Pain intervention injections

Goldilocks123

I've been to see a pain management consultant due to back pain and he is sending me for pain intervention injections. Are these severe or costly and do they actually work? Has anyone been down this road?

Myrddin

Hi Goldilocks123 - I know you're not seeking medical advice as such, but I think your question is close enough to the medical subject that this thread isn't really suited to this forum (Accessibility & Mobility & Disability). I will instead move the thread to the Long Term Illness forum, where it stands a better chance of generating answers for you. I will however leave it locked, as the decision on whether or not it is too close to medical advice will fall on the moderators of the Long Term Illness forum.

Cheers
Myrddin

sam34

Happy to have this here as long as no medical advice provided. Personal experiences welcome.

byhookorbycrook

I have had epidurals for back pain and they sorted it out .

Goldilocks123

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

I have had epidurals for back pain and they sorted it out .

Great to hear you had a successful result. Hopefully I will also. Has anyone been down the alternative route I'd love to know how ye got on

Goldilocks123

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

I have had epidurals for back pain and they sorted it out .

Great to hear you had a successful result. Hopefully I will also. Has anyone been down the alternative route I'd love to know how ye got on

brettmirl

I've had two session of this done on my back this year in Vincents. If you are going for the same procedure I did, it's grand. You are in the operating theatre for approx 30-40mins, and will spend a couple of hours under observation after. I was sore for a day or two after, but nothing too bad.

I've on-going back issues, and will probably eventually need a spinal fusion, but for now, I've found these pain blocking injections, coupled with physio, to be a great help.

Goldilocks123

Thanks very much for your comment. It's great to hear other peoples experiences on the subject

Goldilocks123

Thanks very much for your comment. It's great to hear other peoples experiences on the subject

Goldilocks123

Thanks very much for your comment. It's great to hear other peoples experiences on the subject

livemusic4life

I have had literally dozens of all different types done in the last 4 years, with a variety of outcomes, from a few weeks pain relief to my current set of miracle jabs L3/L4, L4/L5,L5/S1 facet joint injections. It really is a case of trial and error a lot of the time where back pain is concerned. Pain specialists are some of the best trained doctors out there and won't subject you to anything unnecessary, be warned that some of the injections depending on the location can really hurt or be very uncomfortable but it doesn't last long. Best of luck with it :-) BTW regarding cost, I was told a grand each when I enquired before I got my medical card.

ulinbac

Epidurals are very good and can last anywhere from 18 months - 3 years.

Have had a large number of them, facet joint injections (7 in each of C3,4,5 and 1 in S1 and L5) and , cortisone injections (lost count get a number each time) and RFD treatment (same as facet).

Depending on where in the spine you get it, it can take from 10 -30mins. Usually have immediate relief. Its not painful just uncomfortable and though I tend to swear a lot on the table when doing it. Usually along the lines of (f**k, sorry, sh*t, sorry) . It's more about the anticipation than anything else. I'm usually discharged within 1 hour of procedure, but I'm a regular at this stage and can't stay in the bed long anyway as get bored so ship out asap

They are well worth the money but please don't think that once you get them thats it. You need to stretch (yoga and pilates are great).

I'm vhi so free but last bill was about €1500 that they paid. Well worth the money.

Goldilocks123

Wow! Great to hear you got pain relief from your treatments. I had cortisone injections since, were not 100% successful but it's great to know there's other options available. It's well worth having a health insurance though, it really takes the presure off the wallet

skallywag

I have/had hip impingement myself and had a cortisone injection which really helped. Pretty much complete pain relief for 3 months or so. Each individual case will be different of course, but I would get it done in a flash again if needed.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Just out of curiosity- when you have a cortisone injection, can you go back to 'normal' life ie jogging, lifting etc or does it just give a bit of pain relief and you still have to be careful with physical exertion?

skallywag

Zyaire Mushy Space-age wrote: »

Just out of curiosity- when you have a cortisone injection, can you go back to 'normal' life ie jogging, lifting etc or does it just give a bit of pain relief and you still have to be careful with physical exertion?

I can give you some feedback on the hip perspective at least.

My own condition involves having excess bone on the top of my femur which causes damage when rubbing off the cartilage in the hip socket. The pain I was feeling was from this area becoming inflamed. After the injection to the hip joint/socket though I started to feel relief ca 3-4 days after (apparently it's quite usual that it takes some days to kick in) and I had 3 months of practically full pain relief, and was able to return to sport. Because my underlying problem was still there however (i.e the excess bone) I was advised to shy away from pushing it to extreme on the bike, etc, i.e. to avoid new damage.

Just FYI, long term solution is an op to remove the excessive bone, which I had done 4 weeks ago.

ulinbac

Zyaire Mushy Space-age wrote: »

Just out of curiosity- when you have a cortisone injection, can you go back to 'normal' life ie jogging, lifting etc or does it just give a bit of pain relief and you still have to be careful with physical exertion?

Your physician will give you a good understanding of what is/is not allowed. They cannot give you a definitive answer as that can make them liable plus they can't be sure how much strain you will put on the injury.

It goes on a case by case basis. Mine were for pain relief but my injury was bad enough that I had to give up physical sports. Yours could be a lot different. That said I am in the gym lifting and Squatting (front squats) every day and they are not light weights. That said I stretch LOADS and my technique is very good most of the time. I can do this because of these injections and controlled movements.

If I did something like Crossfit with them I might as well keep rebooking in to get them done every month

Joanto1

skallywag wrote: »

I have/had hip impingement myself and had a cortisone injection which really helped. Pretty much complete pain relief for 3 months or so. Each individual case will be different of course, but I would get it done in a flash again if needed.

HI Scallywag you have said you had injection for hip impingement is that the femoral nerve as I never heard of having hip impingement nerve can you help me with an explanation as I feel,I may have just that. Thanks in advance