What outcome have people had from Pulsed Radiofrequency?

[bartland]

Sadly after 14 years of no symptoms (I had decompression surgery in 2003), 8 weeks ago I did something that flared up my pudendal nerve VERY badly and left me in debilitating pain. Pudendal neuralgia has been confirmed in each of 3 nerve blocks since then. The steroids have not seemed to make much difference, and I am considering Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment at the suggestion of my doctor. (PRF)

What results have people gotten from having PRF done? Did it work for you? If not, was pudendal neuralgia confirmed for you in a nerve block prior to trying PRF?

Thanks,
Bart

[Violet M]

Hi Bart,

That is dreadful that your symptoms have come back. I am so sorry to hear this happened to you.

Haven't tried PRF myself but I have heard mixed reviews about it. I think it's one of those things where you won't know for sure if it will help you unless you try it. Have they explained the risk vs. benefits to you? Did they say if you will have to keep repeating it periodically?

Violet

[bartland]

Thank you so much Violet. The ptsd of it coming back really beat the hell out of me for a few weeks. They did explain risk vs benefits, plus I have been doing research online...it appears there are almost no side effects of PRF, in contrast to traditional RF Ablation, which I would never try based on what I've read. I found a study that reported great effectiveness specifically for PN: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8359332/

Mind you, that study discusses long-term effectiveness and a number of their patients had multiple PRF treatments. But ultimate outcome was 80% of the patients reporting significant pain relief.

With that said, I would love to hear some first-person accounts of peoples' experiences.

Hi Bart,

That is dreadful that your symptoms have come back. I am so sorry to hear this happened to you.

Haven't tried PRF myself but I have heard mixed reviews about it. I think it's one of those things where you won't know for sure if it will help you unless you try it. Have they explained the risk vs. benefits to you? Did they say if you will have to keep repeating it periodically?

Violet

[Violet M]

Hi Bart,

If you do a search in the upper right search bar on the words "pulsed radiofrequency" about 18 pages of discussion come up, so you might be able to find some posts on people's past experiences there, but hopefully some more people will reply to you on this topic.

It sounds like you have done a lot of research on the topic but I know it's always an agonizing decision trying to weigh the risks vs. the benefits.

Violet

[bartland]

For those who may come across this post and want more information, I was able to find this thread:
viewtopic.php?t=1975

[Violet M]

Thanks for posting that link, Bartland. If you decide to go ahead with PRF I would be interested to hear how it goes for you.

Violet

[April]

Hi Bart,

I'm so sorry that your symptoms are back. I completely understand the ptsd---I have a mild form of it, I think, each time my pain increases (which is, on average, every few weeks but it varies a lot). My pain is normally manageable, but when it increases (forcing me to use heat and/or ice), my emotional reaction is panic and sadness that is out-of-proportion to the pain. So I fully understand. Good luck with the pulsed radiofrequency. I did want to mention that I had a flare a couple of years ago that lasted longer than usual (about 8 weeks). I was devasted and tried pt again (but, as before, it did nothing and only flared it if it was at all internal). But the uptick in pain did eventually subside. That experience of an extended spell of pain that eventually passed helps me not panic too much when a flare that goes on for a while. I try to remember that it has always (since my surgery) subsided, so it should again. So, if you are reluctant to try a new treatment, you could consider waiting a little longer in case it does pass.

Take care,
April

[cwb125]

I am pretty sure I did the Pulsed Radiofrequency and nothing, positive or negative, happened because of it.

[jon]

Oh, man!

I hear and feel your unimaginable pain!

I've had PN since 2008 and I've been considering trying treatment again. Where are you having it done?

[bartland]

FOLLOW UP

I had this procedure done in Jan 2024. It flared up my pain for about a week after the procedure, then...nothing. No effect on pain.