Chronic inguinal pain

Please tell me more about stims. Did they help at all? I'm mostly going with the pain relaxation careful of which exercises I can do and not do. Weather also important

I've tried 2 types of stims. 1st was peripheral w/ 2 leads into my rt groin directly over my pain & the other stim trial was on my spinal cord. I actually had the peripheral stim permantley implanted for 1 yr. but I suffered from an incisional infecton the entire time, trying long course antibiotics w/ no luck, so had to have it removed.
When comparing the two the peripheral was extremely positional, but very specific to my site of pain. The spinal cord trial was really hard to get use to,(trialed it for 5 days) in order for it to help w/ my pain i had to turn it up so high & then I would feel stim to my entire right side, from my hip to the bottom of my foot. So neither where the best. but... better than norhing @ all! I will be meeting w/ my doc in late July to poss try another spinal cord trail just lower on my spine w/ a different approach (retrograde)to see if that will provide me w/ more pain control.
2 months ago I had a pudendal block. I will never do that again cuz it tripled my pain for a month, no lie!!! Doc was shocked not knowing really why. He did mention to me that I may have some peripheral sensitization so that is why it may have happened. ugh not another problem!
Plz let me know how your trial goes. I agree w/ you that only way I get pain relief is relaxation. But what fun is that. This injury has robbed me of most things I use to do! It's really hard cuz I'm younger & have a family & i cnt enjoy physical activities w/ them. Also, I have had to cut way back on my work hours & job duties.
I just started a pain support group so I'm hoping it will help my "brain" - ha ha & therefore decrease my chronic pain. But when u suffer daily it's hard not to be mad,sad,anxious,tired,hopeless,depressed, ect.
KEEP IN TOUCH

How long have u suffered? What are most of your symptoms? I have researched pudendal neuralgia & yes I have a lot of those symptoms but I also have a lot of ilioinguinal-hypo gastric neuritis symptoms. I have been very medically challenging for all the docs I've seen. They cnt pinpoint my exact nerve or nerves that are injured. All test show nothing & the treatments or therapies I've tried have left me w/ no relief. Believe me I have tried everything!!!

I was injured June 17, 2005: in a golf cart hit by a car. I had jammed my left leg tight to keep me in the cart and the sidewise hit by the car injured all the muscles in my left groin. I call it a groin whip lash. Didnt have any pain for 10 days and then whammo had the worst pain Ive ever had except childbirth. Hasnt stopped since: 24/7. I wasnt diagnosed until 2008 after seeing multiple docs: orthopods, neurosurgeon, etc etc. Also have had many many treatment options including physical therapy (which made it worse), spinal injections (which made it unbearable), acupuncture (which was awful), etc etc. Chiropractic adjustments, ultra sound and massage have been helpful.

I was again on the Internet hopefully trying to find some new info, etc after another neurologist had suggested my pain might be from the pudendal nerve. I certainly fit the symptom and history picture. I checked for providers and found Dr. Karen Noblett at University of California, Irvine who specializes in pudendal nerve, pelvic floor disorders. Since, luckily, I have a daughter who lives in Irvine, I went to California and stayed 3 weeks, in 2008. She confirmed the diagnosis of pelvic floor myathesia: in other words all the muscles/ligaments in my p
pelvic floor were in spasm, tight as drums, pushing on the pudendal nerve. I suspect that my nerve is caught between two ligaments but that is hard to discerne

My best relief--over time-has been after I have been able to stay in CA and receive a series of injections of small amounts of a steroid and a numbing agent; like 3 times a week. (The first few are unbearably painful but then that begins to ease)

Included in this is to learn to massage these muscles internally (intravaginally) with a glass probe, massage trigger points internally and externally, doing relaxing stretching exercises, etc. Her theory is that this treat,ment over time relaxes these muscles and reduces the over excitability of the pudendal nerve.

I finally did begin to get relief; never without pain but certainly reducing it from 10s to 4s. I finally found another provider closer to home in Overland Park, KS next to Kansas City who also does these injections. They are incredibly painful while the injection is happening, but it truly does begin to help.

I now have found a physician here where I live (Bentonville, AR) who now does a pudendal block: not doing each muscle but just blocking the nerve. It isnt as effective as working on each individual muscle in spasm. I can reduce the pain 5-6 points simply by doing the vaginal trigger point massage myself; I couldnt have made it this far without that ability.

I mistakenly decided to again do physical therapy to build up some core muscle ability; has taken me 3 weeks now to settle it all down.

There is a physician in Phoenix who is cutting the pudendal nerve but is having only limited success: maybe 20% reduction in pain after long painful recovery. This doctor also does trigger point and pudendal nerve injections. There is also a doc in Denver, CO. Id have to look him up.

My best source is a book entitled, "Headache In My Pelvis" by Drs. David Wise and Rodney Anderson. Order from National Center for Pelvic Pain Research, Occidental,CA 707-874-2225. This book is like my Bible.

I dont think most doctors, especially pain docs, know how to treat this. I now am convinced that all the other pain treatment , other than Dr. Noblett, just worsened the pain. Im convinced that Dr, Nobletts theory, as is Drs Wise and Anderson, that this trigger point treatment is the way to go.

Im like you; used to be an avid golfer, working, gardening, very very active and over time my world has become smaller and smaller. The worse thing is sitting: that is awful. I carry around a pillow always. Because I never know for sure when I;m going to have a flare I dont do much socially any more, though do play bridge once a week. But I never sit very long, I get up and walk around, or just stand behind my chair, etc.

I do not believe there is a cure for this malady; not yet anyway, but I do agree with the muscle relaxing, stretchiong exercises, trigger point massage, and cortisone injections of the trigger points in the pelvic floor are the most effective. And pain medication: I take a long acting morphine and shorter acting Dilaudid, Lyrica and Valium to sleep. I do spend a lot of time sleeping; more than I want but still must have the pain meds; but at least with the above treatment the meds cover the pain. I understand morphine is the med of choice for nerve pain.

Remember, the injection into this very tight trigger point in the pelvic floor is excrutiating and at first will cause a pain flare of a day to multiple days. But as the inflammation reduces the level of pain decreases.

I get terribly despondent and depressed at times but am just now beginning to accept that this is how it is: no cure. I have to live with this pain, but I do have control of the LEVEL of pain.

Guess thats enough for now. Id like to read your --and anyone elses thoughts.

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I had chronic back pain for the past 40 years and I controlled it with a TENS and very powerful drugs. About 7 years ago, I tried pulsed radio frequency treatment for my back. It took my pain level to a 2 from a 10 (Scale 1 to 10, with 10 you wish you could die). I had treatment on S1, S2, S3, L4, L5 and L2.on my lower back. First it lasted a year for about 6 years. The last two years it lasted 6 months. I am not medically inclined, but it was like a miracle. I don't know if this will help you, but it is worth a try if a pain doctor who performs this type treatment thinks that it may help you. You are in my prayers.

Happy to hear that PRF helped you. I tried this procedure @ Rochester Mayo & it made no difference. The thing with my injurgy is that no test show what nerves are damaged. We have a good idea as to what nerves they are but it's very difficult to disrubt their pathways. I have recently tried my 4 stimulator trial & it's been hard to get coverage in the area I need. Inguinal nerve pain in females is very hard to manage. It's been four years & I have not given up! I'm always open to ideas but as for now I'm coping w/ my chronic pain. I participated in a 15 week chronic pain group & they taught me great ways to cope & control my neuritis;) My pain used to control me.! Now I control it!!!!! The mind is a wonderful thing..... YEAH! I hope you continue to to live your life with little pain. One day I will:)

I have a very similar problem to yours--inguinal nerve damage and then pelvic floor issues. Can you tell me more about the nerve blocks? You said the spinal blocks were not effective--did they worsen the pain? Where was the block? Ganglion impar? Is a pudendal block different from a spinal block? You implied that was hepful, but not as hepful as trigger point therapy. I would be very grateful for any insights, as the pain specialist suggests blocks as the primary treatment. Thanks for any replies

tomb, can you please share with me who was the Chicago doc that performed your denervation. How are you feeling now? Also have you ever been to a Peripheral Nerve Institute who specializes in peipheral nerves. When I google this lots come up & it's overwhelming!!

How are you feeling? Still in a lot of pain? Who did you see in Fargo? & did it help?

Yes, a pudendal block is different from a spinal block. Pudendal nerves are peripheral nerves, which are a branch of nerves outside your spine and the spinal block is a block within your spine. The spinal blocks did not worsen my pain, but they gave me absoulutely no relief. My pudendal and obturator blocks increased my pain, ten-fold!!! Docs don't know why. The only series of blocks that helped me, but only for for 6-8 hrs, was the ilioinginal-hypogastric block. The only thing that this block told me was these are the nerves involved in my injury. No diagnostic test have been able to show anything? If you don't mind sharing- how did you injure your nerves? I have had daily chronic pain for 4 yrs & still looking for a miracle doc.