epidural shot to neck | Arthritis Information

Ive lost alot of range of motion in my neck and have also had alot of pain in the last month, nothing seems to help Im on 17.5 mtx humira avinza and percocet, and still no relief for the neck. My pain dr wants to do what he called an epidural shot in the neck next week which he said should help if not he said they could try doing shots into the facet joints on each side of my neck, Has anyone ever had this done? If so does it work? and how painful is the procedure? I understand that they use and ultrasound machine while they do the injections.

We did them where I work. Alot of patients sweared by them, others have said they'd never have another.

Our Dr.'s would give them some versed in an iv, to make them relaxed and not feel as much. An ultrasound is used to make sure the Dr. gets the needle in the right spot. Once he finds the spot that he thinks is right he injects medication to stop the pain (hopefully).

Every now and then a patient will get one injection and it have fixed the problem and they won't need another for years. Most of the time patients get a series of 3 injections over a couple of months, then take holiday for 2 or 3 months, whatever the Dr. recommends.

Some say it's very painful, others say it's not bad.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Versed causes temporary amnesia, if they are going to use that and some good pain meds, I would be willing to give it a try...otherwise, I would be too chicken. It doesnt sound like anything I would want to be awake for. Versed is good stuff.

Make sure you discuss possible problems and complications thoroughly with the physician. I am very nervous about infection risks, because my boss' father had the series of three epidurals and then just kept getting sicker! It took 4 months to figure out that he had an infection in his spinal column, which ultimately caused swelling on his brain. Thankfully he is recovering, but it is a slow climb back, and he is living in a rehab center. I am sure that sort of thing is very rare, but please ask lots of questions first.

Hillhoney, that is not as rare as they want us to think. A new Mom died from the epidural injection. The infection went to her brain and she died within days, leaving a newborn and her husband. A devastating thing for all concerned So far this doesnt sound like a very good option especialy being on the mtx. What do you suppose caused the infections from the shots? Im sorry to hear about your dads experience hillhoney, Im thinking this may not be a good way to go

I'm just curious what your RD says about this. The neck is such a vulnerable place for RA. Did they do an MRI to see if you have damage there? If you haven't had an examination, tests and a good discussion with your RD first, I wouldn't even consider it. RA in the neck can be extremely serious. And I haven't read that it is being treated with cortisone shots.

You have to be careful with these pain doctors. They can be wonderful or they can be terrible. My daughter had a wonderful one that gave her epidermal shots in her back for a bulging disc. It was a series of three and it gave her tremendous relief for about two years. It wasn't extremely painful or stressful. But she doesn't want to go that route again because they just wore off.

I hate her present pain doctors who just keep pumping her up with medication and don't seem willing to try anything else. I cannot get her to change.

I would get a lot more information before taking this step.

usmmom, I just think it's important that you educate yourself about risks first. I know some states are passing laws requiring hospitals to provide patients with information about their infection rates. I think that is important, and helps encourange hospitals and doctors to be more diligent about protecting their patients from infection.

I don't want to stop you from doing this, just because of the experience my boss's father had. It may be an excellent solution for you and the problems you are having. I just want you to go into this fully informed.

My second epidural went fine, only lasted 4 months. In July of 2005 I had the third. 14 days later the same kidney infection. This time I was ready and rushed to the doctor. They started the antibodics right away. That illness last 8 months, I have seen 7 doctors. The imunologiest said he had never seen lab results like mine. He said I had a imune disorder from unknown sorce. The reumotologist said I had firbromalgia. Now the new reumotologist said I have PA. I really think the epidural knocked out my imune system and all these dieases have taken over. One surgeon said I could be the 1 in 4000 that could have a reaction to an epidural. I made sure they have put that on my chart so I will never have another one. Who one know if they are allergic to the surum or not? Ask questions before doing anything, and have a good back up. The doctor that did mine left town.

It doesn't matter if the damage is OA or RA as far as the MRI goes. But long term, it could matter a great deal of difference to you in what is the best treatment plan. Also, there is the possibility that the neck pain could be referred pain from say your shoulder as they are telling me. Your RD would be the one to talk to about that. But be sure the doctor physically examines you and checks for range of motion, etc. Be clear how much daily impact it is having on your life. We often forget to mention that and since we look healthy (per se), how can they know unless we tell them.

I'm really glad you're going to discuss this with your RD. That's really smart. Please update us when you find out more.

usmmom, at our facility any patient receiving a pain injection is required to have an MRI first. I had two injections in my neck and I didn't have any pain from it. They didn't give me anything to relax me. They did mine under X-ray not sound. I had 2 and it helped. They numbed the area with marcaine and then put a needle and when they take the needle out there is tube which they put long lasting steroids in the right area. It doesn't take long and I found it not painful at all. I did have a bit of moon face and hunger after the second one. He wanted to do the facet joints in my low back and I'm not ready for that. They do that as a diagnostic tool then if you have relief they go back in and burn the nerve. Hope this helps. Pat

Hi usmmom, I had epidural injections (2) in my cervical spine several years ago without any flouroscopy, which is live x-ray, to guide them. They were done about 3 weeks apart, if I recall, and they didn't hurt too bad when I got them, except for some times when he hit some places in my neck and I felt it in my leg. But for 2-3 days afterward I was in total agony, and I really do deal with my pain pretty well. I've had some degree of pain every day of my life for at least 15 years, and most days for much longer.

In around Jan of last year they did (2) epidural steroid injections in my lumbar spine in order to ease the pain in lower back, through butt and down l. leg. These were done a month apart with flouroscopy, so the Dr. was able to see my scoliosis and other spine problems as he was injecting the steroids. These did not help either. He could actually see in the films later that the medicine could not even get through the nerve.

Next he tried a nerve root injection from the side. That didn't work either. In the end, I ended up seeing an excellent spine specialist. He was the first one who would actually agree to do surgery of any kind on my spine. Decompression of spinal cord and fusion of L4,L5 & S1.

But for some people who do not have the kind of problems I have with their spines, epidural injections can bring a lot of relief. I just think it depends on your problem and how good the doctor is who is doing it.

But ABSOLUTELY DO NOT let anyone inject your spine without a recent MRI or without using flouroscopy to do it. I cannot imagine how they could possibly know what they were doing without those things. And I agree with Deanna, you should absolutely talk to your rheumatologist about it, first.

Best of luck. Please keep us informed.

Gentle hugs, Nini