Just curious about injections

[Boaz]

Lloyd I know you have had a rough time with your back but I'm glad to hear your getting some relief . Still praying brother .

[EMC45]

I had one years ago - around 2000. It was Cortisone and it HURT! Felt like someone parked a truck on my lower back. It lasted 3-4 days and back began to hurt again.

I look at it this way.....My back hurts, my knees hurt. I'm still alive and the only pain management I do is take it slow and the rare Motrin. I am glad for that.

[Rick N Bama]

Over the past 4 years I've had 8 injections in my lower back. The first set of 3 gave me relief for a year or so. I went back for 3 more which relieved the pain for about a month after the last of the series. Not wanting to go thru them again I sought the services of a Spinal Specialist. He insisted on more injections before he would do any surgery so I was set up for a series of 3 again. I had 2 and then I told my Dr to just forget it and that I wouldn't ever have any more. On Oct 11 I had a Lumbar Laminectomy from L3 down to S1. The original pain is now gone, but I'm now having pain from the Piriformis muscle, thankfully my daughter is a massage therapist and she's really helped me.

[Boaz]

I want to thank all for their posts . I know the injections (whatever kind) are a carp shoot . Opinions of them seems negative by majority here , nothing wrong with that because I only wanted the truth . Thank you !

[woodbutcher]

A friend had one of those back injections about 15 years ago.Has not been able to walk unaided since.That so called doctor lost his medical license,and every thing he owned.Just be VERY careful of what you do.Would I have them?Not on your tin type sonny.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[JPinMI]

I think it has to depend on what is causing the pain. 21 years ago I had a couple courses of steroid in the lower back. Each time it helped for 4-6 weeks, then the pain returned as bad as ever. Then I finally had an MRI and that told the whole story, I had no disc material left, it was bone on bone. Had a spinal fusion done 20 years ago and as miserable as that recovery was, I had great success with it fixing the pain. 5 months ago I started having low back pain again and had it looked at and had an MRI first this time. This time the area is below what was previously fused and it too has collapsed. The surgeon asked if I wanted to give steroids a try, I said "what's the point, let's fix this". That was 5 weeks ago and recovery has been remarkably easier and I'll be back to work in less than 2 months. Big improvement in what they do now. So,,,, I think the decision to have the injections all depends on what is the root cause. I can see it being a benefit if it's just inflammation that needs time to heal, if it's structural, probably just putting things off. My 2cents.

[nitroviking]

I've had them in me neck twice for extreme shoulder pain from cervical stenosis in C4-C5-C6, It helped me a lot, they lasted over a year each time,

My wifes had them in them in the lower back for a herniated L4 and missing L5 disc, Only helped her a little bit.

My Dad has had them over 6 times with little to no relief, but his back is in really bad shape, hes had 4 surgeries including a Laminectomy from T6 to L5,

I think it varies a lot among people

[JayT]

I’m an ICU RN, and I have to say that, in my experience, localized cortisone injections seem to be hit or miss- they vary greatly based on the disease process itself (stenosis, vertebral displacement, etc) and the extent of the disease progression. Surgical correction seems to have the best outcome, however recovery time can vary, and if you can’t miss a lot of work, that can definitely be an issue. Pain management doctors seem to want to pill everyone up with hydrocodone, and then you have to monitor your intake of acetaminophen (some hydrocodone has as much as 650mg/pill) as anything over about 3500 mg/day is hepatotoxic and can cause a slew of other health problems. Steroids have their own inherent danger, especially if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Too much steroid use can put you into diabetic ketoacidosis, so you have to monitor your sugar diligently while on them if you are diabetic or at risk.

Basically, there is no cure-all, but medication therapy, if appropriately dosed and monitored, can give some measure of relief.

Good luck in your recovery, and feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions you need answered, or just want a free second opinion about anything.

[daniel lawecki]

Euflexxa injection left knee about every six months one injection a week for three weeks. Left eye every six weeks for six injections total. The eye injection really hurts after about two hours.

[Moleman-]

I've had 4 back surgeries and a bunch of injections. Do not get an injection from someone who doesn't use a floroscope. Instead if someone tries, ask them what that thing is up on the ceiling and when they look, punch them in the throat and walk out. They have no idea if it's in the right spot or not.

[Boaz]

I understand . I guess the question is if the injections should be tried before invasive surgery is done ? Invasive surgery can result in permeant negative results ?

[azrednek]

A lot of back problems here. Just to share my experience. I fried my guts going over board on Ansaids then dam near killed my kidneys over doing Tylenol. I relied on the heavy duty stuff for about five years then the cancer bug got me. Survived the cancer courtesy of an experimental drug, a stem cell harvest and transplant. By the time I beat the cancer my tolerance of narcotics was off the charts. During my cancer and Chemo I was taking the equivalent of 24-29 Percocet daily. I was stage four and not expected to survive. As soon as I had the strength I began tapering down. Going through the injections made life bearable, not painless but no longer dependent on pain pills. I still rely on pain meds but no longer daily, 2-5 a week at best and no more of the heavy duty stuff. I suggest anyone try the injections before finding yourself reliant on narcotics. If you find yourself using them daily look for alternatives.

Never thought I'd post anything about the pain meds again after some bad experiences on cancer boards. I can assure anybody that solicits pain pills from me will be immediately reported to your local police. I put one punk claiming to have cancer in jail overnight after forwarding his email to police. The lucky bastard was released after a prosecutor decided he didn't have strong enough evidence.

[Moleman-]

Did the shots for 3-4 years until they stopped working by which time it was hard to walk very far. Had back surgery #1 and did ok for a few years before needing shots again. Got worse enough that the shots stopped working for very long (days as opposed to months) and going out to the mail box was a chore. Had surgery #2 which fused a couple levels and was recovering well when a disk blew out leading to surgeries #3 and #4. Surgeon said they expected to see my back within 3-5 years for another fusion. Been over 5 now and I hope to make it much longer before even thinking about making the appointment. Still have periods usually late summer when my back acts up badly because I've been more active and other times where there is no clear reason scattered though out the year. Walking is one of the best things you can do. I'm lucky as for some reason the county paved the 1 mile section of the gravel road I live on and put wide paved shoulders on it for pedestrians. Odd for a road that's out in the country and continues on as a gravel road for miles in either direction, but it's nice to have a decent place to walk that's close. A couple years ago my back was getting worse again and the dr sent me to a pain management place. Basically they see what you're doing wrong to piss your back off and show you better ways to go about every day chores as well as exercises and ways to stretch. I'd had PT half a dozen times before and while I'd get stronger each time it did nothing for pain so I was reluctant to go. That time it actually worked. Try everything you can before going under the knife, but also know that if your nerves are getting pinched after a while there is damage to them and they won't recover and there's no certainty that you won't end up worse off either.

[MaryB]

They can only do the steroid shots so many times too. They weaken tendons and can lead to tendon rupture if over used.

[JayT]

I understand . I guess the question is if the injections should be tried before invasive surgery is done ? Invasive surgery can result in permeant negative results ?

If you have exhausted all other non-surgical alternatives (PT, OT, etc.), try the shots. If the shots don’t bring the level of relief that allow you to function at close to a normal level, then I would consider a surgical alternative. It brings results, but all surgical intervention has an implied risk. I’ve seen it go about every which way you can imagine, but the success rate is high if you are deemed a good candidate for surgery and follow your post-operative regimen. Shots are just a band-aid, as they don’t treat the problem, they only treat the symptoms.

[David2011]

Nothing for my back but I've had knee injections twice before have a total knee replacement. The first injection was a cortisone shot with Novocaine or Lidocaine mixed in. The doc froze the area and then started the injection. I felt a small sting and burn of the anesthetic and that was all. The second was Synvisc, the rooster comb gel and after he froze it I felt no pain. I didn't feel anything on that one. My BIL has had them and said his hurt, too. He also said that he had great relief the first time, about a year of little to no pain. Subsequent shots had been progressively less effective until he had to have surgery.

The cortisone made me feel like Superman for about 20 days. I ran between targets at a USPSA match for the first time in years. It even quelled the arthritis in the back of my left thumb and then it started wearing off. The pain came back fully about 4 weeks after the injection. The same shots helped my Dad for six months or so at a time.

As has been said a few times, surgery was the only fix for me.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Folks I know have had about the same mix of results on Cortizone and Synvisc on knee issues; For one, Cortizone made things hurt more, but Synvisc improved things greatly. (Their Dr. expected Synvisc would be a wash.) So I gather that it's sorta different for every person, main thing is to get what you want in the way of results, somehow.

Trigger point injections in my back did nothing, same for Cortizone. So I mainly stretch and take Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen or Naproxin. (You don't want to just randomly mix and match those, as they're hard on kidneys etc. I just take one "flavor" at a time, change to a different one on occasion to see if that one helps more, and don't take them when pain level's down.

If you don't have a TENS machine you could look at that for back pain, they're supposed to really help (Mine, so far, hasn't, I suspect it needs the settings redone so it's set up RIGHT.) Have to put that back in my dolist and get it done.

Also if you are encouraged to get a fusion, learn the mechanical situation about it; The strain in, for example, your C4/C5 joint will be transferred to the next joints up and down in your spine, if you get C4/C5 fused; I've known friends who ended up with their entire spine fused from this as the next joints up/down aren't always all that robust. So maybe try to avoid that problem, if you can.

[leeggen]

Boaz, I have cronick back pain, have had injections done and most help. The doc hits the right spot perfectly sometimes and sometimes he misses by alittle. I now have ablations done instead of injections. They go in with a probe and litteraly burn the nerve into. Over time the nerve will grow back,sometimes, but if it does they just burn it again. Now a nerve only grows at 1mm per month normally. One that is burned will grow lots slower but you also get releaf quicker and longer. Not all nerves can have an ablation do to it, relitive to what it controls. On the vertabray you have small nerves that get irritated and they can me burned, but a nerve that makes your arm move can't.
I have had 10 ablations done some are 4yrs old. Once the nerve regrew it was not longer inflamed so it no longer bothers me.
CD

[Boaz]

Doctor has recommended Gabapentin and injections with possible 'burning' of nerves after finding out relief points through the injections . Five slipped discs in lower back with arthritic complications . I will probably do the injections , will also have a total knee done in Feb or March . I'm trying to get some relief from the back to be able to do rehab when I get the knee done .
In my mind surgery on the back is not an option with the total knee coming up ...the knee has to happen .

[farmerjim]

I have had many in my back and knees. All the ones in my knees worked till I had knee replacement.
The ones in the back, some worked for years, some didn't work. Had radio frequency ablation for the second time 2 weeks ago. First one lasted 3 years of 100% pain relief. I hope these work as well. Go to a well known pain specialist to have either done. They can be dangerous.