I wonder if anyone has noticed a weight gain after having an epidural, an SIJ injection, or facet joint injections. Have any of these steroid injections affected your mood or emotions?
I had all three injections in a 2 1/2 month period of time. I've gained a few pounds in that time period and I haven't changed my diet. (That in itself affects my moods. LOL) I also feel as if I'm on an emotional seesaw.
I know that steroids can affect weight and emotion.
No I have not noticed a weight gain from the injections but I know that since I hurt my back two years ago I have gained weight from not being able to be as active as I used to be. I think sometimes I eat because I am BORED!!
To be honest, dh says I tend to be a little more emotional.
steroids in any form make me manic. I go days without sleeping, and cant stop talking and eat everything in sight. I especially crave sweets. Not everyone gets these side effects but I do and they are actually listed on side effects in the patient info I have recieved.
Only thing they did to me was raise my sugar. It actually caused a yeast infection in my bladder. Doc. said it was from the shot. I was diabetic at the time. Pre Gastric Bypass. I say the weight gain is emotional. I know I am eating more while recuperating from fusion surgery.
I have had 4 locals and 4 Cortisone's twice once before my first operation and the 2nd lot of Cortisone after my 2nd operation and I have only gained weight after the insurance company stopped my gym and pool memberships because they want to close my case and wipe me off the books. I have weight gain and my whole body has swollen and I am very moody and very depressed I hate the way my body is turning out and the way I feel my surgeon wants to put in soft stabelisers to help my facet joint area. Boy I hope this works. sorry for rambling it is good to talk to other people with the same problem.
i don't think the shots made me gain weight. I think its the lack of excersize, because if we use to eat 2000 calories a day and were active, and still ate the same amount with no activity, right there we will gain weight. Then factor in the muscle loss, muscle burns calories quicker.
The first time I hurt my back I lost weight....I wish I would do that now instead of the ten lbs I have gained.
I had seven injections in a period of 2.5 months, they made me very irritable, unable to sleep, witchy, I did gain 2-4 pounds after each injection, but lost it within a week or so, water retention? Who knows.
My PCP told me no more cortisone as he thinks I now have adrenal insufficiency.
I hate the shots, not because they are painful (they are) but because they never worked for me.
I had seven injections in a period of 2.5 months, they made me very irritable, unable to sleep, witchy, I did gain 2-4 pounds after each injection, but lost it within a week or so, water retention? Who knows.
My PCP told me no more cortisone as he thinks I now have adrenal insufficiency.
I hate the shots, not because they are painful (they are) but because they never worked for me.
HL
I was under the impression you should have no more than 3 in a year or am I confused??
I was under the impression you should have no more than 3 in a year or am I confused??
I've read the same thing on the web, although I haven't had my question specifically answered... I've had one SI joint injection and I am going for my 2nd epidural on Tuesday. Is it a total of 3 shots per year anywhere (for me, 1 SI joint and 2 epidurals would be it)? Or, is it a total of 3 in one specific area (for me, 1 SI joint and 3 epidurals)?
In answer to the original question, I've noticed sleeplessness the first few nights and nervousness for a few weeks after. Weight gain was listed as a side effect but I think mine is more from overeating during the holidays more than anything else.
My MD told me that the medical guideline is no more than 3 in a year, however, that would depend on the administered drug. No more than 3 steroid shots in a year.
Hi! I have had a lot of steroid shots over the last 2 years. At first, I did not think they caused weight gain or emotional ups and down. But the last set I received in November, I was so hungry! And I felt more emotional. I think it might depend on how many shots you have had recently.
I was told no more that three shots per year in a single area of the body. For example, I have had 2 knee injections, one series of facet injections, and one set of sacroiliac shots in 2006. I also had one "prednisone pack" (oral prenisone). Kera
I thought it was 3 shots because I have had 2 epidural and 1 selective nerve block with steroid injections and the surgeon said no more this year. With that said, I had zero relief with the epidural and about 36 hours of relief with the selective nerve block.
I think the rule of 3 is for one particular area, the injections I received were all over my lumbar spine and SI joints. The only injection that worked was a selective nerve root between L4-5, which is where I had my fusion. All of the others did not work. I would really like to know what the protocol is for diagnosing the source of pain using epidural injections.
my pain dr said no more than 6/yr.
but along w/those cortisone injections, i was also recieving facet inj. which he said was ok, b/c it was different meds. who knows, it seems like everyone tells me something different..
i have gained a lot of weight, like 25-30lbs. i dont think it's b/c of the shots, just cuz i'm inactive and still eating as much.
but i'm very very emotional after a steroid injection. infact, my husband has to let me go lay down away from the kids or else i flip out on them...after a nap, i feel better. my hubby was the same w/his injecitons, needed to be left alone, and is very snappy.
good luck w/the weight gain. i'm also very depressed over it, mostly b/c before my injury i was very small, now i'm very big, and nothing fits!!
the water exercise classes are good, i did it at the y for a while, it doesnt hurt, but it is like $40-50/mo.
When evaluating the potential for side effects from any given drug, there are several things to consider. One issue to think about when it comes to steroids is how was the steroid administered and for how long? Someone who takes a large daily dose of prednisone by mouth to prevent the rejection of a transplanted kidney or treat some other type of systemic inflammatory disease is going to have a much larger exposure and therefore risk of side effects than someone who is applying a steroid cream topically to some poison ivy for a few days. An epidural steroid injection falls somewhere in the middle of these two examples, but in the whole scheme of things its really closer to the topical cream example than the daily oral dose example. The injection is given into a confined area of the body where the drug mostly has a localized effect. The drug slowly diffuses out of the epidural space over about 2 weeks (this timeline can vary depending on the actual steroid used by the doctor), and the amount that is present in the systemic circulation at any given time is very small. Weight gain, moodiness, increased blood sugar, etc are all examples of systemic side effects from steroids. Although they are theoretically possible from the use of an epidural steroid, the risk of them occurring is much smaller than it would be for the patient on the daily oral dose scenario.
So to try to sum this all up, although such side effects could possibly occur after a steroid epidural, and probably do occur for a rare patient or two out there in the world, most people probably won't have those types of side effects from the epidural administration of a steroid. Because there is a small risk of those side effects, most patients are warned of the possibility. In my mind, its like warning someone that they could possibly get struck by lightning. Its possible, people do get struck by lightning, but it really isn't very probable.
I agree that weight gain for most of us (myself included, I've gained 20 pounds since August) is more likely a result of our back pain decreasing our activity levels. Also, I know that I've been kinda bored as I've been off work and recovering from my spine surgery. And a favored boredom reliever for me has always involved food in a variety of forms! I've been cooking more, snacking more, and eating more I'm afraid. I made a pork roast for dinner yesterday that was to die for! And to be honest before this illness/surgery I can't ever remember making a pork roast before in my life. So although I would love to blame the steroid epidural I had back in October for my weight gain, I think I really need to blame myself.
Anyone know, is Jenny Craig still running a New Year's special?
I also find that when I take my medicine in general I need to eat something to coat the stomach and lately I have been taking medicine frequently around the clock so it is okay to eat. Right? After all, I am doing it so I don't have a stomach ache so it must be okay.
Yes, I definitely gained weight and got big time moonface from the epidural injections. I had 3 shots over 6 weeks and boy did I puff up. It was very odd, though...because in the past I have been on oral prednisone for 8 months and this did not happen at all. From what I have researched, supposedly the shots don't really affect people systemically...but for me they definitely did!
And I knew when the shots wore off because I suddenly developed a terrible flare...and my body and joints hurt and swelled in places they never did before. About 4-5 months after they wore off is when everyone noticed (including my rheumy) that my moon face was gone..and people had asked if I lost weight.
Baybreeze, I had a bit of a 'moonface' after my facet joint injections.
My husband and I went to dinner with friends we hadn't seen in a while, and my gal friend asked me if I had had a face lift! I rather liked the minor swelling that occurred! LOL
I did notice a weight gain, over the 3 months that I had 3 injections, maybe 5 lbs. I'm slowly losing it though.
However, I have just been put on a 'diminishing dosage' of oral Methylpred 4MG for 6 days. (pregnasone) I started the PAK yesterday. This morning I thought that my usual sciatic pain was much less. However, I have pain in some of my joints, particularly my big toe. Also, I was so itchy on my calve, where I get the sciatic pain, that I scratched so hard that my nails left what looks like blood tracks under the skin. I don't feel any other side affects. I'm hoping I don't puff up again.
I've been cooking more, snacking more, and eating more I'm afraid. I made a pork roast for dinner yesterday that was to die for! And to be honest before this illness/surgery I can't ever remember making a pork roast before in my life. So although I would love to blame the steroid epidural I had back in October for my weight gain, I think I really need to blame myself. 
After all, I am doing it so I don't have a stomach ache so it must be okay. 
