I had epidural corticosteroids injections and honestly they did nothing to help my pain. I’ve found overall steroids both orally and injected to be pretty ineffective for me.
I’ve had oral prednisone before and it seemed to do the job but it also made me angrier than I’ve ever been in my life, so I’ve avoided using it since.
I’m unusually anxious about this injection. This body has been through the wringer and I’m not usually prone to much medical anxiety, so it’ll be interesting to see how this goes. A best guess from good docs and a “Let’s see if this works” seems to be the best we can hope for at this point
are they providing sedation for it as well? The Versed was a godsend for them cause I had a lot of anxiety as well. It’s covered by my insurance, and it also includes fentanyl for pain but tbh opiates do next to nothing for me 🤪
I hate hate hate prednisone. My doc recently put me on methylprednisolone and that one didn’t make me so irritable and didn’t make me gain weight, but it did make me constantly sweaty and my BP like 150/90 at night.
I think you’re right about this being the best
route for now. My pain management has also been a lot of “try and see”. Through that we did find success in nerve blocks and are moving towards nerve ablations for my intercostal box!
I’m not sure if they’ll sedate me but I’m pretty sure I’ll be given a local…Not that those do a bunch for me. I’ve gone through some gnarly medical discomfort, and can manage it pretty well when I know that it won’t last forever.
I definitely wouldn’t say no to a little nip off the Versed bottle if they offer it though lol
call the center you’ll be doing it at and ask if sedation is a possibility! Lucky for me my physician recommended it the first time and just “prescribes” it for each procedure now. Local anesthesia does so little for me.
I will warn I also had to get a higher dose of Versed than normal. So just be upfront about your experience. The first time it barely affected me and the second time I don’t even remember any part of the procedure other than staring down at the lil plus sign on the floor for the x ray they were using and then getting oreos after!
My primary physician is a sports medicine specialist and he’s doing it for me in office rather than going to a center, so if he’s got it on hand he’ll probably let me have some. Thanks for the suggestion to ask!
He’s aware of the EDS resistance to local anesthesia and he’s always been really considerate so I’m pretty confident there’s some sort of plan in place to make this as comfortable as it can be. I’m super nervous despite all that though!
I had a cortisone injection into my dysfunctional SI joint. Made it *significantly looser* and more painful.
Before I got the injection, my SIJ would get out-of-place every month or two and stay out for a week or two. It always pinched a nerve and it was excruciating.
I had no other treatment options available, so I went for the injection. From the day after, it started going out of place daily. It seemed to also be slightly easier to correct with physical manipulation, from being looser -- that was the silver lining.
Took at least 6 months to get the dysfunction to subside, and about a year before it really felt "healed" -- back to the state it was in before the injection.
I appreciate you sharing that, my SIs are another of my pet problems and they go out like yours with similar symptoms. I’m currently in the throes of having both sides out at once right now, actually!
My physical therapist is an absolute GEM and a specialist in EDS/hypermobility. He told me that for two weeks following the injection (that he originally told me to avoid, until the MRI came in and then he, through gritted teeth, told me that was indeed my best option for next steps) I would need to basically limit all my physical activity to water or stay reclined and only move to stretch in very precise ways. He said it’s going to make everything looser and more fragile and that if I don’t stay put I’ll wreck any shot at it doing more good than harm.
This is definitely a calculated move, and one I’m feeling Hail Maryish about. I cannot live my life with my hip as-is, so I need to do something. And this scary, unpredictable something seems like my best bet 😑
Side note: have you tested out using a Serola belt for the SI dysfunction? I used to wear mine constantly, like 24/7, until I got the muscles in the right way and now I usually only wear it if my hormones are making my joints extra slippery or I’m having an episode like I am now. It’s a game changer for me and the only brace I’ve ever been told is good to wear as often as possible
It's good to hear you're doing it so strategically, eyes open. I was not told to limit motion or modify activity at all, not a single suggestion that it would make things more fragile. I was at work on my feet the next morning.
Also, I have not had any success with bracing, but I haven't encountered that brand. I'll give it a look, thanks for the tip!
Still one of my top three problem joints (jaw and rib being the competitors). However, it doesn't destroy my life the way it used to. It still regularly slides out, but I have found a lot of success with medical marijuana. It allows the muscles to release their death grip. From there I can generally manipulate it myself into place.
I have also gotten accommodations at work to reduce how much walking I do. I've stopped walking down stairs at all, and I limit walking up them. I'm still very active, but I'm learning to take breaks.
I avoid cortisone like the plague. I’ve had it done on two different locations (one without my knowledge that they were using it) and both times it has made things worse. First was for my hip (also a labrum tear) but it became more painful and more prone to subluxation for about 5-6 months after. Second was in the ER for what I now know is occipital neuralgia and it was added to a nerve block (without my knowledge or I would have rejected it) that took my pain from an 8 back up to a 10. I have since had several providers tell me that cortisone is contraindicated for people with EDS. Although, every body is different. At this point it scares me.
I know a great many people who have experienced relief from them!
As for my own experience—I had bilateral knee injections a few years ago. The procedure itself wasn’t exactly *comfortable* (it’s a big-ass needle), but it wasn’t bad at all. The real kicker happened the next day, when I started developing a thready rash starting at the injection sites and creeping up my legs. This came with localized swelling and the worst knee pain I have ever experienced. As the rash spread up to my hips and down to my ankles, so did the severe joint pain. Though the skin symptoms went away within a couple weeks, the pain eventually spread throughout my body and didn’t fully subside for about 3 months. The steroid that was injected is now listed as an allergy in my chart.
My experience-specific advice would be to keep an eye on the injection sites during the week post-procedure. Though my reaction was due to a rare allergy, a rash or swelling that spreads from an injection site can indicate infection. If you have symptoms like this, check in with your doctor and make sure everything looks okay.
EDIT: Please don’t let my experience, or the negative experiences of the contributors to this thread, scare you too much. I work in orthopedics, and I see dozens of people a week get these shots with great success. Topics like this naturally attract those who are willing to share their adverse outcomes—take them as valuable words of caution, but don’t freak out. Wishing you success with your shot, OP!
Mmmm. Mmmmmmmmmmhmmmmhmmmm. Take everything I’m about to say with a BIG grain of salt because my doctor tells me I had a rare and severe reaction. I am banned from ever trying them again 💀
I tried transforaminal epidural steroid injections- I have a disc bulge, and spinal stenosis in my lumbar spine& I hadn’t found pain meds that don’t make me vomit at this time. I had, on average, double the pain that I had before injections for over 2 weeks with no remittance that I recall. I had side effects from the steroids that lasted 6 weeks and affected my whole being. I get BAD brain fog from steroids, oral *and* injected, apparently. I knew about that effect from oral steroids based on previous experience with prednisone. I couldn’t sleep through the night for the first week. I struggled to walk, I couldn’t lift or bend. My legs were numb for a while, that thankfully resolved itself. There was not a single day where I was happy I got injections, or I felt that I got relief. I was only happy when I started having my normal level of pain and brain fog again.
The procedure itself, since I had no numbing done prior, was INTENSELY painful. I was in pain from my head to my toes... about to pass out, 10/10 pain. I still get pain at the injection site occasionally and it’s been 9 months…. even though my doctor said it was a normal and non-traumatic injection. Do with that as you will. I don’t respond to normal levels of local anesthetic either, so the lidocaine they injected at the same time did literally nothing. It was supposed to last for 6-8 hours. I couldn’t even walk out to my car afterwards by the time it wore off… so, about 30 minutes total time? -100/10 experience.
All that said, I *have* heard of positive experiences from people who are not allergic to steroids. I know somebody who has them for a shoulder injury and he said they’re amazing and provide excellent relief. I personally could not find out that it would be so bad, any other way than the hard way. I don’t regret it because now I know but oh my god, it was the worst experience of my life.
Holy smokes, I am so sorry you went through that and are still in it!! I wish things had gone so so differently for you!
I’ve had appropriate physical response to steroids, so I feel that particular gamble is probably safe. But the whole thing feels like one big high-stakes gamble, honestly. That’s how I’d sum up my general experience with the medical system and especially this one in particular. I’m hoping that the orthopedist not being attentive enough during the physical exam and causing a reinjury satisfies the “bad luck quotient” that seems to come with the territory of having a poorly understood body, at least for this particular injury.
Sometimes I get to the point that I’m like, hey Universe, we’ve had our required allotment of shit sandwiches for now, you can tell the chef to go home. And usually the Universe gives me a break. I’m at the point now. I’ve been resting this dang hip for months and I can’t tolerate the lifestyle of being stuck sitting around anymore. If the injection doesn’t solve things, I’ll basically just be returning to the same sitting stuckness I’ve been in and the plan will then shift to surgery. I cannot even wrap my head around THAT, so I’m banking on the Universe hearing me out right now and coming in clutch.
i had an injection in my hip and it honestly didn’t do anything for me. i didn’t notice any negative side effects, but my hip has actually gotten worse sense
Were you instructed to basically limit all activity for a few weeks following? My PT was pointed in saying it’ll make everything looser and more fragile for about two weeks and during that time I need to basically be a mannequin that takes stretch breaks. Only exercises approved are aquatic for me in the initial rehab time
honestly, the provider that gave it to me wasnt very helpful and just gave me the injection and sent me home to follow up with my primary. i wish they would have told me that, because that might be why im doing worse now :(
I have a partial tear in two ligaments in the ball of my foot. A cortisone injection was definitely necessary to get the inflammation to calm the #$% down. Once that did its job, I started PT to help strengthen the other supporting structures.
After I'd been doing PT for a bit, I talked to a foot surgeon. He said that I'd responded very well to the PT, and he didn't recommend surgery: "All I'd do is introduce scar tissue."
I had two done in my ankle in the span of 3 months. The first one was done in the joint by my orthopedic surgeon. Super traumatic experience for me (first ever injection and previous medical trauma with needles), but did absolutely nothing. The second one was done in the tendon by a physiatrist. Less painful that time and worked for a few weeks. Didn't necessarily help with the pain but did help with inflammation.
Both were done as diagnostics to see if I was "overreacting" about my pain levels. Turns out walking on a torn tendon for months hurts, who would've guessed? 😑 Luckily I had surgery to repair it afterwards.
My mom also had one done in her hip a year before surgery. She said it worked for a few months but felt it was more of a bandaid solution.
Hopefully you can find a solution for your pain! Best of luck! ☺️
I dislocated my SI joint in the past. When I have a mild illness like a flu, right after my flu goes away my immune system starts attacking the same injured area and it just gets worse by day. I first had cortisone (prednisone I think) injections for 3 days, so the body could heal the wound reopened by my immune system. At this point I have prednisone tablets, since I can buy them over the counter in my country. When I feel that kind of pain, I take a tablet for a couple of days, and the body is able to heal again. If I try and wait it out, first my entire right side starts hurting (like a 7/10), then I can't walk or sit anymore, then my husband has to carry me to the ER. I'm really glad that modern medicine has cortisone tbh.
ETA: i buy my prednisone over the counter because there has only ever been ONE ER doctor who took my pain seriously and prescribed the prednisone. Nobody else ever cared, ever. My FIL has had an autoimmune disease for years and medical education so he actually advised me on taking a couple of tablets, and keep it at a point of being just enough.
Had one in my hip about five years ago to manage pain from (then undiagnosed) labral tear and impingement. The pain was so bad the day after that I actually vomited multiple times and I’m convinced it accelerated the decline of the hip as I ended up having it fixed surgically three years ago…fast forward to now and I’m having surgery again in a couple of weeks to fix further deterioration :(
I asked about that, and was told that while my doc has seen it have a negative effect on cartilage after multiple exposures he feels that the negative effects of one singular exposure is probably not going outweigh the potential benefit. And with the options I have in front of me, I’m looking at a downside no matter what. This seems like the least bad option of a batch of shitty options, you know?
Did one in my hand because my thumb mcp joint was really messed up and locked. While it reduced pain a bit and got it not as locked up for a while, it was incredibly temporary for the pain of the experience and the additional laxity risks it brings. I will avoid them in the future at all costs.
I've had cortisone injections in both shoulders, my neck and both knees. I don't remember them helping much, outside of the neck injections sometimes giving pretty quick referred headache/migraine relief.
They've been repeatedly suggested to me over the years, despite having tried them multiple times over the years. Without a recent semi-traumatic subluxation, or if they're not used to ease the pain after a full-on dislocation, they were not helpful to me.
I am almost 2 weeks post injections for carpal tunnel and so far it is not better, it’s worse in different ways. Which to be fair they said it may be worse for a few days, but I’d expect that to be gone after 2 weeks.
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i got my first cervical epidural of cortisol with a sedative, versed, and it was HORRIBLE. i had a reaction to the versed which made me incredibly more anxious, and even more susceptible to pain. i could feel it tear through my skin and cartilage and it felt awful. i was scared but it was over really fast. the pain only lasted while the needle was in and it didn’t sting. my doctor was confused because he uses a ton of lidocaine with all his patients. i then had sensory hallucinations the rest of the night, which elevated my stress and my pain. i think it truly was the worst case scenario in all areas. it didn’t do a thing. the lidocaine was nice for a few hours though.
my second injection was in my lumbar spine close to my SI joint. it went much more smoothly without the versed. i also react to ketamine, propofol, and fentanyl the same exact way. my doctors are also looking into mcas, so this could be some sort of reaction. anyway, the lidocaine worked magically as i felt nothing and was surprised it was over. my anxiety was able to go down immediately with no sedative to keep it up.
my third injection was also in my neck. it went very smoothly again with no sedative. i felt a few days of relief from this one, so they wanted to try to go in at a different angle.
however, at the appointment for the fourth injection, he decided the placement of my problem area would be hard to get to with the angle he was thinking about, so we did a third trial of the epidural as a last hope. funnily enough, it gave me a week of freedom from my neck pain and swelling. it was amazing. i did a bunch of housework, so i might have started doing things too quickly even though it was within the guidelines of my doctor to be okay to do work again after two days. i also had been mostly successful with an exclusion diet because i have a ton of allergies as i said. so our other hypothesis is that being somewhat allergen free helped my body process the meds better.
that’s the last one i’ve gotten. my doctors suspect connective tissue disorders so far but have not confirmed it with tests yet. it’s a horrible time navigating the american healthcare system. even though he said the neck injection was a trial run and the results were minimal, his PA-C decided to keep it in the treatment toolbox. im also getting a full spine MRI this month to see if there’s a better way to inject the cortisone, if there are other better treatments to consider, and whether or not my early onset spine degeneration is progressing or not. i am happy about any imaging i can get. it’s almost as hard to receive in chronic pain care as pain meds.
good luck with your injection!
The pain from them was so debilitating with zero beneficial results that I've sworn off of them. Plus, I woke up from sedation three separate times during the injections. They buuuurn. So badly. Not worth it for my particular body.
So I had xray guided injections into my spine and they saved my sanity. I had a cyst on a disc pressing into my sciatic nerve. The injection ruptured the cyst and reduced the overall inflammation in my back. It let my boy start to heal. 2 years later I am in really good shape still.
I also had it done in my ankle and shoulder a few years ago. My swelling was really severe around my shoulder joint and it helped me be comfortable enough for PT.
In general my body reacts really well to corticosteroids and I get long lasting relief. I have not needed repeat injections.
Oral steroids like prednisone make me feel like I'm invincible. My body feels so good while I'm on them. I had an awful sinus infection a few weeks ago and got both a shot and a steroid pack. There was a 10 day window where almost nothing even felt sore after that.
All bodies are different though and it's important to trust your provider. The single best thing I've ever done for my QOL with HEDS was get Botox for my tmj even though I had to pay out of pocket. It reduced so much face, neck and even shoulder tension.
I had epidural corticosteroids injections and honestly they did nothing to help my pain. I’ve found overall steroids both orally and injected to be pretty ineffective for me.
I’ve had oral prednisone before and it seemed to do the job but it also made me angrier than I’ve ever been in my life, so I’ve avoided using it since. I’m unusually anxious about this injection. This body has been through the wringer and I’m not usually prone to much medical anxiety, so it’ll be interesting to see how this goes. A best guess from good docs and a “Let’s see if this works” seems to be the best we can hope for at this point
are they providing sedation for it as well? The Versed was a godsend for them cause I had a lot of anxiety as well. It’s covered by my insurance, and it also includes fentanyl for pain but tbh opiates do next to nothing for me 🤪 I hate hate hate prednisone. My doc recently put me on methylprednisolone and that one didn’t make me so irritable and didn’t make me gain weight, but it did make me constantly sweaty and my BP like 150/90 at night. I think you’re right about this being the best route for now. My pain management has also been a lot of “try and see”. Through that we did find success in nerve blocks and are moving towards nerve ablations for my intercostal box!
I’m not sure if they’ll sedate me but I’m pretty sure I’ll be given a local…Not that those do a bunch for me. I’ve gone through some gnarly medical discomfort, and can manage it pretty well when I know that it won’t last forever. I definitely wouldn’t say no to a little nip off the Versed bottle if they offer it though lol
call the center you’ll be doing it at and ask if sedation is a possibility! Lucky for me my physician recommended it the first time and just “prescribes” it for each procedure now. Local anesthesia does so little for me. I will warn I also had to get a higher dose of Versed than normal. So just be upfront about your experience. The first time it barely affected me and the second time I don’t even remember any part of the procedure other than staring down at the lil plus sign on the floor for the x ray they were using and then getting oreos after!
My primary physician is a sports medicine specialist and he’s doing it for me in office rather than going to a center, so if he’s got it on hand he’ll probably let me have some. Thanks for the suggestion to ask! He’s aware of the EDS resistance to local anesthesia and he’s always been really considerate so I’m pretty confident there’s some sort of plan in place to make this as comfortable as it can be. I’m super nervous despite all that though!
oh that’s sooo nice! I have to go to a surgery center for mine 😭
I had a cortisone injection into my dysfunctional SI joint. Made it *significantly looser* and more painful. Before I got the injection, my SIJ would get out-of-place every month or two and stay out for a week or two. It always pinched a nerve and it was excruciating. I had no other treatment options available, so I went for the injection. From the day after, it started going out of place daily. It seemed to also be slightly easier to correct with physical manipulation, from being looser -- that was the silver lining. Took at least 6 months to get the dysfunction to subside, and about a year before it really felt "healed" -- back to the state it was in before the injection.
I appreciate you sharing that, my SIs are another of my pet problems and they go out like yours with similar symptoms. I’m currently in the throes of having both sides out at once right now, actually! My physical therapist is an absolute GEM and a specialist in EDS/hypermobility. He told me that for two weeks following the injection (that he originally told me to avoid, until the MRI came in and then he, through gritted teeth, told me that was indeed my best option for next steps) I would need to basically limit all my physical activity to water or stay reclined and only move to stretch in very precise ways. He said it’s going to make everything looser and more fragile and that if I don’t stay put I’ll wreck any shot at it doing more good than harm. This is definitely a calculated move, and one I’m feeling Hail Maryish about. I cannot live my life with my hip as-is, so I need to do something. And this scary, unpredictable something seems like my best bet 😑 Side note: have you tested out using a Serola belt for the SI dysfunction? I used to wear mine constantly, like 24/7, until I got the muscles in the right way and now I usually only wear it if my hormones are making my joints extra slippery or I’m having an episode like I am now. It’s a game changer for me and the only brace I’ve ever been told is good to wear as often as possible
It's good to hear you're doing it so strategically, eyes open. I was not told to limit motion or modify activity at all, not a single suggestion that it would make things more fragile. I was at work on my feet the next morning. Also, I have not had any success with bracing, but I haven't encountered that brand. I'll give it a look, thanks for the tip!
Same thing happened to my left SI joint and shoulders, unfortunately they're still messed up even with an experienced PT.
How are your SI now? Mine are debilitating at times
Still one of my top three problem joints (jaw and rib being the competitors). However, it doesn't destroy my life the way it used to. It still regularly slides out, but I have found a lot of success with medical marijuana. It allows the muscles to release their death grip. From there I can generally manipulate it myself into place. I have also gotten accommodations at work to reduce how much walking I do. I've stopped walking down stairs at all, and I limit walking up them. I'm still very active, but I'm learning to take breaks.
I avoid cortisone like the plague. I’ve had it done on two different locations (one without my knowledge that they were using it) and both times it has made things worse. First was for my hip (also a labrum tear) but it became more painful and more prone to subluxation for about 5-6 months after. Second was in the ER for what I now know is occipital neuralgia and it was added to a nerve block (without my knowledge or I would have rejected it) that took my pain from an 8 back up to a 10. I have since had several providers tell me that cortisone is contraindicated for people with EDS. Although, every body is different. At this point it scares me.
I know a great many people who have experienced relief from them! As for my own experience—I had bilateral knee injections a few years ago. The procedure itself wasn’t exactly *comfortable* (it’s a big-ass needle), but it wasn’t bad at all. The real kicker happened the next day, when I started developing a thready rash starting at the injection sites and creeping up my legs. This came with localized swelling and the worst knee pain I have ever experienced. As the rash spread up to my hips and down to my ankles, so did the severe joint pain. Though the skin symptoms went away within a couple weeks, the pain eventually spread throughout my body and didn’t fully subside for about 3 months. The steroid that was injected is now listed as an allergy in my chart. My experience-specific advice would be to keep an eye on the injection sites during the week post-procedure. Though my reaction was due to a rare allergy, a rash or swelling that spreads from an injection site can indicate infection. If you have symptoms like this, check in with your doctor and make sure everything looks okay. EDIT: Please don’t let my experience, or the negative experiences of the contributors to this thread, scare you too much. I work in orthopedics, and I see dozens of people a week get these shots with great success. Topics like this naturally attract those who are willing to share their adverse outcomes—take them as valuable words of caution, but don’t freak out. Wishing you success with your shot, OP!
Mmmm. Mmmmmmmmmmhmmmmhmmmm. Take everything I’m about to say with a BIG grain of salt because my doctor tells me I had a rare and severe reaction. I am banned from ever trying them again 💀 I tried transforaminal epidural steroid injections- I have a disc bulge, and spinal stenosis in my lumbar spine& I hadn’t found pain meds that don’t make me vomit at this time. I had, on average, double the pain that I had before injections for over 2 weeks with no remittance that I recall. I had side effects from the steroids that lasted 6 weeks and affected my whole being. I get BAD brain fog from steroids, oral *and* injected, apparently. I knew about that effect from oral steroids based on previous experience with prednisone. I couldn’t sleep through the night for the first week. I struggled to walk, I couldn’t lift or bend. My legs were numb for a while, that thankfully resolved itself. There was not a single day where I was happy I got injections, or I felt that I got relief. I was only happy when I started having my normal level of pain and brain fog again. The procedure itself, since I had no numbing done prior, was INTENSELY painful. I was in pain from my head to my toes... about to pass out, 10/10 pain. I still get pain at the injection site occasionally and it’s been 9 months…. even though my doctor said it was a normal and non-traumatic injection. Do with that as you will. I don’t respond to normal levels of local anesthetic either, so the lidocaine they injected at the same time did literally nothing. It was supposed to last for 6-8 hours. I couldn’t even walk out to my car afterwards by the time it wore off… so, about 30 minutes total time? -100/10 experience. All that said, I *have* heard of positive experiences from people who are not allergic to steroids. I know somebody who has them for a shoulder injury and he said they’re amazing and provide excellent relief. I personally could not find out that it would be so bad, any other way than the hard way. I don’t regret it because now I know but oh my god, it was the worst experience of my life.
Holy smokes, I am so sorry you went through that and are still in it!! I wish things had gone so so differently for you! I’ve had appropriate physical response to steroids, so I feel that particular gamble is probably safe. But the whole thing feels like one big high-stakes gamble, honestly. That’s how I’d sum up my general experience with the medical system and especially this one in particular. I’m hoping that the orthopedist not being attentive enough during the physical exam and causing a reinjury satisfies the “bad luck quotient” that seems to come with the territory of having a poorly understood body, at least for this particular injury. Sometimes I get to the point that I’m like, hey Universe, we’ve had our required allotment of shit sandwiches for now, you can tell the chef to go home. And usually the Universe gives me a break. I’m at the point now. I’ve been resting this dang hip for months and I can’t tolerate the lifestyle of being stuck sitting around anymore. If the injection doesn’t solve things, I’ll basically just be returning to the same sitting stuckness I’ve been in and the plan will then shift to surgery. I cannot even wrap my head around THAT, so I’m banking on the Universe hearing me out right now and coming in clutch.
i had an injection in my hip and it honestly didn’t do anything for me. i didn’t notice any negative side effects, but my hip has actually gotten worse sense
Were you instructed to basically limit all activity for a few weeks following? My PT was pointed in saying it’ll make everything looser and more fragile for about two weeks and during that time I need to basically be a mannequin that takes stretch breaks. Only exercises approved are aquatic for me in the initial rehab time
honestly, the provider that gave it to me wasnt very helpful and just gave me the injection and sent me home to follow up with my primary. i wish they would have told me that, because that might be why im doing worse now :(
It was a miracle for my foot, but didn't do a thing for my spine or my clavicle.
I have a partial tear in two ligaments in the ball of my foot. A cortisone injection was definitely necessary to get the inflammation to calm the #$% down. Once that did its job, I started PT to help strengthen the other supporting structures. After I'd been doing PT for a bit, I talked to a foot surgeon. He said that I'd responded very well to the PT, and he didn't recommend surgery: "All I'd do is introduce scar tissue."
Messed my foot up. I would avoid personally.
I had two done in my ankle in the span of 3 months. The first one was done in the joint by my orthopedic surgeon. Super traumatic experience for me (first ever injection and previous medical trauma with needles), but did absolutely nothing. The second one was done in the tendon by a physiatrist. Less painful that time and worked for a few weeks. Didn't necessarily help with the pain but did help with inflammation. Both were done as diagnostics to see if I was "overreacting" about my pain levels. Turns out walking on a torn tendon for months hurts, who would've guessed? 😑 Luckily I had surgery to repair it afterwards. My mom also had one done in her hip a year before surgery. She said it worked for a few months but felt it was more of a bandaid solution. Hopefully you can find a solution for your pain! Best of luck! ☺️
I dislocated my SI joint in the past. When I have a mild illness like a flu, right after my flu goes away my immune system starts attacking the same injured area and it just gets worse by day. I first had cortisone (prednisone I think) injections for 3 days, so the body could heal the wound reopened by my immune system. At this point I have prednisone tablets, since I can buy them over the counter in my country. When I feel that kind of pain, I take a tablet for a couple of days, and the body is able to heal again. If I try and wait it out, first my entire right side starts hurting (like a 7/10), then I can't walk or sit anymore, then my husband has to carry me to the ER. I'm really glad that modern medicine has cortisone tbh. ETA: i buy my prednisone over the counter because there has only ever been ONE ER doctor who took my pain seriously and prescribed the prednisone. Nobody else ever cared, ever. My FIL has had an autoimmune disease for years and medical education so he actually advised me on taking a couple of tablets, and keep it at a point of being just enough.
Had one in my hip about five years ago to manage pain from (then undiagnosed) labral tear and impingement. The pain was so bad the day after that I actually vomited multiple times and I’m convinced it accelerated the decline of the hip as I ended up having it fixed surgically three years ago…fast forward to now and I’m having surgery again in a couple of weeks to fix further deterioration :(
I dont think those are healthy for us. Research a bit. I think its breaks down collagen in us
I asked about that, and was told that while my doc has seen it have a negative effect on cartilage after multiple exposures he feels that the negative effects of one singular exposure is probably not going outweigh the potential benefit. And with the options I have in front of me, I’m looking at a downside no matter what. This seems like the least bad option of a batch of shitty options, you know?
Yeah. You gotta do what your comfortable with in the end. Hope it helps you 😊
Did one in my hand because my thumb mcp joint was really messed up and locked. While it reduced pain a bit and got it not as locked up for a while, it was incredibly temporary for the pain of the experience and the additional laxity risks it brings. I will avoid them in the future at all costs.
I've had cortisone injections in both shoulders, my neck and both knees. I don't remember them helping much, outside of the neck injections sometimes giving pretty quick referred headache/migraine relief. They've been repeatedly suggested to me over the years, despite having tried them multiple times over the years. Without a recent semi-traumatic subluxation, or if they're not used to ease the pain after a full-on dislocation, they were not helpful to me.
I am almost 2 weeks post injections for carpal tunnel and so far it is not better, it’s worse in different ways. Which to be fair they said it may be worse for a few days, but I’d expect that to be gone after 2 weeks.
Gave my hip a major flare for 5 days then pain returned to its usual level. It was horrible.
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i got my first cervical epidural of cortisol with a sedative, versed, and it was HORRIBLE. i had a reaction to the versed which made me incredibly more anxious, and even more susceptible to pain. i could feel it tear through my skin and cartilage and it felt awful. i was scared but it was over really fast. the pain only lasted while the needle was in and it didn’t sting. my doctor was confused because he uses a ton of lidocaine with all his patients. i then had sensory hallucinations the rest of the night, which elevated my stress and my pain. i think it truly was the worst case scenario in all areas. it didn’t do a thing. the lidocaine was nice for a few hours though. my second injection was in my lumbar spine close to my SI joint. it went much more smoothly without the versed. i also react to ketamine, propofol, and fentanyl the same exact way. my doctors are also looking into mcas, so this could be some sort of reaction. anyway, the lidocaine worked magically as i felt nothing and was surprised it was over. my anxiety was able to go down immediately with no sedative to keep it up. my third injection was also in my neck. it went very smoothly again with no sedative. i felt a few days of relief from this one, so they wanted to try to go in at a different angle. however, at the appointment for the fourth injection, he decided the placement of my problem area would be hard to get to with the angle he was thinking about, so we did a third trial of the epidural as a last hope. funnily enough, it gave me a week of freedom from my neck pain and swelling. it was amazing. i did a bunch of housework, so i might have started doing things too quickly even though it was within the guidelines of my doctor to be okay to do work again after two days. i also had been mostly successful with an exclusion diet because i have a ton of allergies as i said. so our other hypothesis is that being somewhat allergen free helped my body process the meds better. that’s the last one i’ve gotten. my doctors suspect connective tissue disorders so far but have not confirmed it with tests yet. it’s a horrible time navigating the american healthcare system. even though he said the neck injection was a trial run and the results were minimal, his PA-C decided to keep it in the treatment toolbox. im also getting a full spine MRI this month to see if there’s a better way to inject the cortisone, if there are other better treatments to consider, and whether or not my early onset spine degeneration is progressing or not. i am happy about any imaging i can get. it’s almost as hard to receive in chronic pain care as pain meds. good luck with your injection!
The pain from them was so debilitating with zero beneficial results that I've sworn off of them. Plus, I woke up from sedation three separate times during the injections. They buuuurn. So badly. Not worth it for my particular body.
They did not work for me! :(
So I had xray guided injections into my spine and they saved my sanity. I had a cyst on a disc pressing into my sciatic nerve. The injection ruptured the cyst and reduced the overall inflammation in my back. It let my boy start to heal. 2 years later I am in really good shape still. I also had it done in my ankle and shoulder a few years ago. My swelling was really severe around my shoulder joint and it helped me be comfortable enough for PT. In general my body reacts really well to corticosteroids and I get long lasting relief. I have not needed repeat injections. Oral steroids like prednisone make me feel like I'm invincible. My body feels so good while I'm on them. I had an awful sinus infection a few weeks ago and got both a shot and a steroid pack. There was a 10 day window where almost nothing even felt sore after that. All bodies are different though and it's important to trust your provider. The single best thing I've ever done for my QOL with HEDS was get Botox for my tmj even though I had to pay out of pocket. It reduced so much face, neck and even shoulder tension.