Cortisone shot to relieve back pains

[hikingfish]

Howdy again folks!
Unfortunately, I'm still dealing with back pains (herniate disc in L3-L4 or L4-L5, I can't remember). After my doctor told me that "I'd basically have to live with it for the rest of my life", I was pretty bummed out to say the least.

I was talking to a neighbor of mine who's a radiology tech and he says they treat the pain with cortisone shot directly in the spine or something like that with an epidural (like what pregnant women get when in childbirth I believe).

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had had this procedure done? Did it help any?

Cheers!

Fish

 

[rhihn]

Howdy again folks!
Unfortunately, I'm still dealing with back pains (herniate disc in L3-L4 or L4-L5, I can't remember). After my doctor told me that "I'd basically have to live with it for the rest of my life", I was pretty bummed out to say the least.

I was talking to a neighbor of mine who's a radiology tech and he says they treat the pain with cortisone shot directly in the spine or something like that with an epidural (like what pregnant women get when in childbirth I believe).

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had had this procedure done? Did it help any?

Cheers!

Fish

I had it done for sciatica (disc pressing on the sciatic nerve). I was given two shots in my spine and was told that if it works I should get relief within 72 hours, otherwise it probably wouldn't help. Within about 11 hours I could have danced (assuming I knew how to!). Worked like a charm. I was told I could get up to three in a year, but no further shots were needed in my case. I had no side-effects from the procedure.

Some links that might be of interest:

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/paindrugs/a/cortisone.htm
https://health.google.com/health/ref/Sciatica

Usual disclaimer, I'm not an MD. See your doctor for advice.

 

[Maddy]

Howdy again folks!
Unfortunately, I'm still dealing with back pains (herniate disc in L3-L4 or L4-L5, I can't remember). After my doctor told me that "I'd basically have to live with it for the rest of my life", I was pretty bummed out to say the least.

I was talking to a neighbor of mine who's a radiology tech and he says they treat the pain with cortisone shot directly in the spine or something like that with an epidural (like what pregnant women get when in childbirth I believe).

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had had this procedure done? Did it help any?

Cheers!

Fish

Have you checked this out? It might help.
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36558&highlight=degenerative+disk+disease

 

[Stash]

Injecting something in my back just makes me squirm.

I have a herniated L-something that flares up every once in a while. Usually when I've slacked off on the stretching and core strengthening exercises I've been doing for years now. I found that a good physical therapist can teach you quite a bit to relieve the pain but you might need to shop around.

For what it's worth when I first had the problem one of the doctors said I would have been in more pain than I was but might for the core conditioning I'd already been doing.

 

[jbrown]

I know of a few success stories when it comes to cortisone shots for back pain.

I am not one of them. I lived with two degenerating discs and one with a central annular tear and a bulge for probably 5 years, doing physical therapy on and off to treat the more severe bouts of pain and spasms. About 4 years ago my back condition worsened enough that my doctor suggested cortisone shots. Without getting into what an egotistical, arrogant...person the doctor doing the procedure was; I had it done. It's a good thing I had my arms wrapped around that thin little table of the x-ray machine. I don't know if he was just too close to the nerve root or what when he injected the actual cortisone, but it felt like I had 10,000,000 volts of electricity shoot down my leg and I broke out in a cold sweat immediately. Then he did it again. If I could have gotten up, I would have throat-punched the dude. They stuck me in a wheelchair and I got to sit there while my leg went numb from the hip down, and I mean completely numb. My foot felt like lead. They said I should feel some relief in a few days and if not we could try again in another week or two and see if the subsequent treatments would help.

It didn't help. Without the promise of actual results, I never went back after that. I did 6 weeks of physical therapy and then had a partial lumbar discectomy to remove the bulging disc. I've been mostly great since then.

Thought you should hear a dissenting position before you go jumping into this. Ask your doctor about success rates for this treatment, and failure rates too. Good luck, back pain is something awful to live with, I know.

 

[rhihn]

I had it done for sciatica (disc pressing on the sciatic nerve). I was given two shots in my spine and was told that if it works I should get relief within 72 hours, otherwise it probably wouldn't help. Within about 11 hours I could have danced (assuming I knew how to!). Worked like a charm. I was told I could get up to three in a year, but no further shots were needed in my case. I had no side-effects from the procedure.

Some links that might be of interest:

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/paindrugs/a/cortisone.htm
https://health.google.com/health/ref/Sciatica

Usual disclaimer, I'm not an MD. See your doctor for advice.

I know of a few success stories when it comes to cortisone shots for back pain.

I am not one of them. I lived with two degenerating discs and one with a central annular tear and a bulge for probably 5 years, doing physical therapy on and off to treat the more severe bouts of pain and spasms. About 4 years ago my back condition worsened enough that my doctor suggested cortisone shots. Without getting into what an egotistical, arrogant...person the doctor doing the procedure was; I had it done. It's a good thing I had my arms wrapped around that thin little table of the x-ray machine. I don't know if he was just too close to the nerve root or what when he injected the actual cortisone, but it felt like I had 10,000,000 volts of electricity shoot down my leg and I broke out in a cold sweat immediately. Then he did it again. If I could have gotten up, I would have throat-punched the dude. They stuck me in a wheelchair and I got to sit there while my leg went numb from the hip down, and I mean completely numb. My foot felt like lead. They said I should feel some relief in a few days and if not we could try again in another week or two and see if the subsequent treatments would help.

It didn't help. Without the promise of actual results, I never went back after that. I did 6 weeks of physical therapy and then had a partial lumbar discectomy to remove the bulging disc. I've been mostly great since then.

Thought you should hear a dissenting position before you go jumping into this. Ask your doctor about success rates for this treatment, and failure rates too. Good luck, back pain is something awful to live with, I know.

I didn't mention it in my post above, but for about a second I had the same mega-volt shock that you experienced. The doctor apologized. However, no cold sweats, no numbness. Otherwise, I'd say the procedure was "uncomfortable", a feeling of pressure, but not too painful. But that was my experience, and it certainly could have gone a different way as well. I didn't mean to suggest in my post that the procedure was a breeze, and everyone with back pain should go out and have the procedure done! The links I referenced do mention side-effects, and perhaps I was "lucky" I didn't experience them. But certainly do some homework before going into that, or any procedure.

A couple of more links:
http://www.losethebackpain.com/blog/2009/10/26/pros-cons-cortisone-injections/
http://www.spine-health.com/treatme...steroid-injections-low-back-pain-and-sciatica

No magic bullet.

 

[jbrown]

I think your experience sounds more like the stories I've heard from people I know personally, Rhihn. I talked to a couple of acquaintances about the procedure before and after I had it done, and they were very surprised at the results that I had. I don't know if it was my body not reacting well to it, or if it was the fault of the doctor (I lean toward the latter...)

I certainly didn't want my story to sound like a rebuttal, or "refudiation" of your experience. I think reliving it for a few moments brought my Irish up.

That Doc thought he was some kind of rock star. He was like that crazy surgeon on the show Scrubs who wears the sleeveless scrub tops and flames on his cap. He had some kind of flashy custom cap, these tinted wrap-around "safety glasses" that looked like he was going clubbing in them, and he actually had a nurse that just followed him around like a groupie just fawning over him and smiling at how clever all his jokes were. Then he straps me down and delivers the worst pain I've felt in my entire life? Wow. Words are not sufficient to express my thanks...

 

[Trainwreck]

It is certainly worth a try.
It is usually done by a Pain Management doc. Ususally they are Anesthiologists, and some are affiliated with Ortho Docs.
Some are independant. Get references.
I just had my 1st done today, and I am optimistic, as I have had several 'trigger point' injections that took care of most of the pain. This is just a top-off to get the rest of the job done.
Una Dogger has a thread on DJD and she has also had them, I believe, with good results...Sabrina?
Best of luck to you, back pain sucks.
Sandy

 

[una_dogger]

transforaminal epidural dexamethasone injections into s1 and a sciatic nerve root block two weeks later.

best thing i've ever done.

hope it works for you.

pm me if you have any questions.

 

[Nif]

Had cortisone, it worked for a little while, then back pain returned. Not the sciatica I had before, but still not fixed. I also ended up with a spinal headache for about a week. They didn't do my shot under Fluoroscopy. That was bad enough that I didn't go for a second shot when they offered one.

A friend of mine had the shot using flurorscopy and didn't get the headache. The effectiveness of his was only a few months as well. He opted for surgery at that point.

 

[Trainwreck]

I am sorry to hear this Nif.
Occasionally more than one injection is necessary.
I had mine under flouroscopy and luckily have (so far) good results. My pain is not totally gone but it is tolerable, and easily dispatched with Tylenol.

Sorry about the spinal headache. Those are awful. Under fluoro you should have much less of a chance of headache because the area is well seen as the injection is given.

I have a close friend currently recovering from back surgery for a disc. It is a very rough and long recovery. Maybe you should ask for another shot under fluoro???
Good luck

 

[Neil]

I will be setting up my portable chiropractic table at the ADK gathering in Lewis, NY, at Barnes Field in NH and also at UFC's place in Vermont. Friends of VFTT get free treatment. Bring your MRI results if available.

 

[una_dogger]

They didn't do my shot under Fluoroscopy. .

Ughh...I can't imagine having this procedure done without the guidance of a radiologist!

My procedure was done by a Physiatrist, who is a type of MD who is a musculo-skeletal rehabilitation specialist who also performs pain management.

I can't say enough good things about his professionalism, compassionate bedside manner; and technical ability.

I had two dexamethasone injections -- one into either side of my S1-- pain relief was within 24 hours and took care of the radiating low back pain I'd been experiencing for years. I'm sleeping better than I have for at least ten years, and feel totally relaxed in my lower back, shoulders, neck. I am very grateful that this option has worked so well for me.

Did not 100% clear sciatica so I had a third injection into the nerve root two weeks later. Total improvement in leg and foot, but still localized pain in hip area -- so we are giving it a bit of time as a sacral stress fracture is suspected from marathon training and that will heal on its own in time with rest and rehab. Rest implies no running and rehab is a stretching and strength training regimen.

I'm hopeful that the dmso injections will keep my lower back pain in check for the next several years -- I'd rather wait for disc replacement surgery to come of age -- spinal fusion is still a very scary concept to me.

Good luck with your back, HikingFish, hopefully you have found some helpful advice in this forum.

 

[daxs]

I used to work in a pain practice and we did all our shots under fluoro. We also put in an VI to give a little sedation; fentanyl and versed IV to make the procedure more comfortable. You should not have suffereed from the spinal headache. You can get IV caffiene or another procedure called a blood patch to take care of it. (blood patch is using your own blood to do another injection. headaches resolves very quickly)

 

[HikingBryan]

I just had my second LESI lumbar epidural steroid injection) this past Friday to treat my DDD/anular tear/herniations at the L5-L4 and L5-S1 locations. The first shot was biased to the right to treat the right side sciatica which was my major complaint. I felt immediate relief but still suffered from some right side discomfort, which was the goal of this Friday's injection.

Both shots were done under fluoro, and were relatively painless. with mostly a sensation of pressure, though the first numbing shot stings a bit.

As of today (Monday) I am feeling great. No hesitations and would do it again (fingers crossed I wont need to) in a second.

Just find a good doc with a good track record.

Best,

Bryan