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Injections in spine today hurt so bad...

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Posted 7/1/2009 4:54 PM (GMT -8)
I got injections into the nerve, they injected dye then steroids and numbstuff.   They said they gave me something to take the edge off andthe patient before me couldn't even remember why her butt hurt, that she had had an injection.  They might as well have given me water, it did not do anyting or even make me drowsy and they neither checked or cared when I told them.  Then they went ahead with the procedure and I was screaming and crying it hurt so bad. I will never have another.

I told the docs after the first injection that they better give me some more pain stuff and not to do the next one until they do, but they ignored me and went ahead and jammed the second needle in.  The doctor was busy educating another assistant, ie, bragging about how he hit the nerve, showing how good he got he needle in while I was screaming and crying but I couldn't get up because of the block. 

Then they did the second one and I have never ever felt pain like that.  It was worse than when I woke up in surgery. It was horrible. skull

After they were freaking out because they hurt me so bad, it was criminal. Then they all came up and told me it was okay I was crying and screamiing and that Idid fine. It was a joke. We have pain meds for a reason. I have to be awake for a liver biopsy and colonscopy and I've gone through them with less painand appropriate anaesthesia.  They either entirely missed in the IV or they gave me nothing. The doc tried to tell me I must be slow and it would hit when I got home, but it didn't. I was given no pain meds for home and all I have is ultram.  The nurse came up and smiled in my face and said, "well, I just want to make sure that you don't think we didnt give you anything for pain." Well, come to think of it, they didn't. My heart was very irregular for a while afterwards from freaking out and I had to stay there and "calm down" until my heart got better.

I could not in good conscience inflict pain like that on another human being in a non-necessary procedure like pain management injectins of steroids. Especially if I had meds at my disposal to make it not hurt like that. It was sick and the doctor couldn't care less. There is insensitivity, then there is liking to inflict pain. nono

My boyfriend said that another woman was really hurt out in the waiting room, said it was "Godawful".  I guess they pick and choose who they think deserves to suffer.  I swear, mankind is evil. devil

I will never go through that again. Surgery hurts less and accomplishes more. They lost a customer with me. nono  N ow I know why everyone tells me the injections are worthless.  And they don't even give you the "pred" benefits, but now I cant get pred probably.  Oh well, live and learn. That's going to be the new quality of care on medicare though I'm sure they are billing for pain meds. I'm planning on getting a drug test to see if I test positive since I don't take anything. if I don't, I'm going to contest. Well, I guess its one way to weed out the medicare people.

Posted 7/1/2009 5:06 PM (GMT -8)
Maybe I missed it, but what were you injected with and why?
Posted 7/1/2009 5:24 PM (GMT -8)
Marji,

I am so sorry that the procedure went terribly! I can only begin to imagine what you went through! I do know that they go for the nerve roots and they will dig for them if need be . . . It's so horrible that you had to go through that because, you are right, the procedure is non-essential and now you will, most likely, have to wait awhile before you can have any other type of steroids. I just can't believe that they went ahead and did the procedure before the sedation kicked in. Did they give it to you orally? or via IV? I had one procedure where I had no sedation and vowed never to do it unsedated again. The next procedures I had, the sedation was given via IV and I don't remember a thing about the procedure at all . . . my butt still hurt from the injections, but I don't remember the procedure itself.

I can only hope that once the pain wears off from the procedure that the injection helps you. Keeping my fingers crossed that you find some relief.
Posted 7/1/2009 6:34 PM (GMT -8)
Lynnwood, duh on my part. A solumedrol long lasting steroid solution with a lidocaine drug mixed in. The "block" from the lidocaine lasts long enough to get you off the table and out of the office. Then for two days increased pain. They inject dye through the sheath of the nerve I think once they stab the nerve, the needle like "thunks" through the thick sheath and then slips into the nerve, to iluminate the nerve, that hurts bad, then the steroids go right next to the nerve, I think through the sheath of the nerve as well to flow down along the nerve, or at least near the nerve root, which is where my problems are. I'm scheduled for six injections, two at a time in different problem areas of my spine because so many nerve roots are messed up. The injection should last for at least a month or two, sometimes up to a year. The idea is I go back to phys ther and align my pelvis and posture now that the pinched nerve should be better,and then I can get on my bike and ride and walk again. I have to lose weight for my liver and cardiovasc is bad too from not being able to be mobile.

Anne, I thought thats the way its supposed to go!
They hit my nerves so hard my legs kicked back involuntarily, like reflexes, and the pitures were blurred that he showed me. He was so proud, I was grumpy at the least. I can only give one piece of advice, I agree with you, make darn sure you are knocked silly with drugs before they go. This was worse than the time they missed myvein with the pain drugs for my colonoscopy. And I thought that was unpleasant. It was a walk in the park! Maybe the ultram acted like naltrexone and undid the narcotics or something. I think they totally missed or didn't load it. I should have felt something. Even saline has a taste.
Posted 7/2/2009 6:13 AM (GMT -8)
For our newer members, I'm going to ask what might seem like a dumb question.

Is this something that developed as a result of lupus, ie is it something with early warning signs we should be watching for?

Thanks,
Posted 7/2/2009 10:01 AM (GMT -8)
It came with the onset of my ANA and worsened. Its the result of arthritis and possible genetic spinal problems that were triggered to hit me young by something, my illness they say is likely. I have positive Rheumatoid Factor at times as well. Docs told me if you have bad spinal arthritis in your family, I guess if you have serious illness or take certain meds it can get worse. My son has it already at 21, but they say it probaby from all the epilepsy meds, they don't feel he needs an ANA done. I was really sick when it first hit, now it just keeps on.
Posted 7/2/2009 11:14 AM (GMT -8)
I think there is a special place in hell for bad doctors. Surely they have had enough education to know when they are terrible at what they do. The very fisrt think they are taught in med school is supposed to be, "Do no harm", I think yours was probably home with a hangover that day. I'm so sorry they put you through such torture. When my second child was born in 2007, they tried 3 times to put the epidural in and when they finally thought they got it, only half my body was blocked. They ended up putting me under general and I missed my son's birth completely. It's so infuriating and to make things work the anestheisologists get paid outrageous amounts of money. I hope you are feeling better soon and I know it's hard, but try not to hold on to all that anger. It will only make things worse. Take care and God Bless.
Posted 7/2/2009 4:18 PM (GMT -8)
My spine issues were caused by degenerative disc disease and aggravated by a ruptured L4/L5 disc. The ruptured disc has never healed properly and has left me with the peripheral neuropathy and chronic pain pretty much everywhere below my waist (there are days that I wish I could just detach my lower half and leave it behind - it feels like it's falling off anyway! why not leavve it behind??) as well as atrophying muscles in my butt (I have always wanted a smaller butt, but this is not the way I envisioned it happening - especially since muscles don't tend to atrophy evenly - I have "dents" in my butt where certain muscles have atrophied but the others around it have not).

My question is (and it has never been answered with anything more than a "maybe") since I have positive Sjogren's along with the lupus (and this is known to affect the bodily fluid productions like tears, etc.), could it be possible that it affects the lubricant production in the discs as well? I have never been given a definitive answer . . .
Posted 7/2/2009 5:59 PM (GMT -8)
I don't know. My docs blame everything on sjogrens. I don't notice an improvement in my arthritis when I take my evoxac, which gives me more hydration in the saliva and eyes a litttle. But I have been very dehydrated and electrolytes messed up do to some unknown thing like kidneys maybe, since my thyroid and blood sugar are normal. My diuretic doesn't help. If you find out, let me know. I know lots of people with liver damage get bad spinal problems,and I heard thyroid. My docs say sjogrens contributes since whenyou have one autoimmune problem, you usualy get more and osteoarthritis is autoimmune.
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