Epidural Injections

Glad you had relief but none have worked for me over 28 year period, whether guided by latest technology or not. My non-medical opinion is that an injection cannot reverse a structural issue. The analogy I give to doctors is a broken ankle. An injection my soothe the pain for a short period but, if the fracture is not fixed, the problem is not solved. In my case, I also had botched surgery. I have been to the so-called best like HSS but am very disappointed by the care given to people with back conditions. Unless one is a star athlete or a Hollywood celebrity, my sense is that we do not receive the same level of care. Hope I am wrong but 28 years generates a lot of experience. Hope you have better results !!

Yes - I have done this and PRP injections as a booster for cervical stenosis. At the time it seemed to provide me some very temporary relief after the inflammation calmed down. I did this treatment for a total of 6 months.

Within two months the pain returned. It was very costly & was not covered by insurance. I had ACDF 6 months later on C4-C7 & still in recovery from that procedure.

I wanted to do everything possible before surgery & I think I was just afraid to have the procedure.

Good luck but this was unfortunately a waste of money for me. It served its purpose at the time.

I have had around 50 epidurals between l3 and s1 including 2 in my neck in 14 years. I had 4 or 5 last year. I usually have the most pain in Rt lumbar. So last year I had 1 for the rt side l3-l4, didn't work, 6-8 weeks later got 1 in l4-l5 around April, Bingo that was the spot. It has lasted almost a year and Im still good, well fair. I got 2 more on the left side around July and 1 in Sept. , nether one helped. Dr said there is not enough room on lt side, the disc is gone on lt side. It became debilitating most of January 2023 . I was doing PT for my back and my neck( had 3, 4,5 cervicle fused in Dec 2022. And 1 day lt side quit hurting. I have had good luck with PT especially traction but I have to keep doing the stretching and exercises at home.
I have had a success rate of about 7 out of 10 epidurals. Dr uses fluoroscope and they are rarely painful but the last one on my left lumbar hit the nerve or compressed it because it felt like an electric fence hit my leg. I now have osteoporosis due to all of the steroid shots. What are you gonna do?

Let me start again,my name is Bernie. I have been getting shots for 10 years. I haven't had a shot lately the shots to do not last. I try to exercise but it stills hurt. Some days or worst than others. But, I am to old for surgery. I take medication and just keep on going

Thanks so much for the hug.

I too have had good success. Yes, I have a skilled Pain Managrment Doctor who is also an anetheseologist. He uses a fluroscope and I do not use anesthesia. He is smart enough to let the lanicane work before he starts the injection, much different than ithers Ive gone to so it doesnt hurt a great deal.
I refuse opiods unless desperate and no longer waste my time with PT.
I have both cervical and lumbar stenosis and am thankful for the injections.

I have an interesting update to my neck pain that comes with questions. I am a 74 year old female.My neck and head pain started in July 2022 with acute pain that became chronic.
I have been to multiple docs from physiatrist to orthopedic surgeon to anesthesiologist to neurologist. I have been diagnosed over the months with arthritis of the spine, no herniations, and occipital neuralgia. I've had facet, medial branch, and ESI injections from C1 through C6. No fix. I've had occipital nerve blocks. I've done occipital release therapy and am scheduled for MFR soon.
The last medial branch blocks were done at C3-C6 by an anesthesiologist pain doc. It made things worse so the doc prescribed a Dexamethasone steroid pack. Wow! That has helped. I'm on the next to last day of pills with a medication half life of maybe another 24 hours or so after that. I am hoping the relief lasts.
Here are the questions.....why are steroids not tried earlier? Why are docs so reluctant to use them short term.
Anyone have any experience using steroid packs?

Doctors are somewhat reluctant to use them because they can cause bone damage for long term use. I get steroid injections in many forms, but they have to space them apart. Steroids can affect many systems in your body as well. They can be a blessing and a curse at times.

Thank you.
Docs seem all in on steroid injections much more than a short term med pack. I understand and appreciate the systemic differences.
I use osteopenia meds, calcium, vitamin D regularly that can offset the bone risk issue.
I am finding that recommended treatments to be more standard protocol driven than individual patient inspired.
Of course, use of protocols reflect appropriate care, but we all bring our own idiosyncratic issues to our pain that should be considered in patient care. Chronic pain is a major factor.
I can’t help but wonder why the oral steroids weren’t at least discussed by other docs I’d seen with risks/benefits addressed - if there were any chance of them being helpful.

Most times in my experience oral steroid pack is the first line of treatment. Not sure why they didn't do that for you. When i first had cervical issues radiating my arms the ortho did the steroid course. I was good after that for almost two years coupled with chiropractic