lumbar epidural steroid spine injection

I recently had a cortisone shot for a pinched nerve in my L4. I took a Valium that my ortho prescribed to relax me and also they numbed the area with a shot of lidocaine before the cortisone injection. Just felt a slight pin prick Taking a tranquilizer an hour before the procedure helped relax my body. I think without it, you may feel the injection more.

Shots have never helped me and in reading research on shots over the years, they have at best a 50-50 chance of working

Not everyone gets these reactions. I have been lucky. Epidural have helped me. After my shattered L4 4yrs ago Dr's say I am not a candidate for surgery my back is so messed up. This is all I can do. So far they have been working. Don't want to think of the day it won't.

The injections only provide temporary relief as they are meant to do. And as some people have pointed out they don’t work for everyone. Too many can cause premature bone destruction which is why they are limited as to the number per year you can receive. They typically do not “put you out” because this minor procedure does not warrant that degree of sedation. “Putting you out” would require your recovery period to be extended and require more monitoring than necessary.

I’m not sure if you’ve had your injection yet, but I’m currently getting epidural injections in my lumbar spine. They are helping me a lot with pain and mobility. Everyone is different and has different experiences, but it doesn’t hurt to get feedback! I was very concerned at first myself. I had a painful experience with an epidural injection years ago so I had a lot of anxiety. I’m pleased to say I’ve had a pain free experience with my current doctor. He uses X-ray guidance and is very good at being precise. The treatment has been very helpful at enabling me to be more active. I pace myself and am very careful not to overdue by lifting, bending, etc. I have started walking about 30 minutes 4-5 times a week. I have a small dog who is very happy we are taking walks again! Good luck with your injection, I hope it’s successful!

Yes, I had my first injection three weeks ago and I am still pain free... sure hope it lasts awhile. My lifestyle now is pretty similar to what anne described above.

I had Spine fusion 27 years ago.. L4, L5, S1.. the spine surgeon gave me epidural to make sure that his diagnosis was correct as to where the problem was.. after the epidural in the lumbar area he check me in 3 days... "did the shot help with the pain?".. yes, I answered.. he then told me that I would be able to tell him when I was ready for the fusion.. so within a few months I had the surgery and that lumbar problem was fixed.. 2 plates and 6 screws are still in there. A few years later I was having pain in the cervical area.. again the surgeon gave me epidural shot in that neck shoulder area.. but the pain killer aspect did not work.. the surgeon said, there is not a cervical problem.. you have cubical tunnel syndrome..that is a problem with the "crazy bone" nerve at the elbow.. so I went to a arm surgeon.. he did some tests.. sure enough... I had cubicle tunnel syndrome.. he did the out patient surgery.. and solved the problem of the pain shooting up the neck shoulder area, thanks to the epidural that did not work..

@ken82 Your story illustrates how important it is to get the correct diagnosis because when you feel pain in a particular nerve, the problem could be anywhere along the pathway of the nerve. It gets very complicated when there is more than one problem or compression points on a nerve. In Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, the Ulnar nerve is compressed. It can also be compressed where it passes through the shoulder area before it gets to the arm in Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, and if a person has cervical spine issues, it can be affected there where that nerve leaves the spinal cord. That is why neurologists do their testing for nerve conduction speeds, and that is why a multidisciplinary medical center helps when they can refer patients for further testing to narrow down the choices for the diagnosis among different specialists.

I have TOS and had a cervical spine problem along with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. TOS was completely missed by the hand surgeon who did my Carpal Tunnel surgery and he blamed me for malingering because I still had pain. My hand was turning blue and purple and getting cold. I couldn't fake that. He took my pulse and told me I was fine. Then I found a thoracic surgeon who understood TOS. Many doctors miss it because they don't spend much time on it in medical school according to one of my neurologists. The best place to find specialists for TOS is at a facility that lists it as a condition they treat.

Here is a link about Cubital Tunnel
https://sportsmedicine.mayoclinic.org/condition/ulnar-nerve-cubital-tunnel/

Here is a link about Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS)
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988

This also brings up the reason why patients should ask questions of their doctors so the doctors explain how they know a diagnosis is confirmed, and why it isn't what they call a "differential diagnosis" which is something different that can produce the same symptoms.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Yes, I had this done a few years back.
I did not hve a good experience. While they where injecting this into my back I was in so much pain I started yelling at the Doctors to STOP! One Doctor said it was working because I was having so much pain???
The end result was it did nothing for me, except put me through so much pain! I'd never have it done again!!!

meri, I've never heard of adhesive Arachnoiditis. Now I've read a bit and would like to hear more about your experience, and how you are faring almost a year later. Thanks