Gotta Love ESIs

Hi Beth,

I'll be praying for you and crossing my fingers that this "takes" for you too. It's so frustrating to go thru all the prep and then have no meaningful results afterwards.

It sounds like Steve really knows how to treat you right!!! I love those cocktails that put you out so completely that you are aware of nothing! I usually get something like this before seeing the dentist, as I am terrified. Too bad there isn't a safe cocktail like this we could take everyday to forget our pain!!!

Hope it all works out for you!

hugs,
Pam

You know I have heard this mentioned before about getting an IV Cocktail to put you out for these epidurals, now I am serious when I ask this, do they really do that? I have had many many epidural steriod injections, ranging from getting them in my Cervical spine and Lumbar spine, and having to have a specially trained Doctor put them in my Thorasic spine at T4 and T8 and T12 and over the years and at 4 different clinics and hospitals, I have never been offered or given the choice of receiving IV sedation. On all of them that I have had, they have always done the Lidocaine injection first, to numb the outside area, then done the injection. I will admit one of the worst injections was at T12 when after 4 or 5 tries to get the needle in, he finally had to go down to T1/2 and inject it there! I was in tears that time. But untill I have heard people mention it here on the forum, I never knew they did that! One time I did take the Xanax that they offered me, but it was only ten minutes before the injection, and it really didn't do anything till a half hour after it was over. Duh!!! You learn something every day I guess!

White Beard

PALady and White Beard, ya'll are tough cookies in my book.  I was literally moaning in pain when they did my injections.  They were so bad, in fact, that they stopped before the last "set" was done.  I know I couldn't use the numbing meds because they burn my skin, but none of the meds helped a bit that last time.

My hat is off to you guys!  I must be a wimp

Retiredmom,
You're not a wimp! If I hadn't had the numbing agent in advance things would have been very different, I'm sure. And when I had to have the diagnostic nerve blocks, prior to my fusion surgery (along with the discogram, which was a waste of time as it never really located anything) I didn't have any numbing agent as they needed me to give them feedback as to where the problem was. Then once they found the location, at the end of it all they gave me a short acting steroid because I was moving in the direction of surgery by that time.

And Deb, I was "required" to have a driver each time, too. Now I cheated a bit on some of the injections. The first time my cousin brought me as I didn't know what I'd experience. They kept saying my leg might go numb. Well, it never did (and the injection never helped my pain, either). So for some of the injections, I just told them my cousin was waiting outside to pick me up and walked out to my car. But technically, I was supposed to have a driver at all of them. At the teaching hospital where I had my surgery & diagnostic nerve root blocks, they allowed me to take a cab back and forth to my cousin's, where I was staying, so she didn't have to take off of work. Up closer to me, they won't let you take a cab which to me is crazy, especially since I don't have IV sedation. I mean, I'm not asleep or anything!

PaLady

WhiteBeard,
there was only one time where the doctor did not give me IV sedation for epi's with 2 nerve blocks for a total or 8 to 10 injections,
I felt each and every one after the lidocaine and I swear they kept telling me to hold still and I was belted to that table wanting to get up and run...
I left that doctor after those, never again I really changed doctor because of that and that he never told me about this till I was belted down, geezee the pain and soreness
and I had a asthma flair in recovery and no one could help me, Never again......(sorry about that Beth)

Beth you remember to put on ice today that'll help with that soreness...
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Hugz to all))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Beth I Hope these will help you, keep us posted...

The last two times I had the epidual steroid injections in my neck actually they gave them in the base of my neck around C5/6 and then threaded the cath up to C2/3 all they gave me was lidocaine, and I had no driver, although I was suppose to have had one. But I didn't. But I had no sedation either! I am in a situation where....well I don't have anybody and I really don't want to have to ask a neighbor or somebody from church to take me to and from my appointment. It is a 35 to 40 mile drive one way! The thing that I always felt, was the worse pain was the lidocaine injection! The actual injection was mainly just the feeling of pressure. I am not going to tell you I didn't hurt afterwards, but I have so much pain most of the time anyway. I mean even with the meds, most of the time I have a reasonable amount of pain. And I have for years and years. I guess have a hard time judging pain, like on the 1 to 10 scale. I take my pain meds and I know without them its unbearable, but with them I can't ever say I am pain free! There are allot of times I hurt so bad, like the neck and back of my head from C3 it is always there, like a bad tooth ache! But the lower back only knocks my socks off, when I am standing washing dishes or folding cloths or something like that, the contortions I do when trying to do that, would probably make most people think.......well I don't know what they would think! But it is just what I have grown use to I guess!!

Anyway does icing really help after the injection? I don't ever remember doing that either, but I have used ice on my back or neck at times for pain and especially spasms.

White Beard

my first doc gave me the injections blind, no sedation no fluoroscope, just some cold spray and bam! giant needle jammed into my neck and/or low back... the second doctor was shocked and appalled that he did that... especially since most people will twitch or cringe once the needle punctures the skin, and then where will the needle go??? the next ones were under sedation, with fluoroscope, and about 1000 times less stressful... they didn't work unfortunately, but they didn't traumatize me at least!!