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SI Joint injection procedure?

I have herniated discs in my lumbar and cervical spine.  The lumbar one was causing sciatica, and in the process of receiving therapy for that, it was determined that my SI Joint was outta whack too.  I've been having epidural steroid/nerve block injections for the past 7 weeks.  They did 4 on my lower back and 2 on my neck, but yesterday they did my SI Joint.  I was sedated for the procedure, so I'm not exactly sure what happened... but when I was in recovery, a nurse and my doctor both came in separately and asked me to stand up and bend over and rate my level of pain relief.  This never happened when I had the other injections.  Also, when I got home I realized that I had 5 bandaids as opposed to the normal 2.  I'm not sure if this is standard when working on this area, or if something went wrong and they didn't want to tell me.  Normally I get a follow up call the next day to see where my pain level is... no call today.  I'm a little perplexed by all of this, as something just seems different.  I'm hoping that maybe someone can shed some light on this for me before I go back in 2 weeks.  I'm afraid to ask my doctor because I'm not sure how to do that without sounding suspicious or accusatory.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.
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Avatar universal
Thank you both for your input. I too will check with my doc next week and ask questions.  I will look into the piriformis muscle now.  Thanks again.  xoxo
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3112530 tn?1434032033
Read your posting and according to my experience, the doctors usually tell you what they are going to treat. Not sure about what procedure you had but sounds like they did steroid injections to the SI joint area which could involve more than one shot. I know the doctors will usually ask me what procedure I am having and they correct me if I misunderstand them. Check out something called the piriformis muscle. This is highly debated in the medical community and there is not enough medical experience to understand this muscle and what it is related to. For some reason, this is a debate among doctors who either know or do not know about this muscle. I have had continued problems with this muscle and have been treated with RFA's in the past. Will need to get more information from my doctor at present to understand the latest procedures.
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Avatar universal
It makes sense that they would want to know about your pain level, because that would determine weather or not the pain originated in the SI joint. If your pain level was unchanged, that would mean that the pain came from somewhere else.

As far as the 5 bandaids, I don't know. You might try posting a copy of this on the Pain Management board.
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