I wonder does anyone else have sudden onset of insomnia? I am practically narcoleptic. But since temporary medial branch block procedure last week I have been miserable. The lidocaine solution was supposed to wear off in four hours. I went through two this only two weeks before my styloidectomy thinking it would be proactive to work on my cervical spine facet pain plan while also awaiting my styloidectomy. The solution injection into C3,C4,C5 facet joints must have put pressure on everything. I have been nauseous since! Threw up an hour later. Nausea hasn’t stopped, I’ve lost at least 7 pounds and I can barely sleep. Wore an Apple Watch in bed and it said I fell asleep at 5:19am. My styloidectomy surgery is next Monday.
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I’m very sorry the medial branch block made your symptoms worse rather than better. We’ve seen this with lidocaine shots given into the tonsil area under ultrasound guidance as a means of reducing nerve pain the styloids are causing. It helps some people, but we’ve had more reports of it making symptoms worse rather than better, or doing nothing one way or the other. The shots into the throat are usually a combination of lidocaine & a steroid to help reduce inflammation. Did yours also contain a steroid?
Have you tried icing your neck to see if that helps reduce the pain? I’m wondering if the injection fluid itself took up enough space that it put more pressure on your nerves thus irritating them enough more that the lidocaine effect was overridden?
It’s possible one of the nerves irritated by the injection was your vagus nerve. it’s the largest of our cranial nerves & affects a significant number of the body’s functions including the gastrointestinal tract. We’ve had some members who had chronic nausea as an ES symptom, & once the styloids were resected & the pressure was off the vagus nerve, the nausea gradually went away.
The vagus nerve also heavily influences anxiety/depression in our bodies. I would bet it’s playing a role in your near narcolepsy. I expect you’ll see a positive change there, too, once your styloids are gone. It may take a few weeks to a number of months to notice significant changes depending on how long your vagus & other nerves have been irritated.
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I’m sorry that you’ve been feeling so rough! Hang in there until your surgery, not ideal to be going into it feeling like you are though! Sending you hugs and prayers that this will improve very soon 
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@Wendyfuchsslp Sorry to hear about your struggles. I had terrible insomnia prior to surgery. The story I tell myself is that since my IJVs were compressed and most highly impacted when laying down (when they become the primary drainage outlet), my brain alarms just kept going off to let me know there was a problem and I should wake up. It helped a little to sleep with my head elevated. Post surgery I sleep so much better. Wishing you the same!
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