joesentme
Journeyman
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 93
Loc: USA
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My doctor is recommending a cervical epidural steroid injection, through a catheter, for several bulging and herniated disks. I also have bone spurs in my cervical spine. It would be done under anesthesia. He says it might take up to three times to reduce my pain, and that there is a 30% chance it won't work at all.
Has anyone ever had this done? Did it work for you? How long did the effects last? He tells me it is not dangerous, there are no side effects, and I won't even feel any pain from the procedure when I wake up. Is all of this true?
Is there anything else I should know or ask him before I consent to this?
~J~
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joesentme
Journeyman
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 93
Loc: USA
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Bump.
Is there ANYONE out there who has had this done? I've scheduled it for Friday, and am still unsure.
J
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cmerts
Journeyman
Reged: 05/29/04
Posts: 91
Loc: my house
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I have never heard of that before. Have you done a search on the internet to see if there is information out there for you? Try doing a google search for "cervical epidural" inside the quotes and see if that brings up anything for you.
Sorry I can't be more help, maybe someone here will respond with some info.
Good luck!
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Have you hugged your pet today?
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joesentme
Journeyman
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 93
Loc: USA
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Thanks for answering. There's a little bit out there on the web, basically the same stuff my doctor told me.
I was hoping to hear from somebody who had first-hand experience and could tell me if it's even worth it.
J
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trixxie
Member
Reged: 05/23/03
Posts: 123
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Waving hand!! I have..but you probably don't want to talk to me...mine went poorly. I am not the success case that the docs like to refer too. My new PMD says that the other doc didn't go high enough up on the cervical spine to do any good. I know that the numbness and shoulder pain is still there.
The ones I have had(last year) were done under versed, where I have no memory of what happened. There is some pain associated with it, but hey, we deal with pain every day. I would prefer that I be under for that type of procedure.
My current PMD is going to do the same procedure, with anesthetic, and see if she can "hit" the right spot, then do some kind of nerve burn. If the anesthetic works, where the pain is reduced or eliminated, then we will go fromt here. She is also going to do this without any type of versed. sigh...and she said it will hurt. another big sigh..
Please feel free to ask any questions, some get great relief from these procedures, but I personally will not allow any more cortisone to be injected into my system. If it works, then good, but if it doesn't then I think it still "floats" around in your system as well.
You are limited as to how many epidurals you can have in any given time frame(varies from doctor to different medical authority)3 in one year is what I have heard most frequently.
HTH
trix
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The truth shall set you free!
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joesentme
Journeyman
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 93
Loc: USA
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Thanks Trixie. To be honest, that is about what I expected to hear. The doctor even told me that there's a 30% chance the epidural could make things WORSE! I really don't know why I'm letting them do it, except for the fact that they won't treat me anymore unless I try this. Some things I will never understand.
Yes, my doctor said you can't have more than 3 of these, but he did not tell me that the cortisone floats around in your system, and he also told me it would be painless. I am getting Versed, but I've had it before, and it does absolutely nothing for me. He is mixing the Versed with something else, I forget what, so we'll see how it goes. I'll PM you afterwards.
I hope yours goes OK. Why will she not let you have any Versed or anything? Just take a few V's before you leave the house...hehe.
I did read on one website that you have to be in pain for the procedure to work correctly..??? The more I hear and read, the more I am not looking forward to this.
Oh, by the way, I told my doctor I was nervous about this epidural, so he writes me a prescription for ONE (yes, 1) valium. I was too embarrassed to even fill it.
~J~
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emtp3
Journeyman
Reged: 08/12/04
Posts: 71
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Goodluck with these, where I work they have had some great success with them, hopes this makes your outlook a little better 
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Fighting the "DOOM Dealer"
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doglover82
Board Addict
Reged: 11/20/02
Posts: 325
Loc: Idaho, US
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I have never had the cervical epidurals but I have had lumbar epiduarals. The first two I had didn't hurt at all. I didn't have any medication as I was driving myself and coming from a long distance. The third one hurt a lot. He had trouble getting it in the right place. He said it was because of spasms. I am not sure I believe that but I sure wish I had taken medication for that one. It didn't help as much as I would have liked it to. By the third one I felt really good. Went out mowed the lawn did a lot of activities but after about a week or so I felt bad again.
Good luck I know they do help a lot of people.
doglover
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trixxie
Member
Reged: 05/23/03
Posts: 123
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joe, check out "median cervical nerve block" that also might give you some answers as well. thats my next procedure.
Yippee kiyiyeah!!!
hey and check your pm's
trixxie
ps..I don't know if thats necessarily so, that you have to feel the pain for these to work. The epidurals I had, were completely under. Thats why I said perhaps you are going for the median cervival nerve block if the doc wants you awake?
Just a thought.
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The truth shall set you free!
Edited by trixxie (08/26/04 01:15 PM)
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IMSUSCOT1
Threadhead
Reged: 10/23/02
Posts: 882
Loc: usa
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I've had literally over 40 lumbar epidurals done, and they were helpful initially, but later did nothing to help my pain. And it DOES hurt to get it done, when they infuse the local anesthetic it burns like crazy, but it's tolerable. In Phoenix, getting epidurals is the price of admission if you will to getting a script for any real pain meds at all. If you're not willing to get the epidurals, the docs don't feel it's worth their time & trouble to treat you with pharmaceuticals only...too expensive for me, in terms of pain for something that doesn't help. I hope it works for you. The idea is the steroids reduce inflammation in the area, calms down the nerve roots and thus relieves your pain. How tru that is is truly individualized and the only way you'll know if it works for you is to try it. It does carry some risks, but if done by someone who has experience, the real risk for long term damage is pretty low. I'd try it if I thought it might help me, but if it didn't provide 4-6 months of real pain relief, I'd 86 the treatment. Just my opinion.
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trixxie
Member
Reged: 05/23/03
Posts: 123
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There is a period of 7-10 days to receive the full effect of the epidural...
hope all goes great for you!
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The truth shall set you free!
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trixxie
Member
Reged: 05/23/03
Posts: 123
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http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/showthread.php?t=34192
this is a braintalk.org I found that discusses a spineuniverse.com discussion regarding the spacing of epidurals..draw your own conclusions.
trix
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The truth shall set you free!
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joesentme
Journeyman
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 93
Loc: USA
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Thanks for all the info. IMSUSCOT1, you're right, if I don't want to try the epidural, they think I'm just looking for drugs. But they're asking me to try a procedure that they are telling me has a 30% chance of making it worse and a 40% chance of doing nothing at all. Does that sound logical to you?
Has anyone with the same problems had success with any procedure other than the epidural? Is there any other procedure available?
J
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