i am going to hospital this week to have cortizone"cant spell" injection in spine.?

Question

are there any real risks with this treatment longterm, or side affects i should worry about.? i dont want to be dependent on painkillers. anyone been or is in same predicament.or know of any alternative treatments, that dont involve longterm medication.

Answer 1

There are risks with this treatment, just like any treatment. The main problem with a hydrocortisone injection (the form of cortisone you will have) is an allergic reaction to it. There are other problems associated with it, but those are mostly related to long-term use of it (continual, not sporadic injections).

Its main purpose in the form of an injection is as an anti-inflammatory, usually delivered to places that painkillers either aren't reaching, or when the pain is severe enough that something stronger is needed.

I had wrist problems for years that got to the point that I needed a hydrocortisone injection to control the pain. Your body becomes tolerant to the injections over time and I found that, while the first injection gave about 6 months of relief, after about 3 more injections the pain relief lasted only a couple of weeks.

I don't know what it'll be like for you, but for me they mixed the injection with local anaesthetic. This, however, means that, while the anaesthetic will kick in and kill the pain and discomfort from the actual procedure, until that happens it is VERY uncomfortable, but that is a small price to pay for the long-term relief afterwards.

Alternative treatments really depend on the problem and you're best to discuss them with your doctor while the injections are working well, so that when they start to be less effective you can start alternative methods of treatment before they wear off completely.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I've had 5 cortisone injections in my C-spine. Don't worry..REALLY. If it's anything like mine the first thing you'll get is IV started(usually a heperin lock). My doc used to use a drug called Versed(spelling?) and some other drug. If they do it this way you won't remember a thing. Trust me you'll do fine. GOOD LUCK with your pain control. Narcotics don't work on nerve pain very well by the way. My doc just put on a drug called Nuerontin, a non narcotic for treating nerve pain so I'll see how well it will work for me. Heck, GOOD LUCK to both of us(LOL!)

Answer 3

Have a family member who has had it done a couple of times without incident. Solutions would really depend on what is wrong with your back. I would recommend seeing an osteopath. Conventional doctors/medicine kill the pain without finding or removing the cause of it. An osteopath may have a better treatment for you. You may be able to get referred to one by your GP depending on where you live.

Answer 4

I had absolutely NO side effects and I have had two shots so far within 7 years. The first one hurt alittle while being preformed but the second one I chose a different doctor and it was absolutely painless !!

Best Wishes on getting some pain relief !! : )

Answer 5

What exactly is the cortisone shot for? I had a couple in my tailbone and the pain was bad for about a week after. Then it subsided, the pain relief only lasted for a few weeks on me. Good Luck, I hope you have better results. www.coccyx.org

Answer 6

I had one and wouldn't do it again. It didn't work cause the doc didn't do it right and all he did was cause me pain. I would think twice about this procedure. Messing with your spine is not a good thing. Good luck if you decide to do it.

Answer 7

Side effects are rare.
It is lot better than having a spine op.
Usually works well - so stop worrying.

Answer 8

yes u will have pain even worse if u let them stick a needle in your back,the wrong move thay could parlize u,my ex husband had that done and it did work.i have artrist and i use the pain patch thay work awesome.

Answer 9

WEIGHT GAIN, FLUID RETENTION , STOMACHE UPSET ..