I have these done 1 x a year and it always takes me about 4 weeks to feel improvement. I am actually scheduled to have one in the morning. Hang in there and good luck.

Darrell, good luck with yours. Mine was done on Oct 27th. I'm at the 2 week mark. Still waiting for pain relief. You can follow my posts here on radio frequency ablabation (RFA). Kathy

If you don't get any relief in 2 weeks, you probably won't. I saw my PM Dr. 2 weeks post-RFA Procedure and she said I wouldn't get any relief if I didn't have it by then. I'm also looking at a possible SCS if my insurance company approves a trial.

one that I just had and it has always taken 4 weeks to feel improvement. I have seen many other members on this forum that have also had it take 4 weeks. The first one that I had I also thought it was a failure. My doc also said at that time that it should only take 2 weeks. I was very pleasantly surprised when I did get results and they were good results at the 4 week mark. That was 4 years ago. The one that I had done the other day I was told could take 30 days. Everyone is different. There is 1 member on this board that said they got immediate results. Many more that said it took at least 4 weeks.

My pain doc said to me "I am less interested in how you feel a week after this procedure than how you feel after 6 weeks." I'm holding on to that with the hope that in another few weeks I'll feel some relief. I hope you do too, Darrell. Don't give up yet!

is correct. And DarrellO I think it is probably a very good sign if you are already feeling some relief this early.

I had this done on November. Immediately following the procedure my pain levels increased. Since then I am in severe pain 9 out of 10. I contacted the pain mamagement consultant a few days later. He prescriped morphine and felt the pain would settle in 2/3 weeks. However I am no better and deeply worried. I cannot work. Prior to the procedure I was on Lodocaine patches and got great relief. Now I am worse off than ever. I don't know whwere to go from here.

When in November did you have it done? It can take 4-6 weeks to see improvement. The nerves can become very aggravated after this procedure and you can have muscle spasms up to 30 days after. So listen to your PM and try to be patient. I know that is easier said than done.

I just had my first RFA Procedure done 11/25/09 (this is after I have had ACDF and three epidurals, which did not help) and I am in way more pain as well. My pain level is at least an 8 now. I have Norco 10/325's but they do not do much. I am debating on whether or not to call the nurse at my PM's office and tell her what is going on or if I should just tough it out and see if it gets better in the next few weeks. It is pretty intense pain. I feel like crying everyday from the pain, I am sick of being in pain all of the time. I have been really strong and tried not to complain but it has been going on so long I feel like losing my sanity. Sorry for venting, just frustrated.

Give the doc a call. If you are crying in pain I would consider that severe. If nothing else maybe they can give you a better pain med to get you through until the nerves calm down.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I had my first RFA 12 weeks ago. I saw my PM Dr. 2 weeks post-op and, at that point, I didn't have any relief from my pain. Everyone kept saying wait 4-6 weeks to see results, well, it's been 12 weeks and my pain has increased so much and remains at a constant level of 7/8. I will never consider this procedure again. My insurance has approved a second trial for a SCS, which I'm scheduled for next week. I hope this works because it is probably my only hope of getting some relief from this pain.