epidural

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bluestarsailor

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Hi out there. I have neck and back problems. My surgeon reccommended two epidurals. Do they work, and are they effictive.
 
It really depenRAB on the person and the doctors placement of the shot. If you read the board posts here there have been people with successful relief from shots and some who havent had relief. I herniated a disc for the 4th time and got 2 shots to hold me off till surgery. I was pain free after the second and about 4 weeks total spread of time. You can only inject one site 3x each year. One post person had so many shots over too many years that his bones were too weak for a fusion. My doctor used fluoroscope(xray) to get the position she wanted, which she determined from my MRI. Each doctor and patient is different. I had a very positive experience as a temporary help because my problem was movement in my vertebra the shot did not fix my problem it just helped me be pain free until I decided a permanent solution(fusion). Hopefully if you decide to get the shots they will work for you.
 
I've had epidural done a nuraber of times over the years. For me personally I had very little success with them. I may have had relief for several days after the 1st one. Then returned for a second one and no relief whatsoever. The last time I went to a pain doctor he recommended them and I kept telling him they dont work for me. He didn't get the message that I wasnt about to return to have it done again. I finally out of frustration said ill call you to set it up. I never called him. I am at the point that I won't do it any more.
Some may have had better success with epidural. Good luck!!!
 
I had luck with them for quite a while, eventually they stopped working for me. But for some they give sufficient relief to avoid any further intervention.
 
I have degenerative disc disease and have had numerous epidurals over the past 3 yrs with some success. The only problem is the relief is not really long term. I recently (2 wks ago) underwent a rhizotomy (google it) and it seems to be helping. You didn't say what your diagnosis was, so it depenRAB whether you would benefit from an epidural. Consult a pain specialist if you haven't already, good luck to you!
 
I second the advice from PEmom. I underwent quarterly epi injections for about 3 years prior to and inbetween two different laminectomies of L4/L5, I have DDD and spinal stenosis now spread to C-7/T-1 as well, got limited to no relief, then just found out last week when I had decided my quality of life sucked so bad I would go ahead with the spinal fusion (only out of desperation), but got a bone density (DEXA) test done and found out I have severe ostoporsis (-3.29) in my spine and now I can NOT get the fusion done. I posted this last week on the board. This is a total gamechanger for me, so beware and educate yourself. If I had to do it over, I would have never done the epi's but my doctors led me down that path (I know, I know, 20-20 hinRABight)

Please consider the fact these can (did with me I'm sure) lead to loss of bone density, then you're for sure SOL... Best of luck.:)


Bill
 
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