Epidural steroid injection (ESI) for pain

@blowerk1216, I had a L3 ESI last June 2025. It took several weeks to work. It did seem to help some. Make sure you check out the doctors experience. I would recommend getting it done in a real pain management center. One that does it all day everyday. I used to work in interventional pain medicine. I saw some scary doctors that should not be performing the procedure. Do your due diligence before hopping on the table.

@jenniferhunter

That sounds awful. Did they use a numbing shot first? After my bout of excruciating sciatica my docs PA informed me that there is something called a steroid pack. Six pills. I can access it quickly....no appt needed. Have you heard of it?

@gravity3 There could have been a numbing agent as part of the steroid injection. There was not a separate one. I think my reaction to the injection was sudden inflammation and it was being placed into an area in my spine already with inflammation and the fluid doesn’t have a lot of place to go. It was instantly painful and excruciating and I was convulsing shaking uncontrollably and trying not to pass out. He then injected a dye so he could see on the imaging where the injection went so that added more substance. I did some mental gymnastics and deep breathing to calm myself down and regain control, they gave me the steroid dose pack and some Tylenol, but nothing touched that pain. All I could do was go home and get in bed with ice and try not to move. Any movement of my head or arm and hand that was involved just escalated it into more electrical shocks and burning pain. It took 6 weeks to subside and gradually lessened day by day. I had hot and cold sensitivity in my hand for 2 years.

@gravity3 I have used that steroid pack, it did nothing to alleviate my leg pain!

@jenniferhunter

That sounds awful. Did they use a numbing shot first? After my bout of excruciating sciatica my docs PA informed me that there is something called a steroid pack. Six pills. I can access it quickly....no appt needed. Have you heard of it?

Pain from a L4-5 disc bulge that compressed the right L-5 nerve root was intense. I had a therapeutic trans-foraminal epidural shot in April 2025. The shot was painful when delivered. Took two months for my sciatic pain to get better. I do my PT routines 5 days a week. They wanted to give me another shot after 6 months. Due to the wide variable of time for beneficial results, I said no. I will wait until the pain returns and gets almost unbearable. Apparently these shots can have no benefit or last for months. I thank God everyday that the shot is still working. Tylenol and Tramadol helped during the recovery and I need still need them occasionally. Getting Old is certainly not for sissies.

@gravity3 Hello, I had spinal fusion surgery (lumbar, L5-S1), about 5 months ago. I was still having pain in my right side with the muscles in a constant spasm, and I had an epidural at T11-T12 back on February 10th. They do numb the area where the needle goes in, however, I had severe pain at the nerve the doctor was trying to block. This lasted about 30 seconds, then it seems the lidocaine kicked in. However, 48 hours after the epidural (and up until today, March 28th), I am in more pain than I was in before the epidural. Now the doctor has ordered CT scans of my Thoracic and Lumbar spine.

As for the steroid pack, my surgeon's PA wrote me a prescription for the 6 pills about two weeks after surgery when I was having severe nerve pain in both legs all night long. Unfortunately, the steroid didn't work. However, I was then given Lyrica, 75mg, 3 times a day. Within 2 days, the pain was gone and I could sleep all night. If you haven't tried this, ask your doctor about using Lyrica for your pain.

@marcd2k the steroid pack didn’t work for me either! Has anyone tried Tylenol with codeine?