Spinal injections for pain

[murielm99]

Has anyone here had injections of steroids in their spine? This is for chronic pain. I am having that. For some reason, it scares me. I have had worse procedures, but this one is bothering me.

[XanaDUer2]

1. Sending healing thoughts

Nt

[hlthe2b]

2. It sounds like you have intervertebral disk disease and are having steroid injected in the epidural space?

In experienced hands and with a maintained sterile procedure, typically have little to worry about, but I'm sure they did tell you that headaches can develop (depending on what level of the spine is affected/injected) and the more often it is repeated, the greater the likelihood of bone loss or related complications. Still, it can make a big difference in the pain you are feeling now.

There are additional ancillary therapies (in addition to) that you might want to talk with them about, including other meds (e.g., gabapentin, amantadine, etc), physical therapy, acupuncture/electrical acupuncture, TENS units, therapeutic laser therapy, etc. and obviously surgery...

Good luck!

[Irish_Dem]

7. Yes they warned about headaches, but I never got them after my spinal injections.

I had tried all of the treatments you listed but none did the job like the steroid injections.

[brer cat]

3. I have and it was very successful. I declined anesthesia,

and had no problem with the shots or after the procedure, although I am rarely bothered by needles. I hope it works very well for you, muriel.

[Irish_Dem]

8. What kind of anesthesia were you offered?

I was only offered a valium before the procedure, which I did take.
I tend to be a bit anxious and didn't want to be too antsy during the procedure.

[brer cat]

9. I don't know the specific medication, but it was for twilight sleep.

[Irish_Dem]

10. I did not get that.

But I could see how it might help.
The shots were a bit uncomfortable sometimes.

[Attilatheblond]

4. Had a test to see if it would help me.

It did not help me and so they did not do the whole procedure.

[Wuddles440]

5. I did and it was extremely beneficial.

[Irish_Dem]

6. I used to have it done every six months after spinal surgery.

I loved it.

The doctor who did was an expert, he was superb.

He was very careful, professional and gave me exactly what I needed.

Gradually I only needed it once a year.

I have not had any injections for about three years now.
I no longer need them.

I should add that because I got the spinal injections I can now walk 3 to 6 miles per day,
with no problem.

Yes it is a bit scary the first time, you don't know what to expect.
But I really appreciated the treatment after I saw how much it helped me.

[Onthefly]

11. Worked well for me

I had several spinal injections. These were done with fluoroscopic guidance by a neurologist. Minimal pain and worked very well

[slightlv]

12. My mother had this procedure, and it was unsuccessful

and there were enough problems while the procedure was being done, I declined it when offered to me. Weird experience for me, tho. I was with Mom while she did the procedure... to hold her hand and offer moral support. Her emotions and "vibes" were SO intense, that when they took the first break, I went outside of the room to take a breather and saw the end of the hall move further and further away from me... like a bad acid trip. A few seconds later, I was on the floor in a dead faint. My Mom and I always were connected emotionally, but this was a whole new level for me. I loved her, but I stayed out of the room after that.

[JMCKUSICK]

13. Hi Murielm99

I had three of those injections prior to my four back surgeries. The first two had no noticable effect one way or the other, the third on the other hand, made things noticably worse
The idea with the steroid shots is that if they hit the right spot, it should all but get rid of your pain. My third one aggravated one of my nerves and made the pain both worse and more prevalent.
It is usually one of the first steps to try and avoid surgery.
You haven't listed the diagnosis that made the shots and option, but with my degenerative discs, they were pretty useless as was the tens unit etc...
Please report that pain to the clinic that gave you that shot ASAP.
I wish you luck and if your pain medications are getting too high in dosage, please consider a sativa blend with CBD to help.
Medical Marijuana won't fix your problem, but it certainly can help with pain management if your situation isn't too far gone.
God Speed Murielm99

[murielm99]

14. Thanks everyone,

for your responses and your help. I am not looking forward to this, but I am going through with it.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. My Wife Has

About 6 times. Helped twice, one for quite a while, the other about 10 days.
Of the other 4, she felt better for several hours. May have been the affect of the muscle relaxer and local anesthetic. The other 3 times the shots did nothing.
Very hit or miss.
But, we've learned that back issues are very individualized. What doesn't do much for her might be stellar for someone else.