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Pudendal Nerve Entrapment/Neuropathy/Damage

Chronic Pain | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (566)

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@cheryl1468

I heard Stanley antolak at Mayo did the surgery but he is mostly retired now I think. I tried mayo and they do pudendal nerve blocks through their pain clinic. The pudendal block did nothing so now I’ve been searching the country for the best people who really know how to treat PNE. Could we make a list together on this site?

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Replies to "I heard Stanley antolak at Mayo did the surgery but he is mostly retired now I..."

I had bilateral pudendal nerve entrapment surgery done by Dr. Stanley Antolak well over ten years ago. He wasn’t practicing at Mayo. He has his own practice in Lake Elmo, Minnesota I think. I went there three times from Kentucky once per month for three months in a row and had three test injections prior to surgery. The injections were great for a few hours (I think they were. lidocaine and steroids). I had to go there for a week for the surgery and be in the hospital for a couple of days. I was so hopeful that this was going to be the answer for me. My pain also was in the rectal, vaginal, buttocks and down the back of one leg. I was taking massive doses of oxycontin and it wasn’t doing much except making me stupid and dependent. The surgery had a six week recovery time also. I worked as a commercial office space designer, general construction contractor and commercial property manager so being off work that long was a big problem. The surgery did absolutely nothing to help my pain. I went through all of that, spent a ton of money and got nothing for it but disappointment. I do think Dr. Antolak might be retired. He was pretty old when I saw him and I think it was about 2005 maybe. His clinic was only for pudendal pain and I was so excited that I found someone that could “fix” my years of suffering only to be disappointed again. I eventually ended up with an implanted drug infusion system made by Medtronic. It is implanted in your abdomen area on one side and a tube is tunneled to the spinal cord and attached there. In order to qualify for the surgery I had to get off all narcotics and stay off for six weeks. All of that was pure hell but I did it. The pump contains 20 mg (half morphine and half marcaine). The medicine is not systemic. It sits a small amount in your spine where it blocks the pain signals going to your brain. I don’t have to do anything as far as controlling it. I get it refilled about every 70 days. The pump last about 6 years and then needs replacing. I am on my second one. It has completely eliminated my pain but it has made a HUGE difference. It took me from wanting to jump off a bridge to having a life. I have found that stress is a big trigger even with the pump. When my stress is low my pain is almost nonexistent with the pump. For anyone out there that has tried many things (and I had) it is worth considering. Just be sure and find a very qualified doctor who can do the surgery and manage the refills (which are done with a simple needle stick). I go to the University of Kentucky Interventional Pain Clinic.