Emotional Month

[LindaRacine]

Hey Linda
so glad the injections helped you...do you know what they were...i mean, i had sacroiliac injections, facet blocks, etc...but the steroids didnt do much for me..nothing does much for my lumbar...and the pain gets bad from waist level on down......lately my sciatica goes up to my left hip something new ..previously, it only went down left leg...

best of luck...hope the relief from shots lasts a long time for you!

jess

Left L4 and L5 transforaminal epidural injection

[jrnyc]

thanks for the reply...hope the epidural works for you!

jess

[TiffanyK]

It's okay about the raid. I enjoy reading everyone's posts. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one reacting to the shot.

Oh, and for the question as to where I had my shot, it was L5-S1. Maybe I'm a big baby, but I found that it hurt a lot to get the shot. I wanted to punch the doctor out and I'm not a violent person. I blamed it on the steroids and said I had "roid rage"!

[rohrer01]

It's okay about the raid. I enjoy reading everyone's posts. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one reacting to the shot.

Oh, and for the question as to where I had my shot, it was L5-S1. Maybe I'm a big baby, but I found that it hurt a lot to get the shot. I wanted to punch the doctor out and I'm not a violent person. I blamed it on the steroids and said I had "roid rage"!

I just got a shot in the same area as you and it didn't hurt at all. Did they use fluoroscopy to guide the needle? Maybe you are just very sensitive to steroids. I would definitely have them put that in your chart. did you get ANY relief from it? Sorry you had to go through a terrible procedure.

[TiffanyK]

They used fluoroscopy. It hurt really bad as they were putting in the steroids, felt like something was going to burst in my back/butt. I didn't cry out when I was in labor with my daughter, but I did with this. As of right now, 10 days out, I have had no relief from it.

[jrnyc]

Epidurals are funny things...though no one is laughing!
sometimes they help...sometimes not...i've had 3...the first one helped a little...about 5 years later, i had two more within 3 years...neither of those did anything....the first one felt like pressure..like a truck was on my back...but not real pain...the last 2 hurt...felt like the fluid was going into my kidneys!! that happened with sacroiliac injections too...and the anesthesiologist swore he was no where near my kidneys...i believed him...but it just felt like it was going there! hurt alot!
the facet blocks didnt hurt as much..didnt help, either...the nerve ablation hurt...helped very little....

out of all the procedures, the sacroiliac injections helped the most, but nothing helped (my lumbar area) for much more than one month!

i think whether or not they help depends partly on where the most damage in the spine has occurred...also, several surgeons have told me that injections dont usually help very much with pain coming from structural damage...more apt to help with nerve caused pain and disc damage pain...

i am so very happy for anyone who gets help from these type of injections...am curious to see how long the relief lasts...hope it lasts longer for you guys than it ever has for me! the only injections that have ever given lasting relief has been the botox shots(in thoracic area)...they last for 3-4 months, then we repeat them...i realize that sometime in the future, they may stop working...which is one of reasons why i am gonna have the surgery....

jess

[Back-out]

Epidural is just a term describing where the drug is injected, It could be anything. And, yes, corticosteroid injections generally cause flushing. Those orally ingested and injected (usually only in cumulative dosages) can cause many other serious side effects too. I won't list them as the power of suggestion is so great, but let's just say, they should be reserved only for dire necessity.

One too important for pts on this Board to neglect, is that they can cause bone thinning. You can imagine how that effects one eligibility for deformity correction surgery - not that bones only thin from cortisone!

[jrnyc]

Epidural injections, per doctor, include both medications of steroid and anesthetic...i do not believe my other steroid injections included anesthetic in the injection...the only anesthetic used in my other steroid injections had anesthetic only on outside to numb the pinprick, while the epidural included anesthetic injected into the space where the steroid goes...it is supposed to hit the nerve roots that are inflamed, etc...it is supposed to help with degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis, both of which i have, but only my very first epidural helped those conditions at all....


jess