Reply To: Feeling low following Nerve root blocks

[Anonymous]

Hi there Kate

I know exactly how you are feeling. I had nerve root blocks in Oct at L4/5 and L5/S1, and for the first 5 days I could barely move, I had to shuffle around the house on crutches even to get to the toilet and was in hideous pain and barely able to roll over in bed never mind get up! I had pinned so much hope on this working (without even realising!), and was so down when it didn’t – even though I have been let down so many times before with surgery, epidurals etc, either doing nothing or making me worse, so I should have been a realist, but I guess we all hope things might just work, however much we know they are a long shot.

My husband was great the first day, then he just kind of forgot, – he was about to go out to church on the Sunday evening (having had the nerve block Friday pm, so still very rough), and hadn’t remembered to do tea for the kids or me, or anything! I was so cross. I don’t think family are always that good at remembering, or sustaining the additional care we need after procedures like this.

It was interesting the post from Kitten, because although I was not sedated (I dont think many are with nerve blocks?), I do think that the steroids part of the nerve block can alter mood and make you down – I experienced it after the epidurals too, so I am sure you might find some of it is due to that, though of course the fact that they haven’t worked is enough to send anyone into sadness and despair, I know it did with me, and I was so tearful. …