I had an epidural steroid injection yesterday, my back hurts worse

[Timefortruth]

than ever. I can't bend or roll over. The only position where I don't hurt al ot is flat on my back. Why? They didn't warn me about this.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Call the doctor's office...do you have any other symptoms? headaches?

Your back should not hurt worse from an epidural but the epidural is more to relieve the leg pain than the back pain. Try icing your back for tonight, but if you have headaches, call your doc or go to the ER if they are strong headaches...

I am not intending to alarm you but if a shot is improperly administered, it can cause a spinal fluid leak. This would be accompanied by severe back pain and a severe headache.

[Timefortruth]

3. No headache.

Just bad pain around the injection site.

I did also have leg pain prior but my back was worse.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. Then it is probably muscle spasm from the injection

Again..try icing it..ice is a very good pain reliever and some gentle stretches.

[Timefortruth]

11. Trying frozen peas as I type.

Maybe some Flexeril also, it hadn't occurred to me that it could be a muscle spasm, the shot hurt like hell and I did tense up. Thanks.

[BattyDem]

2. Same thing happened to me

The injections did nothing for the original pain, it just made things worse! I also had the injections in my neck and couldn't move it for a few days because the pain was so bad and I had a horrible headache. Never again. :-(


On edit: Forgot to mention ... ice helped, but it did take about 3 days for the muscle pain from the epidural to subside.

[Timefortruth]

4. Bummer, three days?

If the pain ultimately goes away it might be worth it.

[Cheswick2.0]

5. that happened to me once out of three times I had those injections

call your doctor. It is not life threatening but I know exactly how you feel. Also try some ice on it.

[Timefortruth]

6. I'll call in the morning.

How long did yours last? What did your doctor say caused it?

[Cheswick2.0]

10. mine lasted a few days

The doctor said they hit a bad spot with the injection. Even the injection itself hurt worse that the other two times.
Honestly, the other two injections I had were well worth it. But the painful one I am not so sure about.

[Timefortruth]

The shot really hurt.

They gave me an iv of something but it didn't touch the pain.

[BlackVelvet04]

7. Doesn't sound right.

I would suggest you call your doctor if this is the first time you've had that injection. I had cortisone injections in my back before and didn't have that happen.

BTW, I had back surgery 11 years ago and suffered a lot of pain. The only thing that has truly gotten rid of my pain is time in the jacuzzi. If I had known that a hot tub would do away with my back pain I would have begged or borrowed the money for one a long time ago. Yes, a hot tub can be expensive, but this is the first time in 20 years I've been PAIN FREE!

[DemBones DemBones]

9. FWIW, a friend's husband had this done and it helped.

I don't know if he had pain afterwards. Cortisone shots have always helped me, too.

[B Calm]

12. You do know that you can take this orally? I have had injections

and taken them orally. They helped my back for about a week and then I was right back where I was before the injection. Since then I have had two back surgeries, The second surgery was to clean up the mess left by the first surgeon. My back is a lot better now, and I don't regret having surgery.

[Timefortruth]

14. The steroid pills hurt my stomach.

I'd love to be able to avoid this.

[Beausoir]

13. Wait another 48 hours.

Meanwhile, take ibuprofen, put some ice on it. Gently stretch.

If it's not better by then, call your doc.

[lumberingbear]

15. It can take maybe as long as 1 or 2 weeks for you to notice a change

This is a steroid not a pain killer. When the steroid reduces the inflammation the piched nerves quit hurting.

(I've had 2 since November and the first one took 8 days before noticable relief occured!)

[B Calm]

16. Alternative medicines... My 87 yr old dad recomends

a product called Cetyl Myristoleate distributed by: Brower Enterprises P.O. Box 277 Canton, SD 57013 1-800-373-6076

They might have a web site, I don't know...