Epidural lower back spine injection recovery time/and side effects

Hi weinssh,
Thanks for that post. The good/no-good routine sounds familiar to me.
Do you mind my asking, what is "MIS-TLIF 2"?
WT

Greetings Archie,
Healthcate is getting more complicsted. I sympathize with your having to navigate very complex bureaucracy.
Because there is so much dis-information amongst Americans about our CanadianI universal healthcare system, in self defense and to clarify things, I feel compelled to add that Canadians can go to any doctor in any province in the country - no conditions or paperwork, no restrictions - without paying. Our two big problems are : 1) long waits in most Emerg departments. They triage incoming patients, of course, but unless you're bleeding out or not breathing at all we have to sit and wait for many hours. When, finally, you do get a doc, however, the care is excellent and 2) we have too many specialists and too few general practitioners. If we move to a new location, good luck finding an avaiable family doc. It's not impossible, we just have to search thoroughly ! Universal dental care just came on a couple years ago, and one party in parliament has been pushing hard for universal prescription coverage. As it is, the provinces already subsidize our senior prescription meds by around 30%. Disabled people get a deeper drug discount.
And so it goes
...in the famous words of Fernando Lamaz as sent up on SNL by Billy Crystal :
" Dahlings, remember, it's always better to look good than to feel good."

I try, but it's a major daily battle. I'm only 24 in my head, so why do I look so worn and torn in the mirror?
WT

Minimally Invasive Surgery- Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion. Then 2 means I had it two months after the last epidural. Fusion at L5-S 1 . Ruptured disk, spondylosthesis (not sure on spelling but it’s a common issue), arthritis, scoliosis, yada yada. I tried everything for 18 months but when the mid April shot didn’t work and, more importantly, I couldn’t walk :-), I had surgery. Honestly, no where near as bad an experience as I thought— and appears to have worked, still sore from surgery but I’m walking normally ,

Thanks!

What is MIS-TLIF?

I went from receiving my back injections in the morning and was floating in my kayak by afternoon.
I get great results from bilateral L 4/5 injections.
Im grateful and fortunate for the relief.

Hi @dd560a, I'm sorry to hear about the pain you continue to edure. Finding the underlying cause and getting treatment that works can be so hard.

@archie2, you're right that cause and effect are slippery concepts. In many cases, there is no known cause for arachnoiditis. Cause and correlation can be hard to prove.

- Adhesive arachnoiditis following lumbar epidural steroid injections: a report of two cases and review of the literature https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6357879/

Lumbar epidural steroid injections are commonly used for managing lower back pain and are generally considered safe. According to this review, adhesive arachnoiditis is a very rare complication that is frequently cited in the literature. Because it is frequently cited doesn't make it a common side effect. Doctors and patients should be aware of the potential complication when considering treatment options.

LOL - My Pain guy told me most people do this without anesthesia. I said "I'm a baby with pain" and he said "Do the anesthesia!" He didn't want me moving at all when he did this. Shot #1 did nothing at all - except the 1st 2 days were almost pain free. BUT - that was the Lidocaine, not the steroid. Yesterday he did the shot caudally, telling me it works better. His post procedure instructions say pain could be worse for a day or two - He Was Right! THe caudal shot has no Lidicaine - he said that would cause numbness & possible paralysis in legs. This has to work, and last at least 2 months, as I have a much anticipated trip to europe - 8 hours on a plane, and getting up to the Arctic circle to (hopefully) see polar bears. If pain like this, I don't know that I can handle the trip. Cancelled this same trip 5 years ago due to COvid.

I’ve had the same issues but more so after that Paid, my legs are so weak. The pain doesn’t hurt in my leg but my knees buckle. I don’t know what’s that about. I’m going back on the first week of August. I’ll let you know. I’m thinking it’s the steroid that they put in there because I also had a reaction from the steroid knows itchy all over.

Now 48 hours past the steroid shot, and my pain is certainly no better. Unfortunately, it is worse. Dr did say it could be worse for 1 - 2 days, so I am hoping I am still in that
2 day" period. I've got to be better in 2 weeks to make this long awaited, very physically active, trip.