Posted , 3 users are following.
Had a cortisone back injection for sciatica two months ago. This did not work at all. Am I wasting my money going for a second one if the first one failed? Gabapentin tablets didn't do any good either. This problem is ruining my life.
0 likes, 5 replies
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mike23582 Soxy
Posted
I'd get the second one but don't get your hopes up. Someteims the first will do nothing, if teh second helps get teh third if it doesn't don't bother with any more. I've had at least 12 over 10 years and they have never done a thing.
My dad on the other hand always had success when he had them. Good luck. Have you gotten an MRI yet? I would highly recommend it otherwise they are flying blind with what is wrong with you. They don't even know where to pin point the shot without one and those shots need to be dead on the money.
Soxy mike23582
Posted
Yes have had an MRI scan. Cyst causing problem pressing on nerves. Will have another and hope I'm as lucky as your dad!
CHICO_MARX Soxy
Posted
You have to find the ROOT CAUSE of the problem and if it needs to fixed by a chiropractor or neurosurgeon. Everything else is a waste of time and money.
Soxy CHICO_MARX
Posted
I do know the root cause of it. You seem very sure of your facts. Perhaps what has not worked for you might just work for someone else as we are all different. I'm presuming you are in the medical profession?
CHICO_MARX Soxy
Posted
No, I'm not. However, I've been married into the medical profession for most of my life. At 69, this will be my 28th operation in 17 years (mostly minor stuff but three of those ops have put 4 1/2 pounds of metal in me) so my family and I are well-informed consumers of medical information.
That said, I'm talking from having a lot of experience with sciatic pain over the course of my life. I played hockey for 45 years, and there were times I would fall while skating without pads and threw out my hip. In such a case, you know it's from a trauma and a simple fix with a chiropractor is the usual solution. Five years ago, I had a lot of sciatic pain. When the chiro and pain shots didn't work (the second was required by insurance before I could see a neurosurgeon), the MRI showed something at L4/L5 but not clearly. Only when the neuro went in did he find the bone spur. Laminectomy...one day in the hospital...pain free.
Had a knee replaced almost a year ago; five weeks into the recovery, I started developing sciatica again. X-ray showed locked SI joints that the chiropractor could fix. Easy. Then at 8 months, I got it down both legs. That condition is NOT sciatica and is definitely spine related...easy to figure that out. MRI plus a CT/Myelogram with contract confirmed stenosis which ALWAYS requires a surgical fix...unless you want to be on drugs forever.
What I'm saying is that drugs and pain shots only alleviate symptoms; they do not address the underlying problem. If you have a bone spur crushing a nerve root then no drug or pain shot will really ever help you...surgery is the fix...period. If you know you have a cyst impinging on your nerves, then you know the root cause. See a surgeon and get it done. Why live with the pain? I'm a month away from surgery and wish it was tomorrow!
When I have a problem like this, I ALWAYS find a doc who will tell me what the real issue is. I don't stand for being handed a bottle of pills and then sent quietly on my way. I want to know the root cause and how to fix it. Luckily for me, everything I've encountered has had a solution. From trigger fingers and carpal tunnel, through gallbladder removal and stomach resection, to artificial hip, knee and spine fusion, there's always a solution to the pain...even if it's cancer, as my daughter is now cured of the same thing that killed her mother.
If you're worried about surgery, that's completely understandable and absolutely valid. I think of it as going to sleep, waking up and being pain free...but then again, I've had it done so many times that I just don't even reflect on it anymore. Get the cyst removed...get back to enjoying life.