Advice on lumbar facet steroid injections.

[patz]

Anyone had this done? Pros, cons, etc.

Thx

[flatbutt]

that sounds painful!

[patz]

The doctor mentioned a local anesthetic prior to the horse needles. Going to have a cortisone shot at the same time for the knee. Just want to talk/chat with anyone who has done the lumbar procedure.

[john70t]

I've had a cortisone in the shoulder from a H.S. ski dislocation (several hours because the nurse took off after gabbing on the phone in front of us).
The effect lasted only a few months or so.
Bandaid.

I was told that too many cortisone injections will soften the cartilage and speed up total failure of a joint.
Also, the best spine treatment is usually hydration, stretching, posture, and using it through exercise(swimming). YMMV.

[yetibone]

In 2014, and early '15, I had 4 cortisone shots in the L5/S1 region due to a herniated disk that was displacing the bundle of nerves going to my left leg. All but one gave me fantastic results for 6 days (first treatment) to 2 weeks. About 3 months after the last shot, the material that had herniated from the disk finally dissipated and I have been pain free ever since.

Cortisone injections make me feel about 20 years old again, and tend to make me stay awake and want to do stuff. Last one had me up all night stripping the cabinets in the Spartan, working all of the next day, then staying out late that night with my wife, and some friends at a show in Raleigh. The procedure itself was fairly uncomfortable; a burning, almost electrical sensation from the point of injection, all the way to the ball of my left foot was intense at first, but faded to novocaine-like numbness in less than a minute. The numbness lasted about 3 hours, but did not impact my mobility at all, or cause me any distress.

I'm not sure if my experience is congruent with a lumbar facet injection procedure, but any procedure that has to do with the spine is anxiety inducing. I hope yours goes well, and bears some positive results.

[tcar]

Watching...

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by tcar

Watching...

+1

Knee shots feel weird more than they hurt based on the small handful I have had.

You sure it's a horse needle?

Facet Joint Injections Procedure Video

[pavulon]

Is your concern the pain associated with the injection?

Originally Posted by patz

The doctor mentioned a local anesthetic prior to the horse needles. Going to have a cortisone shot at the same time for the knee. Just want to talk/chat with anyone who has done the lumbar procedure.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by pavulon

Is your concern the pain associated with the injection?

He is suiting up for tonight's game. Doubt we will hear from him.

[patz]

My concern is about side effects from multiple injections over the years.

[87maniac]

Had bad nerve pain, pain killers did not help at all (dilaudid 4mg).
had prednisone injection in lumbar, within 23 hours I could run up and down stairs.
Four months later, still working.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I was diagnosed about 1 year ago by the PA for an orthopedic surgeon in town with a shoulder impingement. He gave me a cortisone shot and script for PT. 12 weeks into PT that was sort of working but not great. Almost overnight the pain came back worse than before and the shoulder froze. I went into the Doc and he shook his head and mumbled something about the injection being a bad idea. Seems like a band aid at best and not addressing the real problem. In my case with the shoulder, it hid pain I should have felt in PT telling me to back off and take it easy.

[Arizona_928]

Get the sedation. Hope they work for you.

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by patz

My concern is about side effects from multiple injections over the years.

Ok. Not sure if you've had them and are concerned or if you're forecasting and concerned but either way it's a reasonable thing.

There are variables such as practitioner variability, numbers of injections, spacing, medications and dosages for starters. I would hope and imagine the person(s) performing your injections would have discussed that stuff if applicable. If they are not talking about it unsolicited, express your thoughts to them and get answers to your satisfaction as well as research the situation yourself. Second opinions are sometimes helpful. The internet can be hit and miss. The experiences of others varies widely for good and not so good reasons.

To offer opinions while not knowing all of the details of your situation (history, injury, scan information, treatment options offered...) would be presumptuous and may actually interfere with your treatment. One constant is that pain sucks and it can quickly turn to desperation which warps perceptions of a lot of things.

It really comes down to is do you trust the people taking care of you? Objectively and subjectively, why or why not?

If there are more specific questions, there are others here with strong medical backgrounds that may chime in too!

Good luck to you!

[patz]

Close to bone on bone, L5. PT is not cutting it or the Tens device. AKA electronic simulator. Vicodin just makes me constipated. Injections or surgery. Not wanting to do the latter.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by patz

Close to bone on bone, L5. PT is not cutting it or the Tens device.

Different circumstances...but I was young and 30 when my back collapsed.
TENS, Vicodin, PT were useless.
Many heart attacks possibly associated with Vicodin.
Relaxing and balancing the body with acupuncture and massage will help better.

Fusion tends to damage the next set of vertebrae.
Instead, look into: Artificial Disc Replacement - Cedars-Sinai
Europe has been doing this for decades and it is finally catching on here.
Recovery is minimal from what I've read.

[Arizona_928]

Might want to talk to the doctor about getting something a little stronger then norco.
I bought one of those large blue PT ice packs on evilbay, and a small heating blanket. Try using the opioids for just break thru-pain.

If you do not want to do surgery. Living with the pain is extremely hard to do, but it is manageable. I would stay away from gabapentin, and the other sister drug. Nasty side effects.

[NY65912]

I'm going in for 2 sets of 3 injections (L3,4,5)in the next few weeks. I have been getting epidural injections for the past 20 years with good sucess. They last from months to yers depending on how much I decide to abuse myself. I have had them with and without sedation. Get the sedation. I have sent 3 coworkers and my son to my doc, all had positive outcomes.

I have been crippled going in and walked out straight and upright. Nothing to fear, IMHO. No side effects. Although I am now a C cup

I have had lumbar laminectomy surgery and now have "failed back syndrome". Surgery is a last resort option. I would get the injections and go from there.

Best of Luck!

[pavulon]

I don't blame you for wanting to avoid surgery. Unfortunately, when the cartilage is (almost) gone, bone on bone brings the pain like few other things. If you haven't already done so, you may want to start researching surgeon options while there is time and energy. Good luck to you.

Originally Posted by patz

Close to bone on bone, L5. PT is not cutting it or the Tens device. AKA electronic simulator. Vicodin just makes me constipated. Injections or surgery. Not wanting to do the latter.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by pavulon

I don't blame you for wanting to avoid surgery. Unfortunately, when the cartilage is (almost) gone, bone on bone brings the pain like few other things. If you haven't already done so, you may want to start researching surgeon options while there is time and energy. Good luck to you.

This.

The shots just delay the inevitable. They've been giving my aunt shots in her knee because she is too stubborn to have it replaced. She'd get around a helluva lot better with properly functioning joints!