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Cervical Injections Experience ???
Looking for more feedback on experience of Cervical Injections.
I went ahead and received last minute approval and did the injections 2 days ago. Was very scared but have a really great doctor who explained step by step thru the entire procedure. No difference in symptoms as of yet. Iced neck up right away and had full neck stiffness and injection site type pain for 24 hours. Have not had migraine yet but do have generalized fatigue and not sure if the steroid is the cause of this.
They say it could take a few days to start taking effect and possibly up to two weeks. If not, may need another set of injections.
Anyone who had experience with these type injections specifically ?
I went ahead and received last minute approval and did the injections 2 days ago. Was very scared but have a really great doctor who explained step by step thru the entire procedure. No difference in symptoms as of yet. Iced neck up right away and had full neck stiffness and injection site type pain for 24 hours. Have not had migraine yet but do have generalized fatigue and not sure if the steroid is the cause of this.
They say it could take a few days to start taking effect and possibly up to two weeks. If not, may need another set of injections.
Anyone who had experience with these type injections specifically ?
COMMUNITY LEADER
FANTASTIC NEWS!!!!!!
I am so glad to hear u r getting some benefits from the injection.......
Never say ever as u never know what pain u may be in and knowing that it worked and what it was like, may make it easier to do again....
Sending u best wishes and prayers the benefits remain.
Well....I should report (probably gonna curse this one) that I have NOT had the following symptoms since receiving cervical/thoracic facet injections 9 days ago:
1. Extreme light sensitivity both outdoors and flourescent
2. Extreme Dizziness (very minor - not much)
3. Balance Issues
4. Neck Pain
5. Equilibrium/Vertigo
However, I have experienced a little more than usual fatigue and weakness as well as jitteriness. According to pharmacist the med used can have an effect on thyroid meds. Since my thyroid level is kept fairly low could have become close to if not hyper.
Hopefully this is just a side effect of meds since the level of sensitivity to medications is so high....and nothing else.
The fact that the sunlight is not bothering me is simply amazing and I remember how great it feels to be outside or driving and not have that horrendous feeling of light sensitivity. Hope it stays....at least for a while.
All in all, I would say that the injections freak me out and not sure that I would endure that process again even if it did keep the headaches at bay.
1. Extreme light sensitivity both outdoors and flourescent
2. Extreme Dizziness (very minor - not much)
3. Balance Issues
4. Neck Pain
5. Equilibrium/Vertigo
However, I have experienced a little more than usual fatigue and weakness as well as jitteriness. According to pharmacist the med used can have an effect on thyroid meds. Since my thyroid level is kept fairly low could have become close to if not hyper.
Hopefully this is just a side effect of meds since the level of sensitivity to medications is so high....and nothing else.
The fact that the sunlight is not bothering me is simply amazing and I remember how great it feels to be outside or driving and not have that horrendous feeling of light sensitivity. Hope it stays....at least for a while.
All in all, I would say that the injections freak me out and not sure that I would endure that process again even if it did keep the headaches at bay.
COMMUNITY LEADER
That is great that he is doing so much for u and is keeping up to date on Chiari and the treatment.
The flexion and extension xray....is something most with EDS should get as we can have CCI.
ANd with Chiari alone it is important to check for a retroflex odontoid ....and other possible issues in that area...
LOL.
I do not recall the name of the conference/awareness event it was. I was too impressed that he went and so worked up over those facet injections. Typically, I can have anything done without any thoughts about it but those injections really wigged me out for some reason.
What I found interesting about the injections as well was that my instructions during procedure were to periodically open mouth on command (these were done under fluroscopy) and just did not expect to be doing that.
Then again this is the same person that sent me for the extension, flexion, rom xrays and some were with mouth open as well.
Very impressed so far. Why I could not have found him 3.5 years ago is beyond me !
I do not recall the name of the conference/awareness event it was. I was too impressed that he went and so worked up over those facet injections. Typically, I can have anything done without any thoughts about it but those injections really wigged me out for some reason.
What I found interesting about the injections as well was that my instructions during procedure were to periodically open mouth on command (these were done under fluroscopy) and just did not expect to be doing that.
Then again this is the same person that sent me for the extension, flexion, rom xrays and some were with mouth open as well.
Very impressed so far. Why I could not have found him 3.5 years ago is beyond me !
COMMUNITY LEADER
WOW really....wonder what that was.....I know there is a Chiari conference every yr in July, but no idea what that was about....hmmm I am slipping....lol...
In PT for surgery on my knee the PT was able to put my leg in positions that I can not do on my own, but it did not hurt,....and they just thought my ROM was good and or getting better post op when in fact it was bcuz I have EDS and they did it, I still can not get my leg to move like that....lol...
Wow...that is amazing. I always wondered how people could bend over and touch the floor like that. In gymnastics or physical education class I was never able to bend and touch the toes either.
The first NL I was sent to actually told me to bend over and touch the floor and when I didn't come close at all he was like....I really thought you were going to be more flexible than that.
You will be please to know that the NS that did the injections on me was actually at a Chiari Awareness last weekend in NY
The first NL I was sent to actually told me to bend over and touch the floor and when I didn't come close at all he was like....I really thought you were going to be more flexible than that.
You will be please to know that the NS that did the injections on me was actually at a Chiari Awareness last weekend in NY
COMMUNITY LEADER
The only thing I could not do on the Beighton scale was the bending over with my palms flat on the floor and mostly bcuz I would get too dizzy bending.....and now I also feel my muscles are too tight....again mostly from them doing the job our carteledge and other tissues are suppose to do holding us together,.....so I get muscle spasms.....
It is very possible that ur DD may have this too....
Interesting. I don't think I will pass anything on this test so far as what I can tell.
Oddly enough, I have been wondering if my daughter would have Chiari as well and wondered of EDS with her. She had umbilical hernia. She does not have joint hypermobility, soft skin or blue sclera. But, what she can do is crack more bones in her body than I think is normal. For instance, the bone between wrist and elbow and the entire back from side to side....it is strange.
Oddly enough, I have been wondering if my daughter would have Chiari as well and wondered of EDS with her. She had umbilical hernia. She does not have joint hypermobility, soft skin or blue sclera. But, what she can do is crack more bones in her body than I think is normal. For instance, the bone between wrist and elbow and the entire back from side to side....it is strange.
COMMUNITY LEADER
When it is really cold my finger nails do turn purple.......and same with my toes....but to touch nething cold it hurts I get shooting pain....it travels down my arm up to my shoulders....
I also get all over joint pains with the EDS when ever it gets cold, so I prefer it to be hot out,....
There are questions and signs a Dr can look for as well as using the Beighton Scale...
i. A high Beighton score by itself does not mean that an individual has a hypermobility syndrome. Other symptoms and signs need to also be present.
ii. A low score should be considered with caution when assessing someone for widespread pain as hypermobility can be present at a number of sites that are not counted in the Beighton score. For example, this can be at the jaw joint (the ‘TMJ’), neck (cervical spine), shoulders, mid (thoracic) spine, hips, ankles and feet.
The Beighton score is calculated as follows:
One point if while standing forward bending you can place palms on the ground with legs straight
One point for each elbow that bends backwards
One point for each knee that bends backwards
One point for each thumb that touches the forearm when bent backwards
One point for each little finger that bends backwards beyond 90 degrees.
U can see a pic of how some of these positions look on the EDS group page here on MedHelp. http://www.medhelp.org/forums/show/417?camp=msc
Some of the things they look for is the way ur skin in, if it is velvety soft, stretchy, bruises easily,if u are slow to heal, have blue sclara,
There is also things like having hernia's ....I found out the umbilical cord hernia is one such sign....and I did have that....and I have a hiatal hernia.
I am sure I missed quite a few of them....
Can you tell me how the test is performed for EDS. Wondering if my primary can get this done.
Yes, I have Raynauds as well. I never had that until I moved back to MD from FL in 1996. A year after the move I noticed my poor little fingers turning white in the winter and no doctors had a clue as to what was causing it. Until I saw a Rheumatologist in 2010 did she let me know what it was. Lucky for me it happened while I was in the office so I had proof, lol.
Just 2 years ago did it start with a couple toes. I did notice a couple years ago that my thighs get extremely cold and numb in the winter if we are outdoors in the snow.
Oddly enough, my husband always slept against me because he said I was like a furnace....but since my incident my feet are like ice.
Do your fingers/toes/feet ever turn purple ?
Yes, I have Raynauds as well. I never had that until I moved back to MD from FL in 1996. A year after the move I noticed my poor little fingers turning white in the winter and no doctors had a clue as to what was causing it. Until I saw a Rheumatologist in 2010 did she let me know what it was. Lucky for me it happened while I was in the office so I had proof, lol.
Just 2 years ago did it start with a couple toes. I did notice a couple years ago that my thighs get extremely cold and numb in the winter if we are outdoors in the snow.
Oddly enough, my husband always slept against me because he said I was like a furnace....but since my incident my feet are like ice.
Do your fingers/toes/feet ever turn purple ?
COMMUNITY LEADER
It is more a symptom of Ehlers-Danlos....I was DX'd with Raynauds, and once I got to a Chiari specialist I was told I had EDS and raynauds phenomenon....
I always have cold hands and feet...the further I get from my surgery it seems to be getting better tho.....so, not really sure, but my legs and ankle get ice cold...
But from what I understand EDS can flare just like Chiari does....
COMMUNITY LEADER
So sorry u r not feeling well, and I am sending Healing MoJo out to u.
ANd I am praying u get all the testing needed to help u feel better.
I understand. My procedure was done under flouroscopy and I would hope that these things could be seen under that imaging. Keyword - Hope
After another conversation with NS and explaining legs giving out when I attempt to run and coldness on rt lower leg, he said we will probably be ordering a MRI of the lumbar and xray of the hip.
That's fine since my spine has not been MRI since 2010 however I request that the entire spine be evaluated as I have a copay for imaging studies and would like to do it all in one shot as opposed to piecing it out. In all honesty, I think they should MRI my brain again with flow study as it was not done with contrast (in beginning of Sept,) and I had that horrific scope that set me into a coughing/gagging frenzy (in middle of Sept.) and I have been downhill since then.
Nerve wracking at its best.
Still fatigued and actually concerned because I apparently have acquired a cold/virus and when I cough hard my arms automatically go weak....not normal....again.
After another conversation with NS and explaining legs giving out when I attempt to run and coldness on rt lower leg, he said we will probably be ordering a MRI of the lumbar and xray of the hip.
That's fine since my spine has not been MRI since 2010 however I request that the entire spine be evaluated as I have a copay for imaging studies and would like to do it all in one shot as opposed to piecing it out. In all honesty, I think they should MRI my brain again with flow study as it was not done with contrast (in beginning of Sept,) and I had that horrific scope that set me into a coughing/gagging frenzy (in middle of Sept.) and I have been downhill since then.
Nerve wracking at its best.
Still fatigued and actually concerned because I apparently have acquired a cold/virus and when I cough hard my arms automatically go weak....not normal....again.
COMMUNITY LEADER
A syrinx can form in the thoracic and lumbar spine as well as cervical spine, a flow study is where the skull and spine meet....so it would not show a syrinx that has formed lower in the spine....
I have not had the injections, can only say what others reported and the concern for the tonsils or syrinx....
Thanks u too : )
My thought was that the injections were going to be higher up at the base of the skull however they were cervical/thoracic.
So I don't "think" that is high enough to affect the cerebral tonsils and don't have a syrinx that I am aware of at least my MRI w/flow study of 9/2013 didn't show one.
Not exactly sure what that means but I know this is "trying" to help with migraines etc. but probably just being used as a diagnostic tool instead.
Hope you are having a great day !
So I don't "think" that is high enough to affect the cerebral tonsils and don't have a syrinx that I am aware of at least my MRI w/flow study of 9/2013 didn't show one.
Not exactly sure what that means but I know this is "trying" to help with migraines etc. but probably just being used as a diagnostic tool instead.
Hope you are having a great day !
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