Oooh, Leannestork, you better talk to your doctor or an anesthesiologist about your conditions. I know zilch about fibromyalgia and lupus. My best guess is your low pain resistance is the reason why they have these procedures done with a general anesthetic rather than local. You definitely wouldn't be able to handle the freezing agent used for nerve blockers and rhyzotomies. They're acid-based and are VERY uncomfortable for about 10 seconds, but for you, probably longer.