Spinal injections - not epidural.

tenacioust123

pipkin71 wrote: »

Did they say you have to lie flat whilst having it done and need to lie still for a couple of hours?

That's what I was told. I'm having an injection in January, but no idea what

I hope whatever you have, does help, geoff.

You'll probably find it will cost alot more than that if you add all the bits and pieces up.

I had a lumbar fusion done privately and adding everything up with 4 days in intensive care than a further 3 days in a normal ward, appointments, mri etc etc in came to just under £30,000!!

Thank god for insurance!!

I've had a caudal epidural about 3 months ago it did help a little with sharp nerve pain but has made my back worse and walking is a nightmare. I found it quite painful but I know people who say it was pain free, I think it just depends. My doctor wants me to have another but I'm not too sure.

Good luck Pipkin I hope you get some relief.

pookienoodle

zee wrote: »

looking at previous answers all different,I had injection ,first had local in hospital x-ray type room ,then surgeon did main injection ,no pain then at all , about 36 hours later I felt that someone had kicked me with steel toe cap boot, I had collapsed discs and after waiting about 14 month and on 50ml. of oral morphine [ a day 5x10 mil .],had spine fusion of 4 lower vertabrae, stopped most of pain but now restricted how far I can bend ,if I try to bend further ,left in pain for a couple of days , found out later reading in daily mail about my type of problem ,there is private op.which inserts new type of disc instead of bone graft
and is far far better ,I think it costs in region of £8000 but that is you cured for rest of life , if I had known , Iwould have raised money somehow instead of struggling for rest of life.

That daily mail article was very misleading.
my husband had the plastic artificial discs inserted at the spinal unit of our local teaching hospital......it was not succesful and he has since has spinal fusion....only at one level as it took so long to remove one disc he will have to have 2 further fusion ops.
I think as far as spines are concerned there is no one size fits all miracle cure some people can have fantastic results with procedures that don't work for others.

pipkin71

pookienoodle wrote: »

I think as far as spines are concerned there is no one size fits all miracle cure some people can have fantastic results with procedures that don't work for others.

Agree there pookienoodle.

adviceforall

Hi,
I had injections into the bottom of my spine in October.. It was done at the hospitals day care unit..
It took about half an hour to do, first they inject you with a local anethestic before they do the actual injection. I felt only a small scatch with the local anethestic and never even felt them injecting the 2nd one)
I then had to lie flat on my stomach for half and hour and then lay flat on my back for another hour, this is because if you were to sit upright it could cause a headache..( typically needed the loo and had to get up but never got a headache)
I was then told i could go home ( needed to have someone else drive you) and to lie down for the rest of the day and the following 2 days, but you can sit up to eat etc.
The next 2 days were a lot more painful but then i got 2/3 weeks where there was a marked improvement, the numb right leg improved, the back pain was less and overall i seemed to have much more energy for things..
But the back pain is coming back and the leg is not 100% but not as it was at its worst.
My consultant has booked me in for another one ( the last one took 5 months )
I have no hesitation in having another one..
Hope that helps and good luck

pipkin71

adviceforall wrote: »

Hi,
I had injections into the bottom of my spine in October.. It was done at the hospitals day care unit..
It took about half an hour to do, first they inject you with a local anethestic before they do the actual injection. I felt only a small scatch with the local anethestic and never even felt them injecting the 2nd one)
I then had to lie flat on my stomach for half and hour and then lay flat on my back for another hour, this is because if you were to sit upright it could cause a headache..( typically needed the loo and had to get up but never got a headache)
I was then told i could go home ( needed to have someone else drive you) and to lie down for the rest of the day and the following 2 days, but you can sit up to eat etc.
The next 2 days were a lot more painful but then i got 2/3 weeks where there was a marked improvement, the numb right leg improved, the back pain was less and overall i seemed to have much more energy for things..
But the back pain is coming back and the leg is not 100% but not as it was at its worst.
My consultant has booked me in for another one ( the last one took 5 months )
I have no hesitation in having another one..
Hope that helps and good luck

Thanks for that adviceforall. It sounds exactly like what they have offered me - especially as you mention having to lie down and done at the hospital ect.

Interesting that your pain eased. I have terrible nerve pain, so it would be great if that can be eased more than it is with painkillers.

Thank you.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

pipkin71 wrote: »

I've had the injections where they inject a dye into your spine and look at your back with x-rays. I think it's called a myelogram. You have to lie flat with that for a few hours as it can cause severe headaches.

That did highlight a few problems and they offered an epidural, but I couldn't go through with that.

The myelogram was uncomfortable - and in some parts quite painful, but it did help the surgeon see what problems there were.

Do they still do myelograms.
Was yours recent.
I only ask as I had one done in 1988 when my lower back was crushed and within a few minutes I had an allergic reaction and I ended up with a severe reaction and developed meningitis and encephalitis and was in a coma for a week.
It took me nearly three years to walk properly after that.
I've since learned so much about problems with them I'd never have another one.
Just want to say I had the spinal injections and they were a doddle but did'nt seem to do anything pain relief wise.

SingleSue

All this is very interesting as I also have prolapsed discs and arthritis of my lower spine and it has been getting very dodgy just recently.

I can be sitting and just slightly adjust my position and by god does the pain catch me, let alone carrying anything more than a light handbag weight...even pushing a blooming trolley in the supermarket can leave me in agony and barely able to walk for days.

My parents have been going on and on at me to get back to the doctors as they can see the pain I am in at times (sometimes you just can't mask it no matter how hard you try).

But, I am scared to go back to the doctors in case they tell me they need to do something that will mean I am unable to give care to the children or that I will be unable to drive, even for a few days.

Think after reading this, I will put it off for just a little longer! (yeah I know, I'm a scaredy cat :rotfl:)

pipkin71

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

Do they still do myelograms.
Was yours recent.
I only ask as I had one done in 1988 when my lower back was crushed and within a few minutes I had an allergic reaction and I ended up with a severe reaction and developed meningitis and encephalitis and was in a coma for a week.
It took me nearly three years to walk properly after that.
I've since learned so much about problems with them I'd never have another one.
Just want to say I had the spinal injections and they were a doddle but did'nt seem to do anything pain relief wise.

An awful experience for you MRSTITTLEMOUSE :eek:

I didn't suffer too much after the myelogram. It was quite painful at times during the procedure though

I do worry that the injections wont help with the pain, although experience seems to be mixed, and so I agree with whoever said they work differently for each individual.

My appointment isn't until 28th January, but I'm already fretting over it

I know the injections aren't a cure to what's going on, but if they could solve the nerve pain, it would be a bonus. At the moment, my medication keeps being increased, but there will come a time they can't increase any more. I'm in a circle of pain, increase in meds, relief, then more pain, increase in meds, relief, then more pain and so on.

As it's nerve pain, it's unpredictable and not easy to control, so I'm putting a lot on these injections, which may not even work I have to try and stay positive though

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this. It has certainly made for interesting reading.

pipkin71

SingleSue wrote: »

All this is very interesting as I also have prolapsed discs and arthritis of my lower spine and it has been getting very dodgy just recently.

I can be sitting and just slightly adjust my position and by god does the pain catch me, let alone carrying anything more than a light handbag weight...even pushing a blooming trolley in the supermarket can leave me in agony and barely able to walk for days.

My parents have been going on and on at me to get back to the doctors as they can see the pain I am in at times (sometimes you just can't mask it no matter how hard you try).

But, I am scared to go back to the doctors in case they tell me they need to do something that will mean I am unable to give care to the children or that I will be unable to drive, even for a few days.

Think after reading this, I will put it off for just a little longer! (yeah I know, I'm a scaredy cat :rotfl:)

I'm a scaredy cat too, Sue.

I put things off, decided not to go ahead with an operation a couple of years ago, as there was a 50-50 chance of ending up in a wheelchair. DDs were too young at that point, so I said no.

Now, it's too risky to operate, and I use a wheelchair anyway at times

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it's easy to look back and think how you would have done things differently. I have so many problems with my spine now [not because I didn't have the op, I hasten to add] that it makes things difficult at times. My DDs are older now though, and don't have the same care needs as your children I assume.

I also suffer with pain if I turn the wrong way, or sit in the wrong position, so know how that feels, and it certainly brings a tear to the eye.

I would still advise you to get your back checked though. You don't have to go along with any procedure, but could at least know how things are.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

pipkin71 wrote: »

An awful experience for you MRSTITTLEMOUSE :eek:

I didn't suffer too much after the myelogram. It was quite painful at times during the procedure though

I do worry that the injections wont help with the pain, although experience seems to be mixed, and so I agree with whoever said they work differently for each individual.

My appointment isn't until 28th January, but I'm already fretting over it

I know the injections aren't a cure to what's going on, but if they could solve the nerve pain, it would be a bonus. At the moment, my medication keeps being increased, but there will come a time they can't increase any more. I'm in a circle of pain, increase in meds, relief, then more pain, increase in meds, relief, then more pain and so on.

As it's nerve pain, it's unpredictable and not easy to control, so I'm putting a lot on these injections, which may not even work I have to try and stay positive though

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this. It has certainly made for interesting reading.[/QUOTE

I think you have to give them a chance.It's worth trying anything is'nt it.
I found out years later the reason my injections did'nt work was because I had developed arachnoiditis due to the problems with the myelogram,hence the nerves don't respond as they should to anything.
I take sodium valproate(an epilepsy drug) for the muscle spasms and amitriptyline(an antidepressant I think) for the nerve pain as it does'nt respond to anything else I've tried.
I hope you find something to help,nerve pain is horrendous.
Good luck with your injections.