How long does it take for the SI joint injections to give relief?

[sarah.p]

Hi Cindylou,
Ive had S1 injections twice, sadly the first time they didnt work, but I was told that they may well not as I had severe nerve compression for a lengthened period of time. I have them again 3 months ago for nerve impingement from scar tissue after my fusion and im glad to say that they worked straight away, as soon as I got up the sciatica in both legs had gone, the injections are still keeping the nerve pain at bay 3 months on, I get twinges every now and then but no where near as painful as it was, and I hope that they hold out until after my revision surgery, as they have been a godsend this time.
I wish you the very best of luck with the injections and hope that they are a success for you.
hugs
sarah

[mmglobal]

Most diagnostic injections include a fast acting local anesthetic that should generate immediate relief and only last for hours, plus a long acting anti-inflammatory agent that may take days to kick in and then last for days or weeks. The different interval of relief tells the doctor a lot. (Remember... I'm not a doctor... take everything I say with a huge grain of salt... yada yada yada)

Success of the diagnostic injections depend upon your pathology AND the ability to get the injectant where they want it to go. It's possible to miss and it's possible to get an accurate injection and still get a false negative because of scar tissue that keeps the injectant from flowing as anticipated.

There can also be false positives from the injectantant providing relief from a location that is not the intended target of the injection.

While they are not perfect, they CAN shed a lot of light on our problems. Goot luck CindyLou... ask the doc about what you learn here. Tell us what he says.

Mark

[Cindylou]

The SI joint is the sacroiliac joint which is at the sacrum, the base of the spine, and the ilium. It can often be an overlooked source of low back pain. Thanks for the feed back. They are going to do it under floroscopy, so I hope they hit it dead on!

Cindylou

[phylly]

Good lick with the injections CindyLou.
Phylly

[Cindylou]

Thanks Phylly. I have been planted on my couch, it seems like, for the better part of this week. I get up to wash clothes, empty dishwasher, etc., and the weight bearing just drives me back to plop down. I hate my life right now. I am so sick of chronic pain. It just beats me down. And I am normally such an upbeat person, so that definitely makes me feel like I'm "losing." Perhaps this is just a day that the bear is eating me.

Cindylou

[mmglobal]

Cindylou, have you been evaluated for Piriformis Syndrome by someone who actually embraces it as a reasonable possibility?

[Cindylou]

Mark, no. But I will ask my pain management doctor about it tomorrow. Don't know much about it...will do a little research. I know this is just a band aid, but I definitely need my meds adjusted too. The current regime is not cutting it at all.

Cindylou