I suffered a burst brain aneurysm two years ago and have headaches every day since. My neurologist did a nerve block due to unsuccessful medication regimen. After the nerve block I have been feeling memory loss, confusion and the headaches have returned. he said to continue my medication as I made need another nerve block. My question is, are these symptoms normal and should I have another block if the first one failed? I wonder how many people get as far as I have surviving a brain aneurysm (the doctors implanted a coil in my veins in the brain).
Hi, Thanks for writing in. Your symptoms might be seen in many patients with burst brain aneurysms. Implanting coils in the brain aneurysms is a safe and acceptable form of treatment nowadays. For patients achieving good results with these temporary nerve blocks, there are a variety of other more permanent pain-relieving procedures that can be performed, including cutting the nerve, decompressing the nerve, or damaging it with small doses of a toxin or with a radio-frequency energy probe. An occipital nerve stimulator (basically a nerve pacemaker) can also be helpful. If you do well with the temporary blocks, your doctor will discuss the pros and cons of these options with you. Hope this helps