AmyYvonne
10-29-2003, 02:33 PM
My neurosurgeon has ordered an epidural in C6 and C7 of my cervical spine, but most of my disc pain is in the thoraic spine, right between my shoulder blades (where I have a ruptured disc). I'm wondering why he didn't specify that the epidural be done there? Are thoraic spine epidurals not done, or was I not specific enough in telling him where the pain originates? I should be getting the epidural next week, and I really want to be sure it'll be done in an area where it will help me the most.
Amy
Amy
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CLJones64
10-30-2003, 12:54 AM
Hi Amy,
Wanted to share my experience with you. I, too, had a cervical epidural steroid injection, for bulges at C5/C6 and C6/C7. My pain was also beside my shoulder blade and down my arm, with some numbness thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, the injection didn't help at all, so upon another visit to my neurologist, and examining the MRI again, the culprit was determined to be my T1/T2 disc. I am scheduled for a thoracic injection on November 7th..so yes, they do thoracic injections to answer your question.
I did ask my neurologist why he did the cervical injection, given where my pain was, and he informed me that the nerve from the T1/T2 actually crosses over and goes up to the cervical area. He was hoping that would take care of my problem, but alas, it did not.
If you are having any of the same symptoms as I described, I would advise you to ask your doctor if they have looked at your T1/T2 disc. Might save you from having to go thru another injection later...and limit the days of pain you must suffer thru, too.
I don't know if you've had a cervical injection before, so I'll share a bit of what my experience was like as well. I had it built up in my mind to a lot more than it turned out to be....just the thought of someone sticking a needle in my neck was enough to cause that. :) Well, come to find out, they didn't really stick it in my neck...it was more down at my shoulder level. He numbed me with a novocaine shot first, so I really didn't feel anything other than pressure when he inserted the needle and injected the medicine. Only had a bandaid afterwards, too, like a normal needle stick. I will say that the room where they did it was rather intimidating, with all the sterile conditions, the huge x-ray machine and the 4 monitors hanging over it. But the actual procedure wasn't bad at all...took maybe 10 minutes. The prep time was longer than that.
I wish you luck and pain relief!!
Sincerely, Carla
Wanted to share my experience with you. I, too, had a cervical epidural steroid injection, for bulges at C5/C6 and C6/C7. My pain was also beside my shoulder blade and down my arm, with some numbness thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, the injection didn't help at all, so upon another visit to my neurologist, and examining the MRI again, the culprit was determined to be my T1/T2 disc. I am scheduled for a thoracic injection on November 7th..so yes, they do thoracic injections to answer your question.
I did ask my neurologist why he did the cervical injection, given where my pain was, and he informed me that the nerve from the T1/T2 actually crosses over and goes up to the cervical area. He was hoping that would take care of my problem, but alas, it did not.
If you are having any of the same symptoms as I described, I would advise you to ask your doctor if they have looked at your T1/T2 disc. Might save you from having to go thru another injection later...and limit the days of pain you must suffer thru, too.
I don't know if you've had a cervical injection before, so I'll share a bit of what my experience was like as well. I had it built up in my mind to a lot more than it turned out to be....just the thought of someone sticking a needle in my neck was enough to cause that. :) Well, come to find out, they didn't really stick it in my neck...it was more down at my shoulder level. He numbed me with a novocaine shot first, so I really didn't feel anything other than pressure when he inserted the needle and injected the medicine. Only had a bandaid afterwards, too, like a normal needle stick. I will say that the room where they did it was rather intimidating, with all the sterile conditions, the huge x-ray machine and the 4 monitors hanging over it. But the actual procedure wasn't bad at all...took maybe 10 minutes. The prep time was longer than that.
I wish you luck and pain relief!!
Sincerely, Carla