Cortisone Injection Anyone?

Smoker's Lounge Medical Club
#1

I have just been referred by my doc for a cortisone injection in my shoulder. I’ve had serious pain and sciatica in my upper arm for 4 months now. I’ve paid for massage and again for acupuncture but nothing has worked, not even high THC strains.
Anyway i’m told it’s painful and i hate needles at the best of times so i’m wondering if anyone on here has had one and if so how bad was it?

I need to get sorted soon cos i’m getting angry with the pain and starting to get antisocial too. I even fell out with @Skiball (sorry pal) on here and i’m not normally like that. I’m not sleeping much, am exhausted all the time and cant go on like this much longer so something has to work. A

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#2

I was offered a shot of cortisone as well as recently as 6 months for a similar issue. I have an impingement in both shoulders and the question I asked when offered is what will it do besides give me some pain relief. The answer was nothing towards healing the issue.

For me a no brainer and shots don’t bother me at all.

I’d suggest getting some xrays and if they see something at all, get an MRI next.

Trust me when I say I feel your pain.
:wink:

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#3

Cortisone is a steroid.

If it hits the exact right spot, you will feel instant relief. If it misses, you won’t.

The question is always the same. Do you trust your doc?

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#4

A long needle in under the shoulder blade is not something i’m looking forward too but it looks like i’ll have to get it done. @LED_Seedz I’ve had my usual doc and another one i know who is a customer both tell me i will probably need this done but they both said to try everything else first. I cant tolerate the diclofenac tabs i’ve been trying for it so i’m hoping the steroid injection sorts it.

I cant stand this much longer. The pain is bad enough but i loose power in my arm and have tingling in my hand. @99PerCent I think my usual doc is competent enough but it will be a physio at the hospital who’ll do the procedure. Just got to wait for an appointment now.

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#5

There is always a risk that someone in the chain will err, however, it is the decision your doc is making that you must feel secure in trusting. The tech should be capable.

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#6

I got several opinions from different surgeons based on my x-rays. The last one is who suggested I get the shot, but it was so I could tolerate some PT he wants me to do. When I refused he said at least start taking Alieve which reduces the inflammation. It does seem to have helped some, but it took a good three weeks as it actually felt a little worse during that time.

Best of luck in whatever you decide to do and going forward.
:wink:

BTW He told me to ignore the bottle and take two in the AM and PM at breakfast and dinner.

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#7

Hope your right about the tech bro :grimacing: It seems to be a common enough procedure so hopefully it’ll go ok. I need to get it sorted but i’m not looking forward to having this done.

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#8

@Albannach, the cortisone should also shrink some, if not all, of the inflammation that is putting pressure on the nerve (i.e. the “the tingling”) but it is by no means a solution. I have had two for my back, and my uncle gets one every six months for his shoulder for the last 3 years. It’s like a chiropractor, you feel great when you leave the office, but as the days go by it starts to hurt again, until the next manipulation where you feel great again, as as the days go by… etc, etc, and so forth. The only reason I haven’t had more is I have no insurance.

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#9

Everything is in your mind. Sort as you will, but when the time arrives, simply put the matter where it belongs. It will pass very quickly and you will know if it worked fairly soon after. I hope that you find relief. Try to stay very relaxed at all times.

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#10

Just be mindful that is a Non Steroidal Anti Inflamatory.

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#11

Thanks pal i’ll need a bit of good luck i recon :grin:

btw they tried me on Naproxen about 18 months ago when i first damaged my shoulder but the side effects were nasty.

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#12

I was going to say the same thing. I was taking 1500mg of Ibuprofen and then 1000mg of Naproxen every day for years, just to cope. Did awful things to my digestive system (not just stomach) that I was advised to try weed by my doctor (will not take pain pills). Still trying to find the right strain or mix of CBD/THC but it is allowing me to at least get out of bed without destroying anything.

Be careful with any of the NSAIDS, OTC or prescription. They are okay for the short term but not long.

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#13

Cannabis is the very best, nature made, non steroidal anti inflammatory medicine available. (Best in extremely high doses)

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#14

It usually works for me too but not so much this time. Maybe i’d be in even worse condition if i stopped using it… that wont be happening.

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#15

Did you also get bloated with gas like a beached whale and hellish acid reflux issues pal? I still cant tolerate most of their dam tablets. It’s enough to turn a saint into a cynic at times (and i’m no saint).

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#16

I’ve have probably 15-20 cortisone shots for 4-5 different ortho problems. I think it’s worth trying 1 or 2 to see if the steroids can magically shrink the inflammation, sometimes it happens that way. Other times not so much effect. I wouldn’t keep doing it again and again, better to use surgery or PT to address the problem.

I had a shoulder injection once, it was a small needle and not painful at all. I don’t think they went under the scapula though, it went in the top part of my shoulder. Usually they do a shot of novocaine first so you don’t feel it.

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#17

Thanks pal i’m feeling a bit better about it now but from what they told me it does look like they will go in under the shoulder blade. If it doesn’t work i doubt i will be in a hurry to have it done again. They gave me exercises to do but it just made it hurt like hell so i stopped doing them.

#18

I found some PT exercises that fixed the problem for me. If I keep doing them it doesn’t come back. I did have an MRI and nothing appeared seriously wrong. I always like to get an MRI if possible.

sometimes only 1 of the stretches or exercises is helpful. I’ve had PT’s tell me to do exercises that were not good for me, I only do the ones that help. The day after the PT it should feel better not worse. It might hurt right after doing it, gotta use less weight. Doing icing afterwards helps as much as NSAID pills for me, this thing is a lifesaver

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#19

Now were talking! thanks pal, i knew someone here would come up with something i hadn’t thought of.
I noticed it was a lot worse on hot days but for some reason i didn’t even think about gel packs :thumbsup:

#20

My mrs grows autos and has an OG Kush CBD nearing finish so she cut a couple of small low down buds (shake) earlier this evening and force dried it. It has helped a fair bit but it obviously isn’t as potent as it should be. She should get a decent yield from it so hopefully it will work for us both.

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It’s gone 1am here now so i’m going to see if i can get some badly needed sleep. Cheers folks :thumbsup:

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