Epidural

Has anyone had this procedure for Chronic Back Pain? I have severe pain (nearly 6 yrs now) in the L1-L2 and L2-L3 discs and recently had an acute episode of lower back pain on top of that. My doctor is going to do "Lumbar Epidural Spinal Injections" of anesthetic and corticosteroid. I am a little anxious about the procedure, but mostly I just really hope it will help. I was hoping some of you might have experience with this and be willing to share.

Thanks!

Have to join the others here in saying they didnt do much good and not for long for their worth.

I have seen some folks say they got a noted amount of relief for a brief period of time I didnt. Have seen those like Gramps that had more problems with pain after.

To add insult to injury they can have some serious side effects and some have suffered permenant nerve damage from using a Doc that didnt know how to give them properly so make sure your Doc has done this procedure often and knows his stuff by all means and this isnt to say that any of them can make a mistake.

Unfortunately alot of pain clinics and Neuro's require you to try if they are going to continue to treat you,like Mochiah said it is one of the hoops used to get to the defining moment of obtaining what really works,looks good on paper to say you have done this this and this prior to being given the proper amount and type of meds to control your pain levels.

Good luck and dont take this lightly as it is an invasive procedure and anytime anything is being introduced into your body and especially your spine it carries risks.

Hoping others can give you more positive vibes here.

Ryand,
Seven or eight years ago I had the epidural shots for a herniated disc problem. I was experiencing low back pain as well as sciatica. The first two did nothing except for making the pain worse. After the third injection I was virtually pain free for probably five years. When I was injured in 05 which led to where I am now (disabled) I again tried the epidurals. This time they did nothing but nothing else I tried worked either. So, I underwent surgery which is a whole other story. I know others who have had the injections with great results and I also know others that they didn't work for.
If you elect to undergo the procedures make sure as others have stated it is done under x-ray conditions. I believe it's called a Fluoroscope. Never let anyone do this blindly as I've known some who have. I also have a friend who tried acupuncture. She had great results with that.
I wish you all the best in whatever you choose!
Have a Blessed Day,
Volfan

I have little to add because you have received excellent answers from the others. My first pain mgt dr never did them on me, he said they do not work on acute pain. He did in fact ref his patients out for them. It was exdplained to me as like putting a bandaide over the problem. Susie

Throwing in my 2 cents which is basically the same as others. If you've had facet joint injections, then you have some idea of what the epidural wiil be likc. It's just an injection at a different location. I had injections in varying locations over three different summers. It began to feel like the movie Groundhog Day! The only injection that ever helped was for my SI joint. I did have cortisone injections for trigger fingers in my hands and they actually worked like the MD said - but it took a series of 3 of them, and then the problem stopped. Wish that would have be the case with my spine, but I ended up with a fusion, which hasn't helped much either.

No need to apologize for the griping. Regarding a series of shots, in my case they would just try different locations. I had epidurals, facet joint injections, etc. at L4-L5, L5-S1 and even L3-L4. Some of the procedures were repeated shortly before I had surgery but more for diagnostic purposes than pain relief - so the surgeon could try to narrow down the problem. I think even when the injection helps with the pain, they often try a series of 3 injections in the same place to see if it calms down the inflammation or solves the problem - which as i mentioned did occur with my hand. I'd suggest asking questions of your MD before they start the injections so you know what the plan is.

I do think at times things are done to keep the revenue up, but I also think there are many good-hearted MD's who genuinely want to relieve our pain and will just keep trying. Usually, we want to keep trying, too (who wouldn't?!) so we are participants in the process. I guess the challenge is to know when enough is enough, but that may mean accepting we're as good as we're going to get. That's the tough thing, as least it still is for me.

Looks as though you have gotten some good advice here.

Mochiah I liked that CP forum so if it worked they might not be here. LOL lovin it when we can bring a laugh to the table.

I see Gramps got the giggle as well!

Dont forget how good it looks on paper too. "No relief noted" " Some decrease in pain after injections" For some it is a lead up for bigger things,paves the road to justify increase in meds or start up of narcotic treatment,etc. You get my point? Alot of Docs like having all those ducks in a row prior to and these things are not cheap so revenue may be a motivator for some offices or clinics and then some Docs want to give you the broadest range of options to possibly help.

I wouldnt do it without sedation either and or X-ray guide, dont relish the thought of someone taking a shot in the dark in such a narrow space with a rather large needle!

Here sure is hoping you get to be one of the lucky ones and find some relief in them but either way they usually try more then one i.e. the set series. More if it helps and more if it doesnt hoping the next one will.

Please let us know how you fare when its over and good luck to you.

I didn't think you were referring to me - I was commenting on your apology about your griping. Either way no big deal! LOL By the way when I received injections they gave a numbing agent by injection first - before inserting the longer needle. I didn't take anything orally for pain, and found I didn't need to. It really depends on the whole situation. Talk in detail with your MD.

I wanted to says good luck to you. Hope the injections work for you. I found out that these injectons are mainly a diagnositic tool for the doctor, to see if they helped or not. Thats pretty much it in a nut shell. Keep us posted as to how your doing. I had a total of 8 injections last week and nothing, plus I have added soreness from the injection sites.........

Ry just wanted to say that you cant ever lose the "HOPE" sweety. It is in teh end all that some of us have left. After all the procedures,all the surgeries,all the alternative methods have failed us,hope prevails.

Hope that tomorrow is a better day, as long as there is hope on the horizon there is reason to push on.

I hang on to the hope in thinking that new procedures are found each day and everytime a new Doc is born there is hope he or she will be the one to find a better med or stumble onto a new surgery or make progress in an old one,hope is the reason each of us put 2 feet on the floor each morning knowing that not to is far easier most days.

Hope is what I see motivating folks like Geamps to push for better education,clearer laws,and more effcicient systems for us.

Hope is the one thing that all of us can posses,it costs little,requires no maintainence,takes very little of our effort and it isnt prejudiced!

In that said you go in there hoping that your injections WILL work and give you some relief and if it doesnt you hope it will lead your Doc to treating you more efficiently. Hope that your one of the lucky ones and it doesnt make anything worse for you.

If all else fails you hope that your suffering is not long and that the future medical dictionary's have NO listing for Chronic intractable pain.

Take care and good luck.

No need for thanks Ry as these forums are part of my hope and if it hadnt been for those "voices" in cyberspace when all this was new to me I am not sure I would have made it,folks just like us here encouraging,pushing,advocating,hearing our pain when no one else does is one of the best pain meds I have found.

Again good luck to you and here is keeping fingers crossed you get some relief!

Mochiah I had belonged to another forum for years and stumbled in here one day and read for a few days and found myself thinking it was much more peaceful and more folks wishing to help rather then stir up trouble which had become a huge factor at the other board.

Too many folks had become "real" and were putting way too much of themselves personally out there and things were happening there that should not have been happening there,scams,money requests,ads for folks at home businesses,just alot of outside the realm things you know?

People were setting the,selves up for all kinds of horrific things putting too much out there and not realizing the boards can be accessed by way more folks then those with pain issues or good intentions.

I have not been back since I came here and everyone has certainly made me feel "right at home"

Each person here brings their own thing to this place and hoping each person that leaves here takes something good away with them.

These places are such comforting places for those in need we sometimes forget that it is cyberspace and open to all walks of life.

I agree Toni. I worked with an ortho years back who didn't like doing injections/drainages. He used to say "you stick a needle into someone enough times and you are just asking for trouble."