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I have been suffering from lower back pain for a long time. Most of the doctors attribute it to a bad disk (L5-S1). Nothing has worked to relieve the pain, and not the doctors wan tme to have an epidural pain block to see if that helps. Has anyone had this done, and can you comment on the effectiveness and sde-effects

2007-02-14 04:28:57 · 3 answers · asked by answerman2222 1 in Health General Health Care Pain & Pain Management

3 answers

Unfortunately the doctors have to go through this process because the insurance companies have this retarded checklist that they have to follow. The Epidurals are a 50/50 chance. For some people they work fine, for others they do not. I was one of the "DO NOT" patients. There are no real side effects if they are done correctly. You will need someone to drive you home because your legs could go numb for a period of time, but don't worry the feelings will come back. Most doctors do these in a series of shots because it is a steroid. The purpose of the shot is to relieve the pain and to shrink the Disc, hoping it will go back in place. If you experience no relief of pain they will only do two or three shots.

If you have a good doctor and nurse you will never see the needle. With the first shot you might experience a lot of pressure in your back but it is not bad. After that you will know what to expect and the visit won't be as stressful. The Epidurals are worth a try. Who knows you might be in the top 50%

2007-02-14 05:01:29 · answer #1 · answered by shabby92 2 · 0 0

I've had 5 sympathetic blocks, and to say they really were not that bad. They made my pain in my leg go away for about a week or two (I have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome/Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy which is a neurological condition), so now I have gone to more long term solutions for my pain, but the blocks worked well for the first step treatment for my pain. I was lying down on the OR table on my stomach and then they gave me a little bit of sedation medication to relax me. This is an x-ray guided needle so you don't have to worry too much about it going into the wrong place. Then they inject the medication and then you are done, it's only about a 15 minute procedure, and then about another hour to recover from the sedation before you go home. I would suggest talking to your doctor about the procedure and your concerns. Good luck!

2016-03-29 06:19:33 · answer #2 · answered by Marie 4 · 0 0

I've never had it done but I used to work for an Orthopedic Surgeon in Houston. When the patients had severe back pain that was not helped by therapy the Dr. would recommend they get it done. I would ask different patients about their results and most of them were glad they had it done. Some say that it alleviated the pain tremendously and others said it didn't really help them at all. I suppose it depends on your body and how severe the injury is. Personally, I would get it done before any invasive surgery. Good Luck, I hope I helped a little bit!

2007-02-14 04:39:27 · answer #3 · answered by Butterfly 2 · 0 0

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