I ‘ve talked about my chronic pain over the last few months and I have decided to share some of my experiences with treatment. These posts are not meant to be used as medical advice, everyone is different but I have had a lot of people ask me how well the Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injections worked and what to expect.
First off a Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection is a medical procedure that is often performed to treat back pain and leg pain. I have received two and normally the day before the procedure they will call you and ask you a bunch of questions like, “Are you on any antibiotics?” “Are you pregnant?” and a bunch more. They also inform you that you are required to have a driver because they won’t allow you to drive. The day of the procedure they will have you change into a hospital gown if you are wearing clothing with any metal or that are tight. You then lay flat down on an x-ray table propped up by pillows. The area is cleaned and then numbed with a local anesthetic. Using a live X-ray for guidance a needle is inserted in the back and its guided towards the epidural space. Once the needle is in place contrast is injected to confirm the needle location. The epidural steroid solution is then injected, the whole procedure can take 15-30 minutes and the first time was not painful at all…the second time was so bad they almost sedated me.
I had my first injection on 3/29/16, it didn’t take long…Maybe 15 minutes and wasn’t painful at all, I left a little sore and got relief within 3 days. I felt GREAT for around a week and a half and then was right back to where I was before…I just had another injection on 6/15/16 and it was AWFUL! The procedure took over a half an hour, I had issues with my blood pressure, vomiting and dizziness…It was so bad they almost sedated me. The whole procedure was SUPER painful and it seemed almost like the anesthetic wasn’t working, the worst part is I received absolutely NO relief…I am actually in more pain than before I got the shot, I have pain in my whole back which is something I never had before. I was left so disappointed because It went so well the first time.
I have heard mixed stories, some people swear by the injections while others had the same experience I did, I suggest if you are going to get a Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injections to do the proper research. There are risks that come with it and sadly increased pain or no pain decrease are two. Spine-Health.com has some great information on the procedure and even an animated video, this was the site I went to for information and found it very informative.