Has anyone been cured and if so HOW?

[PNSucks]

Has anyone been cured and if so HOW????????????

[Lernica]

Surfsup no longer has PN. He posted his success story here:

http://www.pudendalhope.org/forum/viewt ... it=surfsup

For more discussion of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT), please type either "Cornwall" or "ESWT" in the Search button above. I did some treatments too, and it helped alot.

Good luck.

[MNMom]

Hi! I have a question about the shockwave therapy. This sounds very interesting. Is it primarily helpful for breakingup scar tissue from surgery? I am sort of confused by the procedure b/c I would think most of the areas of entrapment are not reachable externally.

Also, I did some googling, is this really only done by Dr Andrew?

[Lernica]

As far as I know, Dr. Andrew is the only one in North America who uses ESWT for nerve decompression in the pelvis. There may be some practitioners in Europe, where the technology originated. Many pelvic nerves are accessible under the skin and are thus amenable to shockwave decompression, just as kidney stones are. E.g. pudendal, genitofemoral, iliohypogastric, etc. As far as the pudendal nerve is concerned, the shockwave gun is applied along the entire course of the pudendal nerve -- from the intersection of the sacrospinous and sacroiliac ligaments, to Alcock's canal, and finally to the perineum -- and the nerve is decompressed along its entire route. I saw a renown pelvic PT for the first time this week (Nellie Faghani in Toronto) and she confirmed after examining me that my pudendal nerve is no longer entrapped. Of course it is possible that it never was entrapped, and that Dr. Gordon misdiagnosed me as having PN, but I think this is unlikely given Dr. Gordon's expertise in this area. (I never had any pudendal nerve blocks or a Potter MRI to confirm his diagnosis.)

For further info, you can read another thread on ESWT called "Lernica's going to Cornwall for ESWT!", and you could, of course, also contact Dr. Andrew directly. He may take awhile to respond, but he will respond eventually, especially if you prompt him with a second email.

If I recall correctly, MNMom, you are an athlete? I think that Dr. A's treatment is particularly good for athletes since it is necessary to follow it up with an extensive stretching routine to keep the muscles soft and supple and stop them from tightening up again. I am currently struggling with this "rebound" effect now, and I find myself stretching two or three times a day, as well as taking hot baths and showers twice daily. But what a relief it IS to stretch after two years of being told that stretching can compromise the nerve further.

Please feel free to PM me if you would like more info. I cannot overstate how conscientious and nice Dr. Andrews and his associate, Glenn Cameron (RMT) are. They make the otherwise very painful treatment almost pleasant. And the local Ramada Inn is very comfortable, having been recently renovated. You need to go with a companion, since during the treatment you are good for absolutely nothing besides being driven to and from the hotel and the clinic.

[konedog4]

What does this therapy cost for an American person traveling to Canada?

I agree with MNMom that the treatment is extremely interesting, especially for those who are not in a lot of pain, and do not want to try surgery.

Jim

[brewcity]

I heard "no longer entrapped at all" and you had my attention fully.

[Lernica]

The cost is typically $5,000 (Cdn.) for 5 days of treatment. The treatment is for PN patients experiencing any degree of pain, whether minimal or significant. My PN pain was at 8/10 before treatment and is at about 2/10 now. (Nerve pain takes awhile to go away even if the nerve is decompressed.) I couldn't sit at all. Now I can sit for about 30 minutes. I still have significant pain from bad hips and pelvic floor myalgia, though. So I feel I am about 50% on my way to full recovery and am fairly optimistic to reach close to 100% recovery if I can resolve my remaining issues. But I still am going through some rough patches. Like everyone here, I have good days and bad days.

Please note that I started the ESWT therapy in the middle of November and it is now the end of February and I feel I am still recovering. So it is a long process and you should not expect immediate results. And you have to work hard to maintain the gains by regular stretching, massage, and heat treatments (e.g. baths and showers).

For more information, I would encourage you to contact Dr. Andrew directly who is very personable and honest.

[brewcity]

This is probably the coolest and most positive thing I've seen since I started trying to help my condition. (PN only, at least related to pelvic issues)
Thank you

[Lernica]

Brewcity,

You'll like Dr. Andrew. He's an athlete too and will totally understand where you are coming from. He developed PN after putting in too many miles on his racing bike. Together with RMT Glenn Cameron, he developed his PN protocol after many trials and errors on himself.

If you do decide to go to Cornwall, please keep us posted on your progress! Good luck.

[MNMom]

Lernica, thank you so much for sharing your experience and this information. This is very encouraging. I am not particularly concerned with the follow up of stretching and massage since being overzealous has usually been my problem.

MNMom