Splanchnic Nerve Block

@mmoss - Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! I know how exhausting it must be for you to have that kind of pain for 2 months. Can you tell us a bit more about your general health and if you have seen doctors and had tests done? There are quite a few members that are dealing with chronic abdominal pain and may have had this kind of nerve block.
Let's see if someone will join the discussion!

I am 67 years old and have a burning pain in my lower abdomen. I have no underlying conditions and was a very health vibrant individual prior to this. I exercised 5 x a week. The pain came out of nowhere and I have been to every specialist for tests and no one can find anything wrong. I am now in pain management and taking Gabapentin and Cymbalta. I also take stronger pain medication when needed. I really would like to get into the Mayo Clinic but have not been successful. The pain management people are thinking about doing a Splanchinic Nerve Block. Has anyone had this kind of pain? Has anyone had this procedure? Any suggestions how to get into the Florida Mayo Clinic? Thank you.

@mmoss Have you asked your local primary care physicians to refer you to Mayo JaxFL.. ? Sometimes they may have a limit on Medicare patients.

I did not ask the primary.

@mmoss, I add my welcome and invite fellow members @trip17 @grammajackie @coderhomer @msb18 @bebe6 and @rt061069, who have experience with nerve blocks and abdominal pain. These related discussions may also interest you:
- Has anyone been diagnosed with Abdominal Wall Pain https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/has-anyone-been-diagnosed-with-abdominal-wall-pain/
- Chronic upper stomach Pain/Nausea going on 4 yrs. ALL TESTS NEGATIVE https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chronic-upper-stomach-painnausea-going-on-4-yrs-all-tests-negative/

A physician referral may help with requesting an appointment at Mayo Clinic, especially if it is not clear that this is a GI issue or not. A physician may help to direct the request to the best department to start with for a multi-team approach.

MMoss, what questions do you have about the splanchnic nerve block? Are you concerned about using this pain management approach?

It's been more than a year since the previous post on this thread. I'm not sure if I should continue here or start a new one.

Anyway, I've been experiencing mild abdominal pain (tightness in the stomach, general discomfort throughout) for many years now. I had an endoscopy done 5 years ago and again a few months ago. The results are the same. We can see apparent irritation of the stomach (ie. slight redness in a few places), but no ulcers, no hint of anything cancerous, nothing else. It's just that I feel a general discomfort there that never goes away. I can't eat or drink much without making matters worse. I was wondering if a nerve block might help restore a feeling of joy in my life.

"Splanchnic Nerve Blocks for Abdominal Pain" seems like the right subject, but please let me know if I should start a new thread.

Have you had your pancreas checked. My doctors wasted a lot of time with my stomach, turned out to be chronic pancreatitis. Often hard to diagnose and easy to miss unless you're looking for it. I have chronic pancreatitis in it sounds as though you're having some of the same symptoms. Especially if you have pain in your lower back or left shoulder. Hope this helps

Thank you for responding. No, I don't have back pain or shoulder pain.

It looks like pancreatitis symptoms include nausea and vomiting. Did you experienced that? I haven't. Also, I have never been a heavy drinker but I guess there could be other causes. Did you determine the cause in your case? What test finally identified your pancreatitis? What was the treatment?

Thank you again.

I've been experiencing mild abdominal pain (tightness in my stomach - like cramps, general discomfort throughout) for many years now.

I had an endoscopy done 5 years ago and again a few months ago. The results are the same. The resulting images show apparent irritation of the stomach (ie. slight redness here and there), but no ulcers, no hint of anything cancerous, nothing. The biopsy was negative and there is no H. Pylori either.

Although dairy products have never seemed to cause me discomfort, I have learned that I am indeed somewhat lactose intolerant. Since taking lactase supplements recently, I have a normal stool again (rather than loose). The cramp-like discomfort I constantly feel happens whether I consume dairy products or not. In fact, eating sour cream actually soothes my stomach.

The general discomfort in my abdomen never goes away. I can't eat or drink much without making matters worse. I was wondering if a nerve block might help restore a feeling of joy in my life (at least occasionally).

I was hoping someone could tell me the possible downsides of a splanchnic nerve block treatment. What are the risks from your experience? Not knowing the underlying cause of my chronic pain, will I be taking too much of a chance by getting this procedure done one time and seeing if it helps?

According to Cleveland Clinic, "The risk of complication from a splanchnic nerve block is very low. However, there could be bruising or soreness at the injection site. Serious complications, including infection and bleeding, are uncommon."

Bottom line: what am I risking by having all feeling in my abdomen temporarily cut off? I am thinking, perhaps naively, that when I was young "not feeling anything there" was normal.

I was hoping to have that feeling again.

I had a Splanich(spelling?) nerve block for upper abdominal pain and it didn’t do anything!