Spinal steroid injections.

BrentR

Last Wed I got a spinal epidural steroid injection and for the first time in many years I am back pain free. I am curious as to how many people have had them that experienced an improvement or did not.

I am a licensed massage therapist and I work in conjunction with a chiropractic clinic. We see most people after they have tried most or all of the traditional medical treatments and have not had any relief. For years I have heard countless stories of cortisone injections that did not work. After doing a little research I found out that there is a 50/50 chance of them working so I decided to give it a try.

There are not adequate words to explain the relief I got along with some unexpected improvements in the "plumbing departments" also. I have degenerative disk disease and osteo arthritis from a back injury 23 years ago so the pathology is still there but now without any pain. You can get up four injections per year safely until eventually the disk will need to be replaced.

The forums so often have health problem posts that I wanted to share a positive experience in hopes that anyone else that may not have tried epidural steroid injections might re-consider.

Abandoned

I had one when I lived in Mexico. They give them more liberally there than they do here in the states. I felt immeditate relief.

juni

Hi Brent,

My daughter who is 32 had that done and got relief. She's had it twice. She also has degenerative disk disease.

My husband had it done and got some relief and then had an anesthesiologist give him a nerve block that can last for a long or short time. He got a lot of relief from that. He's had other procedures done through the years short of back surgery.

My 35 yr. old son had a fusion done in his lower back. He feels real good from it.

I guess it just depends on the person. The steroid injections do work for a lot of people. Happy to hear you have relief. Back problems are so prevalent and very debilitating.

Take care.

Juni

BrentR

I am glad to hear that others have also gained some relief. Twenty years ago I had a diagnostic spinal block that dropped my blood pressure down to 60/0. It was the most intense fear I have ever experienced, feeling like you are going to die and having tunnel vision happen.

So I had some very high anxiety about this injection and almost chickened out. But they assured me that this is completely different and then completely snowed me on Valium. When I got home I slept for ten hours. My wife strictly enforced my house arrest order from the doc. But for being a "warden" she was not that bad.

exwitless

Spinal injections are just like you said-helpful for some and not for others. When they help, they're great. They are not magic cures without risks, however. Long term steroid use can have a laundry list of nasty side effects, such as diabetes, brittle bones, thin skin, weaker immune system, etc. Even though they are injected directly in the area of pain, your whole body is still being affected by it. I think they're very useful, but, as a nurse, I wouldn't rely on them for long term relief. It's better to find the source of the problem and fix it, if possible, even if it means surgery, for a long term solution.

wozadummy

I damaged L3-5 in 1989 which crippled me and tried the treatment mentioned here in '93 in hospital. It was the most excrutiating pain I've recieved in treatment! I watched the monitor as the tube was inserted to each point in my spine and it took 4 people to hold me down as they did it. I left the hospital really ill from the horrors of th pain as the fluids compressed in my spine as they did it.

After a few days I got less pain but it came back with a vengeance a few weeks later .Back to hospital and they said they would now lay me up in hospital in traction for a year after removing 3 disks. Hell no I said and walked out. I guess it does'nt work for everyone but I'm glad it does for some .

We went nearly broke while I was out of work and had to sell the house as a last ditch attempt to find relief and then finally found a doctor in Queensland Australia who performed Nestfields treatment ,which I had read about in a book. By this time my left side had withered and my face on that side was paralysed and my leg was an inch shorter.

When I had the first treatment all my feelings came back on my left side and I actually drove 200km to where we were staying! This was impossible before as I could not drive that distance and had to travell as a passenger semi laid back. After 3 more treatments I was ,in time ,back at work as a builder. It does'nt treat the permanent injury but acts on the nerves and muscle tissue in the back and relaxes it so the pain can go. The treatment is where a curved blade is inserted into pain spots in your back or neck ,into muscle tissue and severes the painful frozen nerves so they free up. The doctor who treated me taught some doctors in America how to do it ,and then others here in Oz. Because of my damage he over the years changed to a different treatment to assist the previous work done, but this involves injections of a salt/glucose into the cartilage of the spinal joints which irritates the cartilage to grow and repair itself.

For those who don't believe in these treatments I show the mess in my Xrays and MRI's and say well I'm still able to work full time at building and I'm no spring chicken!

I'm sorry if this is off topic but I just am so glad to have told fellow sufferers about this and hope it works for them, I've been to clinics for years and seen people who have had operations to remove disks etc and hardly any after 2 years are virtually pain free but are suffering more than ever.

BrentR

That is a great experience to let others know about. You never know if you may have just helped someone else who has a situation similar to yours.

Chronic low back pain with sciatica is life altering and eats away at you from the inside out. People that have not had it have no idea what it is like to deal with day after day. Despite the problems that can come from cortical steroid use I had to weigh out my options. It's always the risk vs reward dilema.

As a former EMT I have seen several guys that have taken thier own lives from not being able to endure the pain any longer. That is sobering beyond words to see that without some form of intervention it can get to that point.

Even with the injections I am still devoting a hour a day to lumbar extension and flexibility exercises. Next week I am buying a new mountain bike with a better suspension. Me and my daughter will be hitting the trails and bike paths around our area. This last year I have had to give up alot of activities and now I am going to start reclaiming them.

juni

Thanks Brent for posting this Topic. It has been very informative.

God Woza! You have been through hell and back. As you both said, if you've never had dibilitating back pain you cannot fully appreciate what people go through.

My daughter is next going to try acupuncture as her present insurance will not pay for any kind of treatments for her back as they view it as a pre-existing condition - the bastards!

Yes, it seems like none of these treatments last forever, but when you are in so much pain and can't work you go w/what you feel is right for you.

Brent - I know of several people who have become addicted to the Oxycontin for the pain. Now they have an addiction to deal with also. Good for your wife for enforcing the doctor's orders! lol It's very important to rest for those couple of days for the med to do its job. Enjoy your bike riding!

And as far as addressing the source of the trouble and fixing it, there really is NO SOLUTION to fixing a bad back. Some are fortunate to get years of relief and others end up w/a life time of pain. It is like the "sword" that hangs over your head waiting to cause pain and/or disability.

Juni

BrentR

I wish your daughter all the best and I hope she tries as many different modalities as possible. There are more treatments available now then ever before and sooner or later we will find the one that works. Chronic pain will destroy you and your very existence.

SWALKER

I've been getting them for about 5 years!!! I would strongly suggest that anyone considering this avenue go to an EXPERIENCED dr. such as a pain specialist. I've never had a problem and it's the only thing that worked for me. Take care of your back before you start having problems!!!

Swalker

Spinal steroid injections.

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