Steroid injection for pain relief

[veg]

Anyone have these? I’ve an appointment with a pain clinic soon, at present I’m using 8 cocodamol a day and some herbal pain relief, this isn’t sustainable so having looked at potential solutions this comes up as one possibility.
Any real life experience?
Cheers all

[dusty350]

I've had 3 Tim, 2 in the right shoulder and one in the left, at different times. Only one of them - the very first one I had, really worked. The last one I had was a guided injection - ultrasound located the area of worst inflammation, and the injection goes straight into that area - the others were "hit and hope" unguided.
Some peeps have no improvement, some get up to 2 years pain free, and then everything else inbetween (told this by a couple of different Doctors specialising in this). They dont like giving steroid injections too often, but you have nothing to lose going for it, imo
Good luck, hope it works for you

[stusco]

I got one in the palm of my hand a month ago for trigger finger ,if anything its got worse since ,i can get another one before surgery,im just contemplating that just now , its the sharp scratch before they stick you well its quite scratchy in the palm of your hand.mine was done private through my work health insurance 

[mouse]

After breaking my wrist last year, i then developed a 'frozen shoulder' basically very very limited movement in arm. I had option to leave it to heal in it's own time, up to 18 months! Or steroid injections. Had two steroid injections over the course of several days and hey presto, movement fully restored within weeks (Still needed physio) and virtually no pain.

As i'm sure you know, taking pain killers just masks the problem and does not fix it.

In short yes, go for it, would be my advice, though it is not 100% guaranteed and i had to fund it myself, think it was about £500 for ten minutes work!

Mouse

[stirling11]

Hi Tim

I’ve had quite a few, shoulder x 2, spine x 10, SI joints x 4

All were fairly successful in the short term, long term though it was surgeries, a fusion and 2 hips

The first one at L5/S1 lasted 5 years, however it doesn’t stop stenosis

It is correct to say doctors don’t like giving too many in the same area, particularly when tendons are concerned as it can weaken them causing more issues eg if it’s a shoulder weakened tendons mean easier dislocations

It really depends on where you have the issue, if it’s your spine, for example, you can have the nerves ablated at each joint with pulsed electrical signal, full effect is after 3 months and can last a long time, the nerves will eventually grow back, in that time though the lack of pain signals going to the brain can assist with reducing the inflammation that is causing the pain in the first place

Before I had the nerves in my spine ablated, S3-L3, every time I wanted to bend down I would brace for pain which accentuated the issue as I’d tighten all of my muscles thinking it was a safer way to move

After the procedure it was a case of retraining my brain to not expect pain and that bending down or moving was a normal thing to do, it takes a while to retrain the brain to accept this, particularly if like me you’ve been in horrendous pain for a long period of time, I had the pulsed electrical therapy 3 times and I’m now able to move normally, well as much as a fusion will let me

These are performed by a pain specialist under light anaesthetics so you don’t feel it

If you can give an idea of which part of the body, I’d be able to perhaps give a better answer for you, at least based on my experiences, I’m no surgeon

As always though, seek proper medical advice from someone who knows what they are doing and talking about

I’ve been lucky to have a really good pain specialist to help me, I also had a couple of bad ones before the one I have now

Feel free to PM me to discuss

HTH

[steve h]

Acupuncture?

[veg]

Thanks chaps. It’s my left knee/leg it’s 1 1/2 in shorter due to a red Ford escort and my cb100n (I know) at 17 years old. I’ve always been ok and been fit and healthy. I still regularly exercise, cold shower therapy etc etc etc but it’s now agony on a daily basis and to the point that the drugs don’t always work.
I saw a specialist about remedial surgery but any surgery will shift the problem to my hip and spine which are all twisted to compensate for the shortness in my leg. I even asked about having the lower leg surgically amputated such is the pain.
I’ve got a referral now to a pain specialist I’m seeking out pain relief and have looked at steroid injections as well as other pain relief. I’m with Bupa and I’m hoping also for medical cannabis rather than using herbal.
So all is on the table really and I don’t want this to be limiting in my ability to enjoy my life. Tbh when I’m in South Africa the dry heat helps massively unfortunately I can’t emigrate.

[markrd250lc]

i have had a few in my right knee , (running out of talent on my ypvs in 1986) i found that if the injection is given into the side of the knee as apposed to through the top of the knee cap it works better and lasts longer but its much more painful, and make sure they drain any excess fluid from the knee first, my knee had over 200cc of fluid drained).

Mine lasts about 6 month through the top of the knee cap and close to 2 years through the side of the knee and the pain relief is around 10 mins from having the injection.

The Extra pain of having it done from the side is worth it.

Mark

[beardy]

Feb 22, 2024 15:54:45 GMT 1 mouse said:

After breaking my wrist last year, i then developed a 'frozen shoulder' basically very very limited movement in arm. I had option to leave it to heal in it's own time, up to 18 months! Or steroid injections. Had two steroid injections over the course of several days and hey presto, movement fully restored within weeks (Still needed physio) and virtually no pain.

As i'm sure you know, taking pain killers just masks the problem and does not fix it.

In short yes, go for it, would be my advice, though it is not 100% guaranteed and i had to fund it myself, think it was about £500 for ten minutes work!

Mouse

You are right that painkillers mask the pain and don’t fix it. But equally painkillers allow the affected area to be less tense. So allowing healing to be quicker

[donkeychomp]

Bloody hell Tim. If there's a chance it'll work then try it I say.

You say the heat in Africa helped...what about getting a sauna? Not cheap I guess but the warmth and humidity could really help you.

Alex

ps CB100...dear oh dear

[veg]

Went everywhere on that bike, I was broke working part time and an art student. Took me to Wales, Cornwall all over on it let me down just once.

[2pumps]

I used to have Cortizone injections in each Knee, i found they worked probably too well as after i was running around like a mad man as no pain, they never lasted more than 6 months though, my opinion they made it worse in the long run 4 knee ops on each knee later, still in pain but won't do the steroid injections again, be new knees soon i guess.

[stirling11]

Hi Tim

The cortisone can only help you in the medium term, there is a limit as to how many cortisone injections you can have before they either become ineffective or cause other issues

If they give instant relief and the issue isn’t due to the knee degenerating due to arthritis, then you’ve nothing to lose

You could enquire about pain management patches eg Norspan, they are a slow release of Buprenorphine and last a week and they come in different strengths, or perhaps a Naltrexone implant or Low dose tablet, I’ve had both

I understand where your surgeon is coming from, my right leg was 3/4” shorter than the left, all in the femur, I was born that way, I walked around for 55 years with that, when I had the hips replaced, I was jacked up on the RHS to level me up and that caused issues with my pelvis and spine and a two year journey of excruciating pain

You could ask the surgeon to discuss replacing the knee as is ie not lengthen the leg, that way your chassis isn’t going to be rearranged like mine was

It might be worth the question and it’s feasible that it will work, the surgery techniques they use now are so much different to 5 years ago and with less recovery time and less pain post op

[silkyzxr]

I've had a few, knees, hands and Rotator cuff injuries. (Rugby war wounds)
For me they gave enough relief that with rest allowed me to get on with things while the injuries healed or didn't which needed further surgeries.
Nothing to lose and often highlights consultants to more serious problems that really do need other solutions.
Co-codomol and Ibuprofen are great short term but play hell with the stomach.
Hope you get sorted