Anyone had bupivacaine injections in preparation for spinal epidural?

Hello, they do this in preparation to see if you respond to the bupivacaine before they do the epidural. There’s no point in doing an epidural if you’re not going to respond to the local anesthetic which is a longer acting anesthetic. If you get pain relief from the bupivacaine then they believe that you will get relief from the epidural. I have had several of these. I have arthritis up and down my back with some stenosis , bulging discs & bone spurs, etc. The list is too long to go on. So what I’m saying is basically it’s just a test to see how well you might do with an epidural. Give it a shot and see if you respond. Best of luck. Hope you feel better.

Hello @retiredprofessor. I see that member @dishpain has joined you to share some information on the injections. I also would like to bring in member @tami1966 who has personal experience with bupivacaine injections to see if she can share more with you as well.

Has this been recommended to you or is this something you are interesting in asking your doctor about?

I stopped getting the injections in feb 2022. My thigh muscles quit working to the point of not being able to get up from a squat, having to use my arms to push myself up from a sitting position and couldnt go up one stair without pulling myself up using the railing.

My skin is so thin that even a massage turned my back red. If something rubs my skin it will turn red. If the skin comes off its a 3-4 week spot that has to be bandaged.

My thighs seem to be slowly getting better. I still have the skin.bleeding problem.

Here are a couple of pics so you have a visual of what Im talking about.

I had two shoulder shots and 2 hip shots every 3 months for joint pain. I think thats a lot different than getting a one time injection so I want to be clear about that.

Thanks dishpain. This is helpful information. Seems our issues are about the same and my doctor wanted to start out with bupivaine prior to the epidural. However, I'm due to go on a road trip just two days after the first dose of bupivaine. Do you see any problem with this?
Thanks, retired prof.

My doc is planning two sessions of bupivacaine prior to my epideral session. Just interested here in hearing from those who have gone through similar treatments.
Thanks, retired prof.

Thanks for your comments and photos tami. Looks like you've got a tough one going there.
Retired prof.

Always hard to tell as every patient is different. Some people don’t even respond to repair a cane so they don’t necessarily proceed to epidural. And every person who gets an epidural does not have it last for as long as the next patient in some cases. I would say you are probably going to be safe to go on your trip and maybe it will make you even a little bit more comfortable. Good luck and safe travels !

Sorry. Should have proofread above. Should say bupivacaine.

Please be aware epidural steroid injections are not FDA approved. They cause lots of illnesses like the one I got. I was injected at L5 with Depo Medrol. A chemical
That’s been banned I now have Adhesive Arachnoiditis. It is an untreatable progressive illness. Painful.