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  • Epidural Question

    Hi Scoli Friends,

    I had a question regarding epidurals.

    I just had a caudal epidural this past Friday (Ive had 2 Facet Joint and 1 SI Joint Injections but they didn't work for me)-- my doctor went in below the fusion and put in a little catheter towards the pain area. I was wondering if anyone could tell me (maybe Linda?) how far up the steroid usually disperses? I think my nerve pain is around L3 or L4 and I'm wondering if it just didn't go up far enough.

    Not having any relief unfortunately, but it hasn't been a full week yet. I have a second epidural scheduled a couple weeks from now.

    Thanks!
    Springchicken

    PS Two cents: I find this forum very helpful and am grateful to Linda & all of you for all the knowledge you share.
    Surgery Jan 6, 2014 at 38 yrs
    Posterior Fusion T10-L4, osteotomy 1 lev.
    Pre op-Thoracolumbar Curve-50 degrees

  • #2
    Originally posted by springchicken View Post
    Hi Scoli Friends,

    I had a question regarding epidurals.

    I just had a caudal epidural this past Friday (Ive had 2 Facet Joint and 1 SI Joint Injections but they didn't work for me)-- my doctor went in below the fusion and put in a little catheter towards the pain area. I was wondering if anyone could tell me (maybe Linda?) how far up the steroid usually disperses? I think my nerve pain is around L3 or L4 and I'm wondering if it just didn't go up far enough.

    Not having any relief unfortunately, but it hasn't been a full week yet. I have a second epidural scheduled a couple weeks from now.

    Thanks!
    Springchicken

    PS Two cents: I find this forum very helpful and am grateful to Linda & all of you for all the knowledge you share.
    Hi...

    Thanks!

    I think that if the doctor didn't get the steroid to the problem area, they would have mentioned it. If it was done under fluoroscopy, they pretty much know exactly where it goes, I think they typically will tell the patient if they can't get the steroid to the suspected problem. You can ask the doctor for a printout from the fluoroscopy. Here's an image of what they usually see:

    http://openi.nlm.nih.gov/imgs/512/21...23-18-g001.png

    ESIs are pretty much a crap shoot. They may work, or they may not work. They may work one time and not work the next, even when they can confirm that the steroid went to the same place. If the steroid works, it might work for a day, a week, a month, a year, or many years. Before my last surgery, I had injections done 3 times. They worked great the first time, giving me complete relief for 2 weeks. The second time, it didn't work at all. The third time, it worked for about a day.

    Sorry you didn't get any relief.

    --Linda
    Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
    Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

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