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NDPH Forums › General & Support › Does the nerve decompression surgery really work ?
11/24/2009 01:06 PM
Does the nerve decompression surgery really work ?
suwei
suweiPosts: 204
Member
wondering can this surgery really cure the headache?How long can it last?
Reply

11/24/2009 04:04 PM  Top
nomorepain
nomorepain  
Posts: 187
Member
I had the occipital nerve decompression surgery about 15 months ago. The back of my head feels way better, so I would call it successful. Now I just have to get the branches of my Trigeminal nerve fixed, and my headache should go away, or at least be more tolerable. Any significant reduction (not necessarily elimination) of pain is successful as far as I'm concerned.
nomorepain, aka Jessica

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a medical professional of any type. Any advice I might offer is just my opinion or suggestion based on my own personal experience.

I was diagnosed with Occipital Neuralgia and variant form migraine in December 2007. This was after years of searching for an answer. I can remember having pretty bad headaches as a teenager, and then one car wreck at age 20 and another at age 21 sealed my fate. I've seen just about every type of medical specialist, and I've tried non-traditional things too. First nerve decompression surgery was in August 2008. Second nerve decompression surgery was in September 2010.

11/24/2009 04:33 PM  Top
suwei
suweiPosts: 204
Member
So is the dr.Black the only doctor know how to do this surgery in the usa?

11/24/2009 09:01 PM  Top
MaryR
MaryR  
Posts: 3896
Group Leader
Dr. Blake is not the only Dr. doing the nerve decompression surgery in the USA. I think there is a Dr. Ducic somewhere near Washington D.C. doing it (someone else can give better details) and there may be others as well.
Mary
NDPH support group leader
Dementia support group leader
Not a medical professional...just another patient with my own set of experiences to share.

11/25/2009 11:49 AM  Top
suwei
suweiPosts: 204
Member
Hi MaryR:

Thanks for the reply

May I ask you what medication are u taking now? does it help?

And have u ever think about doing decompression surgery..why or why not? thanks..I need more information ..

11/25/2009 02:46 PM  Top
MaryR
MaryR  
Posts: 3896
Group Leader
I take Topiramate and Seroquel as my preventatives, Maxalt is my abortive. I also take vitamin D and melatonin (to help me keep a good sleep schedule) daily. I take other meds for other things too, but those are the ones I think of as my "headache pills".

I have not seriously considered the decompression surgery because my pain is not in the occipital region and while there is a surgery to decompress nerves farther forward, I have no idea if I would be a good candidate for it or not. There haven't been many people on this forum at least who have gone in for just the frontal surgery and not the occipital one, so there isn't much information for me to go on, and I probably can't afford it anyway (unless costs are significantly different than for the other surgery).

Mary
NDPH support group leader
Dementia support group leader
Not a medical professional...just another patient with my own set of experiences to share.

11/27/2009 01:18 PM  Top
kensiegirl
kensiegirlPosts: 50
Member
Mary- Just food for thought i know that with my first surgery i didn't feel any pain in the occipital region however that region was still very much compressed... my pain was all in the frontal forehead so just because you aren't feeling the pain doesn't mean it isn't compressed. Have a good day!

11/27/2009 07:08 PM  Top
Enbee
EnbeePosts: 1524
Senior Member
It's interesting that no doctor has mentioned nerve decompression surgery to me yet, I'm wondering if it's just not that common in Australia or no one does it here? They have talked about an occipital nerve stimulator down the track but not the decompression. It seems that the people on here who have had the decompression surgery are all in the US?
NDPH Group leader

11/28/2009 06:41 AM  Top
MaryR
MaryR  
Posts: 3896
Group Leader
I think so, I haven't heard anyone outside the USA mention it yet.
Mary
NDPH support group leader
Dementia support group leader
Not a medical professional...just another patient with my own set of experiences to share.

11/28/2009 11:57 PM  Top
Enbee
EnbeePosts: 1524
Senior Member
I guess it's quite a specialised surgery!
NDPH Group leader
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