Epidural

[zimmy02]

Did anyone ever hear of getting an epidural for sciatic pain in an office with nothing given before you get the shot?

[toolmaker]

Good for you Zimmy!

[zimmy02]

Update ,the RACZ procedure that I had worked,no leg pain at all.And I got myself off of the oxycodone.No help.Got tired of all the weird side effects.And plus I had an allergic reaction to the stuff.So now I only take advil if I need to.And yea I'm a very happy camper.And soon go to surgery to get the stimulator out cause it never worked anyway.

[RunningMom]

I can't do it without anything.  I've had 14 injections in a year and a half in my neck.  I've had valium and had the light IV sedation.  I personally like the light IV sedation the best when given the injections.  One of the pain doctors put in extra medicine once and I felt the effects for hours afterwards.  I didn't mind, because hubby drove in a snowstorm on the way home.  

Not one single injection worked for me, in fact most of them made my pain unbearable for weeks.  Ugh....  Thankfully, the pain clinic I'm at doesn't force me into these injections.  

Good luck and I wish you the best.

[zimmy02]

To answer your questions. Yes it was the Racz procedure and yes it does work.And no I do not need an epidural,because they do not work for me at all.And no thank you to valium.And I had the SCS for 10 months and it never worked.I didn't have the scar tissue until I had the herniated disc repaired which was 5 months later.So to give you a time line I had tarlov cyst removed in 4/2008,then SCS trial in 4/2009,thenSCS implanted in 5/2009 and lastly L5-S1 herniated disc repaired in 9/2009.They found that I had dense scar tissue at the disc repaired area.found it with a CAT scan in 11/2009.So it didn't take long for it to form there.And no I am not seeing the same doctors,cause all they want to do is push pills .And I did request them to remove it 4 or 5 times.Always the same answer we'll just leave it in for now,and the thing causes me pain in the butt.Because it's pushing on the nerve.So now probably next month my family doctor is going to send me to detox to get off of the oxycodone.I have no idea what they do,never did anything like that.Never was addicted to prescription meds before.So I'm a little worried as to what's going to happen.And thanks for all your comments.

[Sjoggie]

Gosh, how do they determine you have scar tissue that is causing you pain in the joint?

I had a fusion on the L5 S1 but I'm still in pain.

The pain management I am currently seeing  was saying he was going to test the L4 and then the hardware from the fusion and if that didn't work I would get the SI joint injection.

I am so out of alignment in the pelvic area it is sad to look at the pictures, and I have recently finished an MRI with contrast, an x-ray and a cat scan.

I have had epidurals (before the surgery) without any meds and did just fine.  They didn't work, but they didn't add any pain.  I have not had the one for the sacroiliac as of yet, but I get that if the other two shots don't do the trick.  Part of this is diagnostic so I'm not sure I'll get much pain relief I will really get at this point other than to tell if the area they are looking at is the pain generator.

I did have one doc who said he could do the sacroiliac in the office but he was more a regular gp and I wanted someone who did this a lot and besides I did not have the results of my tests back at that point.  I also didn't like the doctor.

I think if you are nervous you might want to ask for the valium to calm you or see what the doc does and explain your fears.  

Sounds like you have a good doc.

I wish you the very best!

[kelsgor0422]

Yes, I have heard of this being done in an office setting with no sedation. I have had it done and I work for the pain management group that gave the SI joint injection. We have 2 docs. One of them prefers his patients to be sedated all the way and the other one prefers no sedation. It is the preference of the doc and the patient. If you are ever scheduled for an injection, you need to find out at the time of scheduling, if you will be offered sedation or not. If not, and you are concerned about that, speak with your docs nurse. They can make arrangements to have you sedated or we give our patients a script for 2 valium pills to pick up the day before the procedure from the pharmacy. They are to take them 1 hour and then 30 minutes prior to the injection. So, there are options out there, but your doc must not communicate those.  

We do not do the Racz but it is for patients with failed back surgery. How long have you had the SCS? Is is not working because of all the scar tissue? Sometimes, the scar tissue plays a big role in SCS and whether they are working properly or not. Are you still seeing the same doc that did the permanent placement of the stim? I can't believe they won't remove it if you have requested it. Now, I have seen that with one patient before but there doc wouldn't remove it because the patient did not have insurance anymore and the patient couldn't afford to pay to have it removed. Awful situation! A doc that used to work in our practice.....heard of this patients problem and agreed to remove it for him for free. Oh, did I mention......it was causing an infection and the other doc still wouldn't remove it, even though he put it in!! Sad but true.

Good luck with your new doc! Good ones are hard to come by these days.

[toolmaker]

I am pretty sure the procedure Zimmy is refering to is call a Racz.I  get these a couple time per year.Personally speaking I have longer relief from this than any procedure I have had.

[sandee1818]

Thanks for posting this information. It may help someone in that area who is having similar problems:)
I hope everything is working out much better for you now.

[zimmy02]

After listening to the last doctors that I went to and just pushing oxycodone and has me addicted to it,that was enough.Plus the fact that they won't remove the spinal cord stimulator that is just plain useless.So I finally have a doctor that is making progress with me.I got two shots to dissolve the scar tissue after having four surgeries.And it is working.I have alot less pain, so I go back in six months to get another shot and hopefully that one will do the trick in getting rid of the rest of the scar tissue.So if anyone else has the scar tissue and sciatic pain here is the guy to see Dr.Osman Latif at the Watson Clinic in Lakeland,Florida.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Zimmy,

My father had a ESI in a clinic setting with nothing more than a numbing agent in the injection site. My brother had the same in another clinic. So in my area this is common. I assume you are talking about an ESI.

I had a steroidal injection directly into my Sacroiliac Joint. Are you talking about that procedure? That is a different process. I was given minimal IV sedation in a hospital setting. I think that needle was 10 inches long!!!! I still felt it although it was like a dream. The nurse was extremely rude. When I was brought back to the post-procedural area following the procedure she sarcastically told my husband, "She cried through the entire process!!" Bless my husband he said, "She never cries. You must have really hurt her."  But I am rambling.....

I believe it depends on the injection site. Are you having this done? If so what area will they be injecting?