<p>First, let me say to all you CC’ers who have put off any physical challenge that is in the back of your head…do it now. You never know what is going to pop up as you get older. </p>
<p>I have had sciatic pain off and on for ten years. Until the past couple of months stretching helped as did a mixture of ice and heat. The pain has become chronic and keeps me from walking any distance. It kicks in when standing after a few minutes. Oddly enough, I can get through a tennis match but the result is pain for days afterward. </p>
<p>I finally went to a friend/orthopedist at Penn who took x-rays and discovered that I have a bone spur on my lower spine that is irritating the nerve. There are two treatment options, an oral medication that is a lesser dose of a drug for depression that they have discovered also gives relief from nerve pain or steroid injections (to be performed by a physician specializing in pain management) that would get rid of any inflammation caused by the irritation for chunks of time.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the oral med seems to work nicely on any arthritis and I will have enough of that down the road that I could well end up on it when I am older. I want to stay away from the oral meds for now because even at the lesser dose there can be side effects (some “loopiness” and/or possible weight gain) that I only want to deal with if it turns out this drug is the only option that works for me. </p>
<p>I have heard of shots in the shoulder, hip and knee but I am curious if anyone has had injections near the spine, how they felt afterward and how long they went between injections. </p>
<p>The doctor didn’t even put surgery on the table so I assume that they try every lesser treatment before going after a bone spur on the spine.</p>
<p>Ellen - I have been suffering from a pinched nerve in my neck since late January, I recently had an injection into my C7. Google ESI (Epidural steroid injection).</p>
<p>I opted not to have a sedative and I found the procedure tolerable. I did, however, have a serious reaction to either the steroid (Decadron) or the contrast dye (Omnipaque). They knew I had sulfa, sulfite and contrast dye allergies and since I am not a doctor, I didn’t realize the benadryl prep they gave me was not enough and too close to the time of the procedure. I remember the nurse saying, the order was for 50mg, but we are going to start you out with 25 and see how you do. I guess i didn’t do very well since 3 weeks later I still have a rapid heartbeat every time I am in a vertical position (including standing still)</p>
<p>The shot did relieve the pain. There is a limit to how many times per year you can have the procedure.</p>
<p>Go for experience. My ortho clinic has 2 ortho docs who spend their days giving shots. If you have allergies, make it known. If I ever had another injection, I would choose an anesthesiologist to administer the shot. For someone without allergies, an ortho who is very experienced should be fine.</p>
<p>What is the anti depressant they recommended?</p>
<p>I had the full series of injections in an effort to avoid surgery on my ruptured L5/S1 disc. Mine were several years ago so things could be different now, but I was only allowed 3 injections within a 12 month period. Although the first injection gave me significant relief for 3 weeks, the next 2 did not work. I was told that it was hard to predict the results - some patients get one injection and never need another while others find relief after the third and then there are those like me that it doesn’t really help. As it turned out, the rupture was unusually located and did require surgery, but the injections were certainly worth a try and were very tolerable. I was required to have someone drive me home from the procedure and I took it easy the rest of the day. The next day was business as usual.</p>
<p>Chronic back pain is a hard thing to deal with so I really hope you are able to find relief. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>I had a series of them after I ruptured my L4/L5 disk.</p>
<p>My doctor told me he does 800+ of them per year, he applied a local and then did the shot. I didn’t need a ride or anything.</p>
<p>Unfortunately they did not help me. I ultimately got surgery after a year of other treatment, when I got to the point where I couldn’t stand or walk for more than 5 minutes without having to sit down to relieve the pain. I got the package deal - laminectomy, microdiscectomy, facetectomy, and foraminotomy. It worked for me, most of the pain and numbness is gone.</p>
<p>If you get the shot, don’t let them show you the needle. Whoo boy. </p>
<p>I had the epidural steroid injections. Whether they help is very hit or miss. Mine were for a slight impingement/inflammation from a running injury. It was sort of a last resort. I am a wimp about injections and was really scared. It was truly a non-event. Slight sting from the local and then nothing from the actual ESI. I walked out and drove to work, although you aren’t supposed to. The third one did the trick for me, I think.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your replies and good wishes. I tried a recumbent bike at the gym for the first time yesterday and while it wasn’t as therapeutic as a long walk in the woods, it felt really good to work up a bit of a sweat. The sitting position didn’t bother the nerve as much as any of the aerobic machines where one is fully upright. </p>
<p>I don’t know why this is hitting me so hard…probably because it is the first age related discussion I have had when a doctor has spoken to me about growing OLD in that hand patting - we are all going to physically fail eventually - kind of way. I certainly know that there are people much more badly off and he was upbeat in his belief that I will be able to get some relief. I have to get over that the Everest climb just may not happen. ;)</p>
<p>Kajon, I cannot remember the name of the anti-depressant but the doctor mentioned a couple of drugs that must belong to the same group of medications. I will find out.</p>
<p>I would get a second opinion. You should see a neurologist, not an orthopedic doctor. </p>
<p>Shots and medication will not correct the bone spur. They will just mask the pain.</p>
<p>H had a cyst develop between two discs (natures way of growing protection between two damaged discs). The cyst pushed up against the spinal column causing numbness, tingling, and pain. After reaching the point where the numbness began effecting his grip and he found himself dropping things, he opted for surgery to correct the problem. </p>
<p>The surgery was a breeze. When he woke up from the procedure to remove the cyst (similar to what you describe as a bone spur), he was pain free. He spent one night in the hospital.
He basically didn’t have any recovery time----he had immediate relief and no pain. Looking back on it, he would have had the surgery sooner. Because he waited and the cyst was pushing against the spinal column for so long, he has some permanent numbness to the tips of two fingers. This is a result of having the nerves pinched for so long and has nothing to do with the surgery.</p>
<p>Definitely make an appointment with an excellent neurosurgeon.</p>
<p>My surgery was definitely not a breeze - extensive scarring and a congenitally narrow spinal cavity made my surgery difficult for the surgeon, and during removal of the scar tissue the dura got torn, which required lying flat on my back for 24 hours, not allowed to even sit up. This led to being catheterized (I don’t recommend that!) and an extra night in the hospital. </p>
<p>There was almost instant pain relief from the ruptured disk, but the pain from the 3 inch incision in my back required pain-killers for a few days. I had to spend a week at home before going back to work.</p>
<p>TMI, I know, but it’s major surgery and you can’t assume it will be a breeze.</p>
<p>nysmile is right. On the spinal area, do not do the shot unless a neurologist approves of it. Because of nerve damage in my triceps and 2 smallest fingers, I ended up having to see a neurosurgeon. My C6-7 disc area is encroaching into my spinal cord. The area is so squished my Neuro was not happy that an Ortho doc (with a current MRI) did the injection and even recommended a second shot. I have decided to have the laminectomy discectomy on one side to relieve the pressure and try to give my spinal cord some room. I am hoping for a successful procedure and I NEVER again want to experience nerve pain.</p>
<p>nysmile - did your H’s nerves repair themselves after the surgery?</p>
<p>Over time, he did regain feeling in most of the area as well as grip strength. He still has some numbness in a small area on the side of the tips of his first and second fingers in one hand. </p>
<p>His surgery to remove the cyst was performed at Stony Brook University Hospital and it was a breeze for him. Immediate relief. The incision wasn’t even stitched closed–they glued it shut.
He spent one night in the hospital and was back to work in two days.</p>
<p>Since then, he’s also had cervical disc surgery (discs collapsing because of arthritis). The surgery was again done at Stony Brook by the same neurologist. Again, he had immediate relief. You can’t even see the small scar because it’s hidden in the fold of his neck (surgeon went through the front of the neck to reach the damaged cervical discs). He spent 2 nights in the hospital for observation. It was a while ago, but I think he went back to work after about a week of resting and healing—very little post-op pain.</p>
<p>Many years ago, the bursitis in my shoulder was so painful that I could not lift my right arm. X-rays showed that a bone spur was the culprit and because it was in my shoulder, surgery was recommended. I had read of good results for acupuncture with bone spurs so I decided to try that first. I was pain free after several months. The pain was significantly better after a few weeks.</p>
<p>Like many others here, I dealt with degenerative disc problems for years (actually, decades). For awhile, the steroid injections did the trick. Unfortunately, over time, I developed a huge bone spur at C6-C7 which began putting pressure on my spinal cord, causing right sided numbness from arm to foot. A large bone spur is not going anywhere; the injections did nothing to help me (the docs had originally thought the problem must be a disc pressing on a nerve root). Once it was discovered that the source of my problems was a large bone spur rather than a herniated, inflamed disc and nerve root, it became pretty apparent that surgery was really the best option. It was my third opinion-a neurosurgeon, not an orthopod-who explored the possibility that it was a bone spur and not a herniated disc which was causing all the problems. It was a myelogram which finally revealed what was actually going on.</p>
<p>I had surgery through the front of my neck; the old disc was removed, the bone spur (and additional smaller ones) was removed and used again to fill the space between the vertebrae (instead of using a bit of hip bone as is often done, which saved me additional pain and trauma), and hardware applied to facilitate fusion. My numbness was cured immediately and apparently fusion is progressing quite well. </p>
<p>Mine was not an easy surgery, but was indeed necessary and I don’t regret having it. But I absolutely did not have surgery until I really had no other option. It’s not something to take lightly by any means, and the recovery was NOT fun. Fortunately, it’s all behind me.</p>
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