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Lumbar Steroid Injection vs Facet Nerve Block
Spine Health | Last Active: Sep 20, 2022 | Replies (39)Comment receiving replies
I actually have personal experience with this. I had a great Pain doctor. On the first epidural, I felt no pain and had no sedation. On the second one, it was excruciating. He acknowledged my pain as he was doing the procedure and apologized saying that sometimes what he is doing actually rides against the nerve or something like that. He said he could offer me light sedation for the next one and it was perfect. I was fully conscious but didn't feel anything. I was just too scared of the excruciating pain (and I screamed, too) but he acknowledged it and apologized profusely. He at no time became frustrated with me or told me the pain was in my head.
Please see a different doctor!
Easy for me to say. I started seeing a new one and for my first injection I wanted light sedation. I was wheeled into the procedure room and they started the medication in my arm like usual. The next thing I know I wake up in a different room. I was totally under anesthesia and had no idea how I got from one room to the next. When I saw the nurse practitioner after the injection a couple weeks later she said she heard the epidural didn't work for me and I said no it didn't but maybe we needed to try a different dermatome. She said no, it didn't work because I was mentally ill and I was feeling pain on the wrong side of my body and I should be having excruciating pain in my neck. I think I was in shock. She said after my insurance approved it, they would contact me for the next epidural. It wasn't until I got home and was crying for days that I realized that if my pain was in my head, why was she scheduling me for another epidural. I haven't recovered from that and am afraid to get any help for my pain because what if it is because I am mentally ill and that's been the reason for my pain the last 13 years?
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Wow! That’s horrible! I was told by a doctor I was seeing for pain (long ago) that I needed to see a physiatrist! He couldn’t help me and blamed that on my mental health!
Don’t let that doctor or nurse keep you from seeing another doctor! I left the doctor I mentioned who preformed my epidurals. Not so much because he didn’t prepare me for the painful procedure, but because of his attitude towards me after simply telling him the previous epidural didn’t help my pain. I asked him for a referral to a well known pain doctor who treated patients with fibromyalgia and instead of referring me he called that doctor and black listed me from seeing him. There are bad doctors and nurses! Bad attitudes, bad bedside manors, bad staff, bad, bad, bad! But there are excellent doctors too! I think I’ve found a good pain doctor. After years on pain medication but no treatment, I’m willing to try something to see if it will help. From what I’ve learned, it seems that these injections and treatments help some people, but not forever! I’ve had that experience myself. A medication works great for a period of time then stops working. I use a lot of natural techniques for distraction from pain. I’m fully aware my mental attitude about my pain is important. I have depression and see a therapist, but that doesn’t mean my pain has anything to do with my mental health. I choose to learn and apply the things that assist me living with pain. I believe in the mind body connection to pain. What that means to me is that my mental outlook and what I do to live with pain are an important part of treatment! Relaxation techniques, meditation, stretching, tolerable exercise, hobbies, art, music. I prop myself up with pillows and watch a good movie when I’m fatigued from pain. I eat foods that help with inflammation, smoothies, etc. Educating myself about what might help is a distraction itself!
You’re not alone! I’ve seen some real winners! I’ve also seen doctors who do care and give me hope. Pain is a tricky thing! The past 10 years for me has been about balance. I realize doctors may not be able to treat all my pain.
I want some kind of warning or preparation if an injection is going to be so painful that I scream in pain and am traumatized afterward! Doctors should know from experience if this might happen, that’s all I ask!