Has anyone had a bad reaction to a spinal epidural?

@janie6696 Thank you for for sharing your experience. I won't do another spinal injection and they have real risks. The injections are supposed to always be placed outside of the dura which is the covering on the brain and spinal cord. I do know from my own experience of being a patient with spinal cord compression, that the symptoms and pain the compression caused did affect the rest of my body on both sides. I had pain everywhere in my body including both feet which was caused by the spinal cord compression at C5/C6. I had bone spurs and a herniated disc that were left paracentral, so slightly off center to the left. It also depended how I moved or turned my head which changed the places I felt pain. If anything touches the spinal cord, it can cause damage and the spinal cord is floating in spinal fluid which helps to cushion it. My cervical spine surgery removed the bone spurs and disc that were pressing into it relieving the pressure and it was done before there was serious compression, but there was no fluid space left. The surgery for cervical stenosis resolved all my pain symptoms in my body and I had no more pain in my legs or feet. A lot of spine surgeons miss that connection and it is called "funicular pain" or referred pain. There is no test for this except that when surgery fixes all the pain, then you know that the cervical spinal stenosis was the cause of that pain.

I'm sorry that the doctor didn't take responsibility and abandoned your husband. As patients we come to be helped and we put our trust in our providers. I had a surgeon dump me too as a patient after he did carpal tunnel surgery which did not fix all the symptoms. I came back to him with my hands turning blue and he took my pulse, told me I was fine, and wrote in my records that I was malingering and didn't want to go back to work. He had completely missed that I also had thoracic outlet syndrome which does interrupt blood flow in the arms and causes overlapping symptoms with carpal tunnel syndrome. When I came back to him with the TOS diagnosis, he refused to let me go to physical therapy claiming he would not know if it would help me or not. Well, at least that was true. He just wanted to get rid of me as fast as possible. I had to find a new doctor who did send me to physical therapy.

With the availability of internet searches, it is worth looking up information to see if a doctor has disciplinary actions against them with the state's medical board. I also trust the opinions and recommendations of my doctors who have excellent reputations and who have done well with my care. As patients, we can also just say no as long as we fully understand the risks and consequences of our decisions. Spinal injections may help reduce inflammation and pain temporarily, but it doesn't fix the problem that is causing the pain, and the steroids are not FDA approved for injections into the spine. Another thing to consider is that for the surgeon there are risks too, and they don't want to fail. They can postpone surgeries by sending patients for injections instead which puts the surgeon's wishes first, not the patient's needs. I have learned not to blindly trust, but to ask questions and advocate for myself. I have to agree with you, as I think spinal injections are too risky for something that may have a temporary benefit or no benefit.

Jennifer I'm concerned about your statement "and the steroids are not FDA approved for injections into the spine." when in fact cortisone is a common steroid injected into the spine for pain?

@jenatsky Here is the information about steroid epidural injections and the risks from the FDA website.
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-drug-safety-communication-fda-requires-label-changes-warn-rare-serious-neurologic-problems-after
I know this may bring more questions than answers and most patients may not know about this.
Are you considering and epidural injection? Have you discussed the risks with your doctor?

@jenatsky Here is the information about steroid epidural injections and the risks from the FDA website.
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-drug-safety-communication-fda-requires-label-changes-warn-rare-serious-neurologic-problems-after
I know this may bring more questions than answers and most patients may not know about this.
Are you considering and epidural injection? Have you discussed the risks with your doctor?

The article explains the risks associated with the drug but it does not state it is not FDA approved. I presume that all physicians performing this treatment would have reviewed the chances of side effects as required by hospitals when consenting patents for surgery. It is for this reason why I questioned your statement. It’s good information but not usually presented to patients in this detail before a surgical procedure.

Funny this question is raised. Last August, I had a back issue, and due the Covid backup in healthcare, my back surgeon referred me for PT and a steroid injection in my spine. It was scheduled about a month out. During physical therapy, I was recovering and was almost 100%. When it was time for the injection, we said, it can’t hurt. The injection seemingly went fine, but during the next 3 weeks, I lost almost all balance in my legs and my legs became super weak. I was referred to a neurologist who sent me immediately to the emergency room for MRIs. I’m told I had 5 with and without dye. I was medicated through them. They found a cyst in my spinal cord, and I was referred to a neurosurgeon for removal. The surgery was a success with 2 unusual findings. 1. My spinal fluid was grey instead of clear, 2. The cyst was like leather instead of the expected tissue paper consistency. So here I am, 3 months after surgery, after rehab, home visits, and back into external PT, and tiny improvements every week. Healing and strength and balance will take months, but I’m expected to make a fairly full recovery. My surgeon suspects that the cortisone injection got into the spinal cord. Of course there’s no proof, and I was warned that there’s always the chance something could go wrong. Yup.

@kjs1964 I am so sorry. I will pray for you. I had a tumor removed from inside my spinal cord, and it took time. I go to acupuncture and strain counter strain, cranial, fascial release therapy. They are all drug-free . I have had many motor vehicle accidents walking and in my car alone with osteoporosis. I fractured another vertebra I did not have the injection into, so I was afraid of the side effects.