So tomorrow I have a lumbar spine epidural - and I'm terrified

[Linda0818]

Although my doctor said the procedure itself takes only about 5 or 10 minutes (an eternity when you have needles jabbed into your spine) they're also obligated to tell you that there's a very minimal chance of permanent nerve damage.



Some of you may recall me talking about the sciatica I've been dealing with since June and that the MRI showed a cyst that is apparently 'in the way' and causing pressure on the sciatic nerve. I'm in pain every single day. The pain is always there, it's just some days are better or worse than others. Well tomorrow is my epidural, which I'm really hoping is going to do some good. They told me some patients feel immediate relief, while other patients don't feel relief for a week or two after the procedure (which makes no dang sense to me, but okay) and some patients don't benefit from it at all. But then they go on to tell me that there's a very small chance of nerve damage to the spine (are we talking paralysis here???) which could be permanent.

Great. Way to ease my mind over something I'm already nervous about. I already told my pain management doc that I'm taking Lorazepam (Ativan), that I'm prescribed for my anxiety, before the procedure. They said that was fine, since I won't be given any medications that will make me loopy. Which I don't want anyway.

I don't know if any of you have had this procedure or not. But, if you have, did it turn out okay? And did it help?

I apologize for rambling, but I'm just biting my nails over here. I need to go to bed soon. But I'll certainly read any replies in the morning before I head off to the hospital for my procedure.

 

[caseydog]

My mom has had about five of them. She felt great after getting them. The effects actually lasted longer than I expected. It's been at least a year since the last one.

I believe you had some anxiety over a scheduled MRI, and it turned out fine.

I have a prescription for Lorazepam, and only take a 1MG dose from time to time. 30 tablets last me six months. That should take the edge off your anxiety.

My back problems are not to that point yet, but those injections worked great for my mom.

CD

 

[pepperhead212]

I had that done back in 2000, at least 5 times, and the first time it hurt like he##, but helped a little, once the hurt wore off. Each time it hurt a little less, when I got the shot, but the pain would come back faster, and with the final shot I barely felt it, but it hardly did any good, and they finally decided to operate, which was successful, fortunately. Hopefully, the shots will work for you. Good luck.

 

[caseydog]

I had that done back in 2000, at least 5 times, and the first time it hurt like he##, but helped a little, once the hurt wore off. Each time it hurt a little less, when I got the shot, but the pain would come back faster, and with the final shot I barely felt it, but it hardly did any good, and they finally decided to operate, which was successful, fortunately. Hopefully, the shots will work for you. Good luck.

My neurologist/neurosurgeon told me to avoid surgery for as long as possible. I'm glad yours was successful. I've heard some horror stories.

His advice to me was to get off my fat-a$$ and lose about 35 pounds. I did it, and he was right. I had kinda' let myself go.

CD

 

[Linda0818]

My mom has had about five of them. She felt great after getting them. The effects actually lasted longer than I expected. It's been at least a year since the last one.

I believe you had some anxiety over a scheduled MRI, and it turned out fine.

I have a prescription for Lorazepam, and only take a 1MG dose from time to time. 30 tablets last me six months. That should take the edge off your anxiety.

My back problems are not to that point yet, but those injections worked great for my mom.

CD

That's a nice thing to hear about your mom.

Yes, the MRI was fine. I practically fell asleep inside the chamber. But then, thankfully, I'm not claustrophobic.

Thank you for telling me of your mom's experience.

 

[Linda0818]

I had that done back in 2000, at least 5 times, and the first time it hurt like he##, but helped a little, once the hurt wore off. Each time it hurt a little less, when I got the shot, but the pain would come back faster, and with the final shot I barely felt it, but it hardly did any good, and they finally decided to operate, which was successful, fortunately. Hopefully, the shots will work for you. Good luck.

Like Casey said, my doctor is trying to avoid surgery as much as possible. But my cousin, for example, had surgery to 'cut back' the bulging disk that was causing her pain because nothing else worked.

I too have bulging disks, but they're supposedly very minimal and the cyst is what's causing my pain. My doctor said if epidurals don't work, I may have to have the cyst drained.

 

[caseydog]

Like Casey said, my doctor is trying to avoid surgery as much as possible. But my cousin, for example, had surgery to 'cut back' the bulging disk that was causing her pain because nothing else worked.

I too have bulging disks, but they're supposedly very minimal and the cyst is what's causing my pain. My doctor said if epidurals don't work, I may have to have the cyst drained.

Having a cyst drained sounds a lot less invasive than surgery on disks, and in my case, also Stenosis. I have two disks that are shrinking, not bulging. Still hurts, but not as bad.

I hope you have the same results that my mom had.

CD

 

[taxlady]

Sending positive vibes for an excellent outcome for you Linda.

 

[msmofet]

{{HUGS}}

 

[dragnlaw]

I've had epidurals - not for a cyst but other spinal pain. Several times, and unfortunately they didn't work for me. But the needle itself does not hurt. You might feel pressure but that's all.

I know it sounds crazy but try to relax. Thinking of you {{{hugs}}}.

 

[Andy M.]

SO has been getting those injections for some time. It’s about the only thing that worked for her.

 

[Linda0818]

SO has been getting those injections for some time. It’s about the only thing that worked for her.

Hopefully they work for me too. The pain, at times, can be debilitating.

 

[Linda0818]

Thank you, everyone, for the good wishes.

Leaving in less than an hour for the procedure.

My son is going with me, just in case I have numbness or shakiness in my right leg. He'll be driving me back home. Then I'll probably rest for a while after eating a little something.

 

[Sweetbun]

Although my doctor said the procedure itself takes only about 5 or 10 minutes (an eternity when you have needles jabbed into your spine) they're also obligated to tell you that there's a very minimal chance of permanent nerve damage.



Some of you may recall me talking about the sciatica I've been dealing with since June and that the MRI showed a cyst that is apparently 'in the way' and causing pressure on the sciatic nerve. I'm in pain every single day. The pain is always there, it's just some days are better or worse than others. Well tomorrow is my epidural, which I'm really hoping is going to do some good. They told me some patients feel immediate relief, while other patients don't feel relief for a week or two after the procedure (which makes no dang sense to me, but okay) and some patients don't benefit from it at all. But then they go on to tell me that there's a very small chance of nerve damage to the spine (are we talking paralysis here???) which could be permanent.

Great. Way to ease my mind over something I'm already nervous about. I already told my pain management doc that I'm taking Lorazepam (Ativan), that I'm prescribed for my anxiety, before the procedure. They said that was fine, since I won't be given any medications that will make me loopy. Which I don't want anyway.

I don't know if any of you have had this procedure or not. But, if you have, did it turn out okay? And did it help?

I apologize for rambling, but I'm just biting my nails over here. I need to go to bed soon. But I'll certainly read any replies in the morning before I head off to the hospital for my procedure.

I understand that it's scary! But I think it's not worse than feeling intense pain! Bad things happen to you so that you don't experience something terrible.

 

[Kathleen]

SO has been getting those injections for some time. It’s about the only thing that worked for her.

Like Andy's SO, I have been getting them for some time. It has helped a lot.

 

[Linda0818]

I understand that it's scary! But I think it's not worse than feeling intense pain! Bad things happen to you so that you don't experience something terrible.

I'm just trying to keep in mind something I heard once, long ago, that said "80% of our fears are based on things that will probably never happen."

 

[medtran49]

I used to type up the reports for spinal injections by pain management doctors. They gave a local anesthetic for most of them first. By far, most patients got relief, and very, very, very few had complications.

 

[Linda0818]

I used to type up the reports for spinal injections by pain management doctors. They gave a local anesthetic for most of them first. By far, most patients got relief, and very, very, very few had complications.

Thank you. It always helps to hear such things.

 

[jennyema]

Good Luck to you!

I had epidural anesthesia for my knee replacement and it wasn’t bad at all.

 

[Linda0818]

Well, the procedure is done. That hurt. It was more of a pressure ache than anything else, which I kind of expected. But it started to get pretty bad with each push of the needle to get to the spot where the doctor wanted to inject the steroid. He mentioned he had to go under and back up to get to the spot he needed to be in, which is probably what caused the excessive pain. But I dealt with it until it was over.

It feels a little better right now, but that's more than likely because of the anesthetic, which will eventually wear off. They told me I might start feeling my usual pain once that happens and pain relief from the steroid medication may not be felt for several days yet. They told me by day three I should start feeling some actual relief and by day ten I should get the full effect of the medication. They also gave me some homework to do. I'm to document my pain on a scale of 1-10 every couple of hours for the next several days, then once a day starting next week.

If by day 10 it's no better, then other options will be discussed. The doctor said it looks like there might be "a little more going on in there than the MRI showed", which is why he had to 'wiggle' his way around rather than going straight to the intended site. Whatever the hell that means. In my head I was thinking great, that's what I needed to hear right now.

But I'm home now and very tired. Probably coming down from the anxiety I've been feeling over this for the last couple of days and today especially. So since I have the day off from work, I'm heading into my room to flop down on my bed for a while.

Thanks for listening to yet more ramblings from Miss Paranoid re: spinal injections.