I have had severs back pain for 1 yr. I had an ESI in June. During the injection I had unbe4lievalbe pain shooting down my right leg all the way to my foot. The Dr. said this was a sign they were in the right place. Since the injection I have had no strenghth in my right lower leg. I can not walk o9n my toes, (I could before the injection) and I now drag my right leg. I went to a physical therapist on my own. He said to get right back to the Dr. as he felt there was nerve damage and said if you wait too long it can become irreversible. There also is a 3/4 inch shrinkage in my right calf due to atrophy My Dr. wants to do a CAT scan with a mylogram, but since they inject the same area I declined this test. I am having an EMG this week. Has anyone had this side effect? Will the strenght in my leg come back on it's own? Help, I'm getting scared!

Hi yotamster, And welcome to this place ! There has to be someone here with similar experiences. My closest was during one of my injections I think the doc nicked a nerve causing extreme pain all the way to my foot. The pain was only temporary lasting 2-3 days. A review of all medical records failed to find any notations of the incident and I was sedated too much to question at the time. with subsequent injections none had that effect. After this much time I think if it was going to pass it would have. I am not familier with a mylogram but have seen it posted here several times. a C.T. is painless and does reviel problems (sometimes). Was the injection done with floroscopy? I have heard of some docs doing it blind. Hang in there! Ray

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8-00 car fire/gas tank explosion - back pain,
3 mo pt
11-00 MRI - L4/5-5/S1 bulges BACK TO WORK
5-01 rope rescue caused aggrivation - 2 mo PT
7-01 series of 4 epidural injections- new PT 2 mo -BACK TO WORK
6-02 station work aggrivation
MRI, Discogram, CT, series of 4 injections,(tears in all discs L2/3 through L5/S1(L4/5 circumferntial) refered to endoscopic discectomy - denied! (too much injury)
refered to Neucleoplasty or IDET- denied! (too much injury)
refered to sergeon - new MRI- denied! INOPERABLE!
7-03 declaired MEDICALLY STATIONARY! Will not see improvement with time or treatment...Off work since 6-7-02
undergoing med trials to control pain, trying to avoid narcotics.

I read your post and wanted to cry. YES, I have the same symptoms which occurred immediately after my 3rd ESI which failed because the doctor couldn't get it in the right spot. Since then I have had constant pain in the Right buttock and leg. The bad news is good luck getting the Dr who performed the procedure to actually give you a straight answer. I wish I could say that with time it may get better, (as my doctor told me) it's been since 9/03 and my symptoms have gotten worse. As for the advice that you will get on this web site, please listen! I put a post on here about a week ago, subsequently found a new doctor.....The visit was very helpful. I did find out that my old doc for sure was a quack and that I was not crazy and imagining my problems.(SO TO THOSE WHO RESPONDED, MAY GOD BLESS YOU!!) Look for a doctor who will listen, my old doctor kept telling me that the ESI would not cause those symptoms! WRONG!! Don't give up! I wish that I could have given you better news.