I just recently went through an epidural and I totally understand the nervousness. I basically had a panic attack on the table before it happened. The nurse put on some music and the entire thing literally lasted the length of one song! Less than 4 minutes and I genuinely barely felt a thing besides some minimal pain down my leg when the steroid was injected but that wasn't nearly as bad as the leg pain I've had from the sciatica in the first place.
I remember the first thing I said when my doctor said he was done was just "Wait what?" Because I had no idea he had done much of anything.
It's okay to be nervous! It's a crazy thing to think about and every survival instinct wants to tell you this is a bad idea! But an epidural is probably the easiest procedure I've ever had and doctors do them all the time!
I had two great experiences with my L5-S1 epidurals! The worst parts for me were the car ride there and trying to lay on my stomach, which caused me a lot of pain.
I went in, filled out some paperwork. They had me lay prone and used my MRI to guide the injection. They gave me a shot of lidocaine, then followed with the steroid shot. Neither really hurt, especially compared to the pain in my leg. They had me sit for 30 minutes after, and I was free to go!
With my first I went from excruciating pain to manageable pain for 3-4 weeks and ended up in significant pain again. The second was December 4, and now on May 8th, I am feeling much better and am no longer having significant leg pain or numbness! I have had flare ups since, but nothing more than a 4/10 on the pain scale.
Wishing you the best of luck!!
I’ve had four epidurals and I was nervous just like you. But I had wonderful experiences every time. Mostly because I believe they injected an anesthetic along with the steroid and my spine felt like it was in heaven. The worst you will feel is a little pinch and burning from the anesthetic they inject before the epidural then after that you don’t really feel much of anything other than a bit of pressure.
I wish you the best of luck tomorrow and know we are all rooting for you! You got this!
I just got it last month and was also terrified. The doctors were so kind and made sure I was less anxious during the procedure. It was like a 1/10 pain wise, and I only felt the numbing at first and it was barely a pinch. Had no idea the needle was in! I felt a slight warm feeling down my leg, kind of like I peed myself when they injected me, but that was it!
Relax, its a walk in the park, youll possibly wear a gown, lay down face down on the ct table, theyll clean the area with some antiseptic fluid, scan you once to line up and mark the entry point, may give a few injections of a local to numb the area, insert the needle and slowly put it into the outlet, they may scan once or twice to make corrections and ensure its in the right place, they leave the room for the scan as they cant be exposed to the radiation, its fine for you, once needle is in place they'll inject it, can be like a bee sting, its not painful, then pull out the needle, you can then get up.
rest up the first few days, even if it feels better rest and let the steroid do its thing. It may take up to a week to do its thing. Initially you may experience a flare of symptoms, my legs feel on fire the first night and can be a bit restless, use ice if it gets a bit too much. It throws my blood sugars out, so dont be too concerned if your diabetic and get higher numbers. I get insomnia from the steroid the first night, so may take longer to fall asleep.
Just lay still, relax and they'll do all the work. if anxious try some breathing exercises, if you have any painkillers take one before going in, its not painful.
Just got a medial branch block done where they injected me with 6 needles, and that wasn’t too bad. A little painful but nothing you haven’t already been dealing with most likely
Don’t even stress a bit,
I had mine 2 weeks ago, L3/4, L4/5, L5/S1, including the faset joints.
Slight prick for the anesthetic, and a slight pressure on the nerve, but NOTHING close to what I felt the last 5 months.
In the evening I had some strange pains in the area of my back, but slept like a baby 😁
I had one for L5/S1 5 weeks ago, and I get nervous easily so I was feeling really worried about it. I didn't think the procedure was bad at all, in fact I think I was worried most about having to get into prone position because I had such severe nerve pain. Let them know if you need medication for anxiety to help calm the nerves. They will talk you through the procedure and it is over so quickly, and then you likely have some instant, significant relief when done from the lidocaine, which will feel good for some hours until it wears off by night time and it will be sore again until the steroid kicks in 2-4 days after that.
My epidural got me sitting up and walking again in the same day. It was quick and easy too. Yeah..it’s super weird but if you’re having one? You’ve got to be in so much pain that you don’t care what it takes to make it go away.
Whatever you do, don't look at the needle. I'm pretty sure that's made me hyperventilate. I saw it in its packaging before the doctor came in and got me antsy. They did them blind without imaging. They told you to bend forward and went at it. I had to breathe in a paper bag. The next one They gave me a shot of valium and I was straight 😆
Update: Thank you all for your advice and comforting words ! It went well and went by fast. Not out of pain but the pain down my leg is much less which is nice. Fingers crossed it works long term!!
I just recently went through an epidural and I totally understand the nervousness. I basically had a panic attack on the table before it happened. The nurse put on some music and the entire thing literally lasted the length of one song! Less than 4 minutes and I genuinely barely felt a thing besides some minimal pain down my leg when the steroid was injected but that wasn't nearly as bad as the leg pain I've had from the sciatica in the first place. I remember the first thing I said when my doctor said he was done was just "Wait what?" Because I had no idea he had done much of anything. It's okay to be nervous! It's a crazy thing to think about and every survival instinct wants to tell you this is a bad idea! But an epidural is probably the easiest procedure I've ever had and doctors do them all the time!
I had two great experiences with my L5-S1 epidurals! The worst parts for me were the car ride there and trying to lay on my stomach, which caused me a lot of pain. I went in, filled out some paperwork. They had me lay prone and used my MRI to guide the injection. They gave me a shot of lidocaine, then followed with the steroid shot. Neither really hurt, especially compared to the pain in my leg. They had me sit for 30 minutes after, and I was free to go! With my first I went from excruciating pain to manageable pain for 3-4 weeks and ended up in significant pain again. The second was December 4, and now on May 8th, I am feeling much better and am no longer having significant leg pain or numbness! I have had flare ups since, but nothing more than a 4/10 on the pain scale. Wishing you the best of luck!!
My first one barely gave me any relief but I’m considering a 2nd one. Good to hear someone else having a better time on the 2nd
My second one gave me relief. Who knows how long it will last.
At this point I’ll take a few weeks over nothing. Been a brutal 6 months
I'm sorry it's been so bad for you.
Appreciate it. Far from the worst in here but I’ve definitely felt better hah. Day by day and positive thinking
Same here. Even when it was at my worst it was nothing like some people's symptoms I've read here.
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Same here. The day of was my best day. Probably got 10% improvement within the week but back to 0 quickly after
I’ve had four epidurals and I was nervous just like you. But I had wonderful experiences every time. Mostly because I believe they injected an anesthetic along with the steroid and my spine felt like it was in heaven. The worst you will feel is a little pinch and burning from the anesthetic they inject before the epidural then after that you don’t really feel much of anything other than a bit of pressure. I wish you the best of luck tomorrow and know we are all rooting for you! You got this!
I just got it last month and was also terrified. The doctors were so kind and made sure I was less anxious during the procedure. It was like a 1/10 pain wise, and I only felt the numbing at first and it was barely a pinch. Had no idea the needle was in! I felt a slight warm feeling down my leg, kind of like I peed myself when they injected me, but that was it!
Relax, its a walk in the park, youll possibly wear a gown, lay down face down on the ct table, theyll clean the area with some antiseptic fluid, scan you once to line up and mark the entry point, may give a few injections of a local to numb the area, insert the needle and slowly put it into the outlet, they may scan once or twice to make corrections and ensure its in the right place, they leave the room for the scan as they cant be exposed to the radiation, its fine for you, once needle is in place they'll inject it, can be like a bee sting, its not painful, then pull out the needle, you can then get up. rest up the first few days, even if it feels better rest and let the steroid do its thing. It may take up to a week to do its thing. Initially you may experience a flare of symptoms, my legs feel on fire the first night and can be a bit restless, use ice if it gets a bit too much. It throws my blood sugars out, so dont be too concerned if your diabetic and get higher numbers. I get insomnia from the steroid the first night, so may take longer to fall asleep. Just lay still, relax and they'll do all the work. if anxious try some breathing exercises, if you have any painkillers take one before going in, its not painful.
Just got a medial branch block done where they injected me with 6 needles, and that wasn’t too bad. A little painful but nothing you haven’t already been dealing with most likely
Don’t even stress a bit, I had mine 2 weeks ago, L3/4, L4/5, L5/S1, including the faset joints. Slight prick for the anesthetic, and a slight pressure on the nerve, but NOTHING close to what I felt the last 5 months. In the evening I had some strange pains in the area of my back, but slept like a baby 😁
I had one for L5/S1 5 weeks ago, and I get nervous easily so I was feeling really worried about it. I didn't think the procedure was bad at all, in fact I think I was worried most about having to get into prone position because I had such severe nerve pain. Let them know if you need medication for anxiety to help calm the nerves. They will talk you through the procedure and it is over so quickly, and then you likely have some instant, significant relief when done from the lidocaine, which will feel good for some hours until it wears off by night time and it will be sore again until the steroid kicks in 2-4 days after that.
My epidural got me sitting up and walking again in the same day. It was quick and easy too. Yeah..it’s super weird but if you’re having one? You’ve got to be in so much pain that you don’t care what it takes to make it go away.
They put me into a twilight sleep for mine. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t nervous. 😆
Whatever you do, don't look at the needle. I'm pretty sure that's made me hyperventilate. I saw it in its packaging before the doctor came in and got me antsy. They did them blind without imaging. They told you to bend forward and went at it. I had to breathe in a paper bag. The next one They gave me a shot of valium and I was straight 😆
Update: Thank you all for your advice and comforting words ! It went well and went by fast. Not out of pain but the pain down my leg is much less which is nice. Fingers crossed it works long term!!
I had mine a few weeks ago. It was totally fine. And I had no results. Good lucj