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656111 tn?1273820739

Epidural injection?

Okay, I had an appointment on 19th. She is sending me to other hospital to get Epidural injection on my back. They'll call me soon with date/time for Epidural injection then afterwards give me date/time for PT.

Anyone had experience with Epidural injection? I'd like to hear your feedbacks about Epidural injection whether if it'd help.... bad or good feedback about this? Thanks. How many times do they give to you? As far as I know if PT doesn't help, then surgery will be last resort or just be on medications for "life"? Thanks for anything if you have experience in these areas. Greatly appreciated. :)
11 Responses
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441382 tn?1452810569
The thing is, Tuck, it's NOT rare at all.  It has been determined that as many as 75% of the people who have epidural injections or myelographic dye injections develop arachnoiditis to some degree.  Most only end up with a mild, nondescript ache that flares up from time to time and lasts a couple of days, and then goes away and things return to normal until they do something that aggravates the condition.  About 5% of the people who have epidural injections or myelographic dye injections, however, develop it to the extent that I have it, which means eventual paraplegia and lifelong pain management both before and after the legs eventually quit working.  Here is a web address that you can go to that will get you started reading about adhesive arachnoiditis and the misery that it causes.  http://www.caudaequina.org/issues/spinespiders.htm

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I just woke up after a five hour food coma!  LOL  We ate late because we're used to working 2nd shift hours and eating dinner at 2 am, so for us, eating at 8 pm was like eating turkey for breakfast!  LOL

Ghilly
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Hi All,

Sunflower I am so glad you posted a new thread. There are so many good opinions and information on this thread. You have a lot of to consider. I learned much from reading all the posts. In our state they will not give you more than three injections in a year. There are some physicians that on rare occasions will push it to four but never the nine or monthly injections, due to the side effects.

Gilly, I never heard of the complication you developed from your procedure. I am going to research that a bit more because it is so interesting. It must be rare. Thank you for the good information. You are so correct that physicians will rarely point the finger at a colleague. It seems to be an unwritten rule, no matter how severe the other physician's error.

And Sunflower you have so many medical things going on with you right now you must be overwhelmed. I am sorry that you are facing all these medical challenges. I will look forward to your update. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. We are glad you joined this forum too. Take Care, Tuck
Helpful - 0
656111 tn?1273820739
Thank you, Ghilly. I like to gather more informations to decide if it's right decision or not. I appreciate that. I'll research more on it. I have had myelographic dye before once. Is it really worth it to get Epidural Injection after I already had myelographic dye? The reason I had myelographic dye to see if I have MS. I had that done last year.

I saw my PCP today. I posted about that on other thread. I told him that I am still waiting to get an appointment to go hospital to get Epidural Injection on my back then afterwards will have PT (physical therapy) for awhile. Also told him that I am waiting to get an appointment to see Neuro - its not just for my back - I have either cyst or tumor in my brain so I need second opinion. My previous doctor had MRI on my brain and he wanted second opinion until..... I couldn't get the chance to get 2nd opinion - I posted other thread "help no doctors" thread. Anyway, my PCP had my secretary to call to set that up ASAP and then call me to let me know date/time for Epidural injection and Neuro as well. I have no idea how many times I will have to get Epidural Injections on my back. my Ortho doctor will let me know. If PT and injections is not successful. Then doctor and I will discuss the options - to have surgery or not, if not....then be on medications for long time. Wait and see. I'll let you know.

Also, he got EKG results that was faxed from hospital, he said it's abnormal and he is referring me to "heart" doctor for Echo test, and other kind of tests. His secretary is setting up an appointment for me to see "heart" doctor as well.

Ahh, more doctors to see. Crazy! *chuckles*

I'll update with everyone here how it goes, etc. I'm glad I found this forum and I see lot of nice people out here. :o)
Helpful - 0
441382 tn?1452810569
PLEASE be careful with those epidural injections.  They have become the treatment of choice for many physicians who treat chronic back problems, but the truth is they have recently been implicated as one of the causes of a condition called adhesive arachnoiditis, which is a chronic, lifelong inflammation of the arachnoid, which is the weblike covering of the spinal cord.

I developed adhesive arachnoiditis following the injection of myelographic dye into my spinal cord during a pre-surgical myelogram.  As a result, I will be a pain management patient for the rest of my life, eventually ending up in a wheelchair after the scar tissue in the spinal column builds up to such a point that it blocks the flow of cerebro-spinal fluid to my lower spine.  

The problem with arachnoiditis is that many doctors don't like to diagnose it or even talk about it because in order for them to do so, they have to implicate one of their own, since arachnoiditis is iatrogenic (meaning it is caused by doctors).  So in order to avoid saying that one of their colleagues is responsible for causing a person lifelong pain and suffering, they use vague terms to diagnose the problem.  One of their favorites is"failed back surgery syndrome".  

In the last couple of years, it has been discovered that epidural injections are a major cause of varying degrees of arachnoiditis.  The degree of severity can range from a mild, diffuse pain that comes and goes and only causes a slight discomfort from time to time to full-blown adhesive arachnoiditis, where the nerves in the spinal column begin to stick to each other and fuse into clumps (that's where the adhesive part comes in), which is what I have.  A doctor who suffers from adhesive arachnoiditis himself has written that it is "living with the pain of cancer without the release of death".  PLEASE, before you agree to have these injections done, Google "adhesive arachnoiditis" and read up on it.  Then, if you decide to go ahead with the injections anyway, you will be doing it from the standpoint of knowing what you could possibly face as a result of those injections.  

When I was diagnosed with this, I vowed that I would tell any- and everyone I could about this hideous condition so that they would know what they might end up dealing with, and if I can help even ONE PERSON avoid the daily hell that I go through, it will be worth it.  If you want any more information from a first-hand point of view, please feel free to PM me.  

Ghilly
Helpful - 0
656111 tn?1273820739
Okay, thanks for the feedbacks. I appreciate it very much. I'll have somebody to go with me when I get this procedure done. I'm kinda nervous about this, to be honest. But I hope it will help me as I've been desperately want the pain to go away. Who doesn't? Thanks everyone. :o)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've had two caudal epidurals and two nerve blocks for degenerative disc disease, a compressed vertebrae fracture, a herniated disc at L4/L5 and two more bulging discs.  The injections were for left leg pain, but I was also experiencing horrible right hip and/or SI joint pain.  At the time, none of these injections helped me, but a few weeks later, I realized that my right hip was feeling better.  I was no longer crawling out of bed in the morning.  Took me by surprise.  The injections were done in the clinic, not in a hospital with local anesthetic - in and out of the clinic in 45 minutes tops.  These were the easiest procedures that I've had and I'm thankful they helped my hip, but I am scheduled for a bilateral microdiskectomy to get some relief for the leg pain.  Good luck, a lot of people get some relief with the injections, but if you react like I did - it might take some time, so as hard as it is - be patient.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
The first year I had 9 .Now I get 1 every other month.
Helpful - 0
300207 tn?1227222722
GREAT QUESTION!!!!!!!!  Ive been on a program like this for a couple years and I thank the Lord for them. I have kidney pain ( from stones) and a plain old bad back from shoulders to waiste line. These shots HELP ME BIG TIME!!! I was getting a shot every 30 days and I switched doctors ( I got a second opinion and I liked the second opinion better so I switched). My new doc says 1 shot every 2 months is safe and should be effective. With the shot and a pain pill regimate Im living better than I have in years. I personally think the shots are AWESOME !!!!!!!!!
Helpful - 0
488689 tn?1337993158
I had 2 epidurals and also a caudal nerve block that really didn't do much to relieve my pain back and sciatic pain, but they were done after I had an L5, S1 discectomy that was unsuccessful.  The procedures weren't fun, but the doctor explained everything to me before and during the procedure which helped me not be so nervous about it.
I remember it did hurt a bit more after each one but it went away after about a week.
Since you've not had any surgery at this point, it could give you some relief. The thing I've found about the surgeries and the procedures is that it's all such an individual thing, what works for one person doesn't for another, but you should try whatever methods are least invasive to see if something works for you before you decide on a surgery.
I had an experienced neurological surgeon do mine, and he said the standard 6 week recovery speech.. it took me about a year to just be able to walk through a store again. I fell into the 6% failure rate which he never mentioned prior to the surgery, and I spent years having all kinds of procedures and therapies trying to get back to normal.( just the way I was before the operation)
This was done in 1990 and I know there have been a lot of new things that are available that weren't back then, so try everything you can to avoid an operation.. if you do decide to go through with it make sure you are in very good health before it and try to quit smoking. I didn't and it just may be one of the reasons I didn't have a good outcome, as it causes inflammation and inhibits healing. If you have any questions feel free to message me, I have years of experience with this kind of injury.. and I am on pain meds daily just to be able to function at a limited level.
Best of luck to you..
Valerie
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Hi Again,

I am glad you chose to post this question as a new one. I responded on the old post so I won't repeat myself. It may be a bit slow for other responses as it is a weekend.

Have a good weekend.
Tuck
Helpful - 0
565239 tn?1307874590
I've had a few  cervical epidural injections and now get cervical facet injections 2 -3 times a year. The main difference is the precise location of the injections. It's a cortisone injection into the epidural space of your spine to help relieve the pain and give any inflammation you have a chance to heal. They take up to a week or so to provide relief and you may be a little sore from the injections for a day or two. In my case the cervical epidurals did provide relief, but not for very long. You will be limited to six treatments a year. My doctor then decided to try the facet injections to see if they worked any better, and they do. I just had it done yesterday and I should be good for 4 - 6 months. When I feel the pain begin to come back, I'll schedule another appointment. Obviously every case is different and every patient reacts to treatments differently, but it is a common procedure and may give you relief from your pain. They give you some anesthesia so you won't remember much if anything. You won't be completely out, but shouldn't feel any pain.  There was one time I was not given enough anesthesia, so be sure to tell them if they don't. They use a flouroscope to guide the needles for precise injections and it only takes a few minutes. After they're done you'll go to recovery for 30 minutes to an hour, then you'll need a ride home. Plan on relaxing the rest of the day. By the next day you should be able to get back to work.  Good luck and keep us posted on how you're doing!
Helpful - 0
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