Last time I wrote, about cortisone shots and feeling good. I definitely wanted to make a self fulfilling prophesy. I'm embarrassed to admit to the good advisors, you know who you are, what I did. I rode my horse eight day after and was using extreme care and felt comfortable and stronger in the saddle than I had felt in a long time just walking. When I went to dismount I forgot and hit ground the way I did ten or fifteen years ago. My back if it could speak said NOOOOOOOOOOOOO some pain, weak legs ect ect. Before my craniosacral lady commented on how for the first time I lay on her table with out a twist to my torso down on the right side and my right hip elevated. There still was some residual benefits to the cortisone after laying low again. The follow up visit to the spine Dr we discussed the next move. She once again spoke of the abnormality in my right hip if it is congenital or did I remember a time with pain when I was about ten. The surgeon felt it was abnormal but the joint is intact. The of shoot of this is that I will be having a epidural on 6 nerves I hope it will answer questions or help. I'm worried about how this will work if i will be able to answer the pain ?s.
Do you have any more information about what tests the doctor (is this a pain management doc?) is planning? I don't quite understand the point of injecting several levels at one time if it is for diagnostic purposes? Or is the doctor talking about doing a discogram? I think you should get more information about what is being done and why before you let someone stick needles in your spine.
Dear Teteri66 I postponed the Caudal Epidural that was sceduled for today until tomorrow and asked that the Dr or the PA-C explain more about the Epidural unfortunately I never spoke to either. The receptionist called back with the message from the Dr the possible side effects are nerve injury, bleeding, infection, allergic reaction or it would not be helpful the same as cortisone and the goal is pain relief the diagnosis is lumbago,spondylosis lumbar without myelopathy, pain in limb. It seemed that the goal was pain relief but epidurals for labor are effective for a short time but are their other kinds? I did not have a epidural for labor we got to the hospital 30 minutes and 15 minutes for the second. Is this a pain management clinic, this is a mystery to me exactly what they are. It is called ------Spine and Sport Center they have 4 branches around our area, physical therapist, do cortisone and epidurals, and other drugs, where recommended by my primary dr initially and a friend speaks highly of. Some of the things I would like to know beside duration of epidurals is if the nerves will be less responsive I already feel like my limbs are only getting part of the impulse- signal.
OK...this makes a bit more sense to me. I was thrown off by the comment about the injection for six nerves, but in the last post you mention you are having a caudal...so now it makes sense.
From what I can tell, you are having a steroid injection and rather than being injected where the desire is to place the steroid as close to the nerve as possible, it will be done caudally. The procedure will feel pretty much the same to you as a regular ESI. But it will be placed in the epidural space in the sacral opening, and the medicine is floated in so that it will bathe a number of nerves.
I assume it is being done for pain management. If at all possible, despite what your doctor may tell you, try to go home and stay off your feet as much as possible for the first 48-72 hours. I hope I didn't tell you this before...I lose track who I've mentioned something to...anyway, most doctors will tell the patient that they should take it easy for the rest of the day and may then resume "normal" activities the following day.
I had steroid injections through the years with four different doctors...and only one insisted that his patients stay home from work and lie on the couch or in bed for a minimum of 3 days post injection, and his injections were the only ones that ever "worked" for me. But a chiropractor whose husband had severe spinal problems and received injections on a frequent basis had told me the same thing.
The reason is that unlike when a doctor shoots cortisone into a knee or wrist, for example, it is going into an epidural space rather than directly into a muscle or tendon. It is placed into an undefined space, so the more the patient is on his/her feet, walking around, the heart pumps more, the blood circulates more and, as a result, the medication gets pushed through the body faster.
If on the other hand, the patient takes to her bed and is a couch potato, the medication pools in the desired area, bathing the nerves, for a longer period of time, which increases the chances for the steroids to work their magic.
I think I only had one caudal and my recollection is that I didn't feel like doing much more than lying on the couch after the procedure. It was not a hardship to stay off my feet for a couple days. You should use ice for the pain as directed by your doctor.
Remember that the steroid will probably not start working for the first 48 hours...so just be patient. Hopefully you will get good relief from this injection...and you will take it easy for awhile and give yourself a good chance to recover.
Epidurals for labor are only for pain relief and are not meant to be therapeutic in nature. They use a relatively short-acting anesthetic to numb the woman. You will not be having anything that will make you numb. There will be something for pain relief and then the steroid is given to calm the nerves, to reduce any inflammation and to help the body jumpstart the healing process.
One never knows how long a steroid injection will have an effect. Some people have little relief from them (me, for example) while others have all their pain symptoms relieved and they are able to get back to something approaching "normal." You just never know which group you will fall into until after you 've had the injection...and just because you reacted one way one time, it doesn't mean that you'll have the same reaction another time. Each injection is a unique experience.
Good luck. Let us know how you are doing!
The Following User Says Thank You to teteri66 For This Useful Post: Serial (05-01-2012)
Yesterday In the morning I thought I would answer the question, is the caudal epidural working or not. I woke thinking no, I took pain drugs to fall asleep and woke feeling weak. I used the elliptical machine for the first time after the injections it is important physically and emotionally also I haven't done any of the back stability exercises since Thursday. Things started to improve i cleaned out our rain gutter standing on a ladder that is demanding of you core and back and I felt ok. Some improvement and some disappointments is my conclusion. Here's a question, when I went to a chiropractor ( relative ) he had me lean forward and he put his hands on each vertebra and had me sit up as he pushed. It seems as if he was trying to increase the lardosis. The impression I got is that core muscles weaken and pull your lumbar towards your bellybutton and that is why the pelvic neutral exercises are recommended. I have some ideas about that. I apologize for poor writing skills, sometimes it is a struggle to get thought from brain to writing.
I don't mean any offense, but it seems to me you are destined to continue to have back issues! You went up a step ladder and cleaned out the gutters??
I guess the concept of moderation isn't part of your make-up! It takes more than a few days for the cortisone to have a beneficial effect. You have to give it a chance to work beyond the point of you simply not feeling bad pain. Otherwise, you are never going to heal.
I'm afraid you are just too impatient to give yourself enough time that will allow the body to heal. No doctor can do anything about that....
It takes more than a few days for the cortisone to have a beneficial effect. You have to give it a chance to work beyond the point of you simply not feeling bad pain. Otherwise, you are never going to heal.
