mepa49

I have 3 levels of herniation in my cervical spine. In the Philippines I was told immediate surgery was needed. My husband and I proceeded to San Francisco immediately. I saw my doctor in sanfran and he gave me 4 options...1. immediate fusion surgery of 3 levels...2. immediate surgery of 2 levels with chance of more surgery in the future...3&4. have a caudal epidural steroid injection which will buy me time as artificial cervical discs will be approved later this year, then he will do a fusion combined with the artificial discs. I chose options 3&4. BTW, my problem is caused by arthritis in my cervical spine, the rest of my spine is very healthy. (There is always Good News, no matter how bad things may be is my philosophy!)

So I had the epi last Friday. It went well, the doctor was able to "flood four levels". Questions...Is it normal to gain weight after? I've gained 5lbs in 3 days!! I had steroid injections in both knees about 6 weeks ago, so wonder if I may have alot of steroids floating around my system. My whole body hurts, but that could be a fibromyalgia flare up because of the "trauma" of the epi.

As for the artificial discs, I asked the doctor about the chance of them becoming unscrewed and causing more damage. He told me that was a problem they were having in the lumbar and thoratic spine. The biggest problem in the cervical spine was producing discs small enough for that area and so far the test results of using artificial discs in cervical have been very good. I know they have been using artificial discs in Europe for quite a while.

I would like to know of how others have responded to epi injections and the side affects they may have had.
Thank you and keep smiling!