Sympathetic Nerve Block: What to Expect at Home (2024)

FAQs

Sympathetic Nerve Block: What to Expect at Home? ›

After nerve block treatment

We will make sure you can walk properly before you are released, and you will be instructed to rest and refrain from driving for the rest of the day. You can resume normal activities the following day. Nerve block injections provide temporary relief, which often occurs immediately after the injection.

Post-procedure instructions

These instructions should include; no driving or operating machinery for 24 hours after the procedure. This is recommended because the intravenous medication given during the procedure may impair your ability to safely perform tasks. A Pain Clinic follow up appointment should be scheduled.

You usually don't have to do anything special to prepare for a nerve block. In some cases, your healthcare provider may recommend sedation for the procedure. If you're receiving sedation, you'll need to fast for six to eight hours before it. You'll also need someone else to drive you home after the procedure.

During this time, it is important to protect your toes, feet and legs from injury. You will not be able to control foot or leg movement until the nerve block wears off.

Don't drive or operate any machinery for at least 24 hours. Wait until the medicine wears off and you can think clearly and react easily. If you have sleep apnea and you have a CPAP machine, be sure to use it. After the procedure, make sure to rest.

Since there is no need to recover from a nerve block—and there typically will be less pain later—you can begin to eat and drink earlier, and participate in physical therapy faster after surgery, which is associated with faster healing and better health outcomes.

You may feel some mild breathing discomfort. This goes away as the block wears off. If you have breathing discomfort, rest and sleep with your head and upper body resting on 2 to 3 pillows. It may also help to sit in a recliner, with your upper body raised.

Nerve blocks do not have many of the side effects of general anesthesia, such as nausea, vomiting, and tiredness. So, people feel better faster after a surgery that uses a nerve block.

Recovery and Outlook

Yes, you should be able to walk out of the room after the genicular nerve block injection. It's a good idea to take it easy for the rest of the day, but you can return to your normal activities.

What not to do before a nerve block? ›

Stop taking herbal medicines and supplements, fish oil and Vitamin E. 24 hours before the procedure: Stop taking anti-inflammatory medicines, such as Advil, ibuprofen, etodolac, indomethacin, naproxen, Aleve, Feldene, diclofenac, Mobic, and piroxicam. You do not need to stop taking Celebrex.

Will having a nerve block hurt? The placement of a nerve block is associate with minor discomfort. Most patients report that it is less painful than the placement of a small IV catheter. We give all patients sedating medicine to help you relax and then numb the skin prior of the nerve block placement.

The effects of the injection are usually immediate. It only takes a short time for the medication to achieve pain relief. However, nerve blocks are only a temporary fix. Depending on the medication mix, local anesthetics typically last for a few hours/days.

More specific side effects to be aware of:

For injection at the side of your neck or behind your collar bone: hoarse voice, droopy eyelid or difficulty in breathing (the nerve that supplies your diaphragm may be affected by the block). These usually get better as the block wears off.

Side effects after a sympathetic block may include temporary soreness, a feeling of warmth, or some weakness. If you've received a nerve block in the stellate ganglion, you may experience some temporary voice changes, eyelid droop, or difficulty swallowing.

Because of the volume of the injection, if that injection does get right next to the nerve, the expansion of the tissue from the volume of the injection can actually cause a localized stress or stretching of the nerve, worsening the inflammation and pain rather than making it better.

Afterwards your leg may feel numb or weak for up to 24 hours. You will be asked to wait for 30 to 60 minutes before going home and you should not drive for the rest of the day. You will need to arrange for someone to take you home. Some people find that their pain feels worse for 2-3 days after the procedure.

Following the injection, you will be taken to recovery where you will be given a hot drink. What should I do after the procedure? We advise you NOT TO drive for 24 hours following the injection, and take it easy for the rest of the day and then resume normal activities as tolerated.

Many nerves can be targeted for nerve blocks. Once the injection is delivered, you rest for a short period while the medication in the injection takes effect. After your injection is complete, you can head home or back to work. You may need a ride after your appointment if you've received sedation.