Re: Re: Epidurals THANKS Y'ALL

[Guest guest]

I have my appointment today with the pain Doc, so I am going to ask him to

do it for me. Thanks for all the replies.

Heidi M

On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 7:45 PM, <man_u8@...> wrote:

> Heidi,

>

> I was head of authorizations for a large pain management facility in

> Southern California for many years. I am not a doctor or a health

> care provider; but I did have to present cases in front of medical

> directors at insurances companies, so I am familar with alot of

> clinical data.

>

> Epidural steroid injections (ESI) can help with the pain of bulging

> discs. It's not like an epidural that is used in labor. The epidural

> that you would have done would be a steroid to help w/ the

> inflammation. (It's not a high dose, so common side effects say like

> an oral steroid like predisone are not a concern). The steroid would

> be injected into the epidural space. You would be able to walk

> afterwards and you would still have feeling in your lower body.

>

> There are differnt types of lumbar epidural steroid injections. It

> would depend on the approach. From my experience, most patients found

> relief with a transformainal approach. Some get relief right

> away...others it can take a few days or no relief at all. My former

> collegues would recommend a series of 3 epidurals over a course of a

> few months depending on if you find relief. If you do get relief from

> the 1st injection, it can last a few weeks to a few months.

>

> Depending on you, you can chose to have a straight lumbar ESI in the

> office. If your nervous about getting an ESI, I would recommend

> getting it done at an outpatient surgery center. There you can have

> an ESI done under fluoroscopy (x-ray guidance). There the doctor can

> see exactly where the epidural is going, as to in the office where

> he's doing it " blindly " and by touch. A nurse would give you local

> medication via IV (a mild sedative) to help you stay still during the

> procedure and to calm your nerves. Transforaminal lumbar ESI's can

> only be done w/ fluoro. If you elect to have the ESI done at an

> outpatient surgery center, you need to have someone drive you home.

> Many patients who have an ESI done w/ fluoro tend to have relief

> immediately, but that is due to the IV medication and not from the

> ESI itself. ESI's can be done under general anesthesia for patients

> who wish to go that route.

>

> If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.

>

>

>

>

> >

> > Hello again,

> > Has anyone had any luck with epidural injections in the spine? The

> Dr said

> > there was only a 50% chance it would help but I have two bulging

> discs at

> > the lumbar area. It seems I cannot get the pain to lessen with

> anything

> > except it will decrease some if I use a heating pad. I also have

> DJD in that

> > area.How long does it take to work if it does, and will they do it

> in the

> > office? Thanks for any advice.

> >

> > Heidi M

> >

> >

> >