I had facet joint injections in my lower back about 2 months ago. There were 4 needles on each side of my spine....suspect it was L3-S1. There was no conveyance from the doctor about the amount of steroids being used, thus, your comment about starting out with a smaller amount is not clear to me. The shots did help but not as much as I had hoped. I'm going back soon for either more facet joint types of injections or possibly something else if she decides that I should try. I can not imagine in doing this the rest of my life but the neurosurgeon said to keep trying for at least the next 3 months.......then he will review surgery options. I have some success in relieving my pain with a pill called Gabapenta..........intially I was on 600mg a day and there was no improvement. Now I am on 1200mg and it has helped. There are many people who take as much as 2400mg daily and this is not an opioid. Asl your doctor.