in there as well and hopefully last longer. I was completely shocked as to how much of my pain was coming from my pudendal nerve and I didn't even realize it but I guess it's hard to tell where the pain is coming from when everything hurts.

[annabella22]

Hi! My coworker got me a cushion from a store that sold gently used things for pregnant women (she had one when she was pregnant and I kept stealing hers!). It was only $6! So maybe try looking in an aisle with pregnancy stuff.

Hope you find something!

[icbop]

Hi,

I found (on this site somewhere) an article about Dr. Renney in Houston. He does these nerve blocks as well as surgeries if the nerve blocks wear off/Don;t work. He also does a consultation on the phone (free for the first few minutes of quesitons, I think) to see of you might be a candidate for his clinic. It might not hurt to talk to him and see if you could work up a plan. I am going to talk to him myself in a couple weeks and if I think it might work, I'll go to TX. Here's the article and at the bottom is a link to the website.

http://www.pudendal.info/news/ICN_DrRenneyLecture.htm

Good luck.

[elamar]

I have been going to a chiropractor for the last three weeks due to pain in my left hip and buttock. We strongly suspect pudendel nerve entrapment since my main symptom is urethral pain. I go twice a week for spinal adjustments and he runs some sort of muscle stimulator over my left buttock cheek. It is definitely helping. My hip and buttock pain have been greatly reduced. I'm not limping anymore! I am still have a urethral ache, but hoping that might fade over time. You should really look into it!

[GriffsMommy]

That's really interesting. I can't afford to go to any more appointments than I am already going to. I did end up ordering the seat cushion from the ICNShop and that did help with the sitting. I did ask my dr if there was the possibility I have PNE. He said it could be and we would know if I keep on doing the nerve blocks and they don't give me any long term relief. They do help for about a day after I have them and then I'm back to the same symptoms. He said if it is PNE then he knows one of the dr's who does the decompression in NH and he would refer me there. I surely hope it doesn't come to that. I am already more than broke from all of my medical bills.