Trigger point injections

[Guest guest]

> Can anyone provide any feedback, good or bad, regarding trigger point

injections in the neck/upper back area? <

I have had them. The first time in an ER when my usual pain meds wasn't working.

After being treated like a drug addict, the ER doc finally spoke to my back

doctor and gave me the injection.

Then yesterday, I had 4 injections in my neck and area between neck and

shoulder. It is just lidocaine that the inject you with, which numbs the

irritated muscles and nerves.

Sometimes my neck spasms up so bad and it is to irritated. I describe it as my

neck feels angry. The injections seem to help it relax. I still have the

tingling in my hands and such, but the pain relief is awesome.

It is short term relief, but that is all I need to break the irritation to allow

my regular pain meds to work.

Not sure if I explained it to you correctly, or it is what you are looking for.

Viv in GA

[Guest guest]

< I have a few questions if you don't mind. >

Ask away!! Anything I can do to help!

< How many injections have you had in total? >

5...one about 6 months ago, and 4 yesterday.

< What did they use to prepare the area prior to the

injection? >

Just swabbed the area with an alcohol pad.

< How long does the actual injection and preparation of the area take? >

My injections yesterday...I had 4 and total time was about 10 minutes, and that

included finding the right spots, injections, and band-aids.

< I read on a website that it takes 30 minutes - which to me seems like a long

time. >

That does sound like a long time.

< Finally, did you get a bruise and how long did the

injection site pain last? >

Did not get a bruise at all. I was a little sore last night but nothing bad.

This morning I was back to my normal levels of pain, which are easily managed by

my regular meds.

< Mine would be done between my neck and shoulder too so

anything additional you can think of would be great >

I think the worse is the anticipation. One thing my back and neck problems have

done was get me used to having shots. I hare needles! But now I can take them

okay as I know it isn't the worse thing that can happen. My doctor is a sweetie

also...so that helps. He was mad that my neurosurgeon left me out in the cold

with uncontrolled pain, refusing to return my phone calls. So he bends over

backwards to try and help.

Viv in GA

[Guest guest]

> Did the soreness make it difficult to sleep last

night? What are you taking for pain? <

Nope...just a little sore and easily ignored.

I am on a daily regimen of Bextra, Neurontin, Flexeral, Zanaflex, Elavil.

Percocet and Vicodin for break-thru pain...maybe use one or the other once a

month?

< What made you get 4 at a time? My doc said he would

only do one at a time. >

Maybe you need to clarify with your doctor what kind of injection these are.

Only one at a time sounds like an epidural, which does take longer and a little

more pain afterwards.

My doctor injected Lidocaine into each of the areas that were painful to touch.,

so I ended up with one injection on each side of my neck and 2 out towards the

left shoulder, but still neck area.

Viv in GA

[Guest guest]

I was put on Neurtriptolyne a couple years ago for migraines and to break the

cycle of my headaches. Turns out it helped the nerve pain going down my leg

from my herniated discs as well. Then when I stopped taking it I got very, very

dizzy. The pharmacist said that it was because of my serotonin levels being

off. Since I've been back on, my nerve pain and headaches have been tolerable

again. I think some antidepressents help with pain also. I don't know anything

about the injections though.

Rochelle <rccoc1977@...> wrote: Hi everyone,

I went to the new pain doctor for trigger point injections

yesterday. He said he'd do these next month. For now he wants me on an

antidepressent, Lexapro, to normalize the serotonin levels in my brain

which he said were way low due to the months and months of pain from

the gastroparesis and then the neck. He seemed to be saying that I was

caught in a chronic pain cycle and couldn't begin to get better until

my brain chemistry was normalized. He was " fertilizing the field " so

the injections would be more effective.

Does this sound reasonable?

Rochelle

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[Guest guest]

> and i agree w/you on flexeril, once my muscles are

> knotted, flexeril won't touch it with a 10 ft pole.

> but if its bad enough that you're willing to accept

> more pain for a temporary solution til meds work, find

> a doc who is willing to do a cortizone injection right

> into the knot (trigger point). hurts like hell, but

> the pain will be gone soon! i've only ask for one

> twice in my life, thats how rheumy knew it was bad!

I get 3 or 4 trigger point injections in my upper back and

neck every month and, oh lord, do they hurt! It's all I can

do not to scream But the OA and scoliosis in my back and

neck flare up the muscles so bad that *they* scream with pain

I *think* the injections work, mainly because about 4

weeks after the injections the pain in my neck and upper thoracic spine

becomes so bad it's hard to hold my head up to work for more than a

few hours at a time. Like right now I'm resting my head on my

shoulder as I type. So I know that I should go in for my shots next

week, sigh.

[Guest guest]

Just to make it clear: the trigger point injections I mentioned that

I get at the TJ headache center are very shallow and wouldn't cause

this problem. I have, however, had deep trigger point injections

right along my spinal cord. Those are the dangerous ones. When I had

those done I was under a very light sedation and the doctor was

talking to me the entire time to ensure he wasn't hitting anything

he wasn't supposed to.

Blessings,

Randy

> >

> > I heard and or read more than once that about 90% of spinal

> surgeries

> > are unsuccessful. I don't believe that they are quacks or they

> mean

> > wrong I do believe that the spine is such a complex system that

> they

> > do their absolute best but there are so many variables, and so

> much

> > that can go wrong. I believe that those who are cured by

surgery

> or

> > chiropractic, or P/T are damn lucky few and should thank God,

kiss

> > the ground and generally be very happy and careful that they

> dodged

> > that bullet. The rest of us are here, or should be here. When I

> had

> > my first surgery in 1982-3 or so, there was no P/T no banks of

> tests,

> > they did x-rays and went right in surgically. It was an utter

> > failure, and that doctor was a butcher. My Second surgery done

4

> > years later was at a big city teaching hospital,

Jefferson

> in

> > Philadelphia. I had a surgeon who was at the top of his game

and

> was

> > doing fusion which then in 1987 were new and experimental. I

was

> > under for about 12 hours, he did a great job, I felt better when

I

> > woke up, was walking the next day, and had 13 very good years.

I

> was

> > also careful and thankful for a new lease on life. The Doctor

who

> > did the fusions was sued out of business because he was doing

> fusions

> > with hardware and in a way that were not approved by the FDA. I

> > didn't get in on the suit because he saved my life, and I told

him

> > so. He now raises horses in Delaware. His name is Sanford

> > Davne. He was a young bright Doctor who took his time to

explain

> > everything and really cared. He also did surgical rebuilds for

> many

> > famous Philadelphia Athletes, and the R & B singer Teddy

> > Pendergrass. I was damn luck he took me on as a patient. My

Back

> > gave out from me just bending over slightly in Jan 5, 2000. I

> knew I

> > needed surgery but by then the Doctors were required by the

> insurance

> > companies to try every non surgical method first. before they

> could

> > cut. This wasted 4 months and thousands of dollars, when both I

> and

> > my Doctor knew I needed surgery. The MRI's, CatScans, EMG's you

> name

> > it all pointed to disk and nerve damage. I had a business that

> was

> > busy in the summer and dead to slow in the winter / spring. It

> would

> > have really helped me to have surgery in Feb / March, but I had

to

> > wait until May 15th. Right before our Busy season hit in our

> > Portrait Photography business. Thanks to insurance regulations

I

> > almost lost my business that summer. The surgery was somewhat

> > successful. I went from total agony, couldn't walk etc, to

> tolerable

> > agony with meds, braces etc. Again insurance required all types

> of

> > P/T. I went to 3 different physical therapy practices, rang up

> huge

> > bills and in the end, hurt my back, and blew out my knee. The

one

> > good thing is I lost 50 lbs, because I was awake almost 24 hours

a

> > day and couldn't eat. Before I move on My 3rd back surgery

was

> to

> > remove my old hardware, clean out bone spurs and scar tissue,

> remove

> > 2 newly damaged disks, fix a tear in the Dura, the sheath that

> covers

> > the spinal cord, they didn't know I had that until they went in

(

> it

> > also caused spinal fluid to leak ) and fuse 2 additional levels.

> So I

> > now had all new hardware with 4 or 5 levels fused now, I really

> don't

> > know. I know it's S1, L1, L2, L3, & L4. It also took about 12

> hours

> > because the old hardware was very hard to get out, and they

hadn't

> > foreseen the Dura damage. They had me walk the same day. That

was

> > real fun. I stood up after being basically forced to and lets

just

> > say fluids came out both ends. I was totally embarrassed, But

had

> a

> > great caring nurse who said I wasn't the first or the last to do

> that.

> >

> > My Doctor had noticed damage to my neck area and kept asking

> before

> > the latest lower back surgery if my neck and or shoulder hurt.

I

> > said no they didn't. But once the pain subsided from the

surgery

> my

> > neck and shoulder started to kill me. Seems the pain from the

> lower

> > back over-rode the pain from the neck and shoulder. He showed

me

> > where on my Cervical spine there were bone spurs pressing on my

> > spinal cord to the point of almost cutting into them. There

were

> > also herniated disks on two levels. He told me this was the

cause

> of

> > my shoulder and neck pain and this surgery was a no brainer that

> > would relieve that pain. He told me he had the same problems

and

> > surgery cured him, and he has to look down over patients for

> > multi-hour operations. I had that surgery December 28th

> > 2000. Wanted to get it in while all my deductible was used for

> the

> > year. As Soon as I woke up, I said to myself what the hell did

I

> > do. I was in much more pain that pre surgery. They said that

was

> > normal and it would subside, but it never did. The next two

years

> I

> > tried everything, P/T, Injections, acupuncture, healing

services,

> > second opinions, 3 pain management specialists, nothing

> > helped. This surgery was a total failure. The best anyone

could

> > offer was exploratory surgery, because no test showed a reason

for

> the pain.

> >

> > So my reason for saying all of this is get second or third

> opinions,

> > look into the new very non-invasive disk repairs, try to avoid

> > surgery and or fusion if you can. If you get all the opinions

you

> > can and they all say surgery is your only hope, then by all

means

> > make an educated decision and do it. yours may be the one that

is

> a

> > great success. My Brother-in-law had surgery and fusion and his

> has

> > been a success. My second one was a great success fro 13

years.

> For

> > me I've been told that having had 4 surgeries from age 22 up

until

> > age 40 that this is as good as it get. Until they find a way to

> > replace disks and undue some of the damage I have, this is where

> I'm at.

> >

> >

> > As far as the pillow. I require an ice pack on my shoulder

> blade

> > and or neck to reduce the pain enough to even think about

> > sleeping. Still I don't sleep anymore in bed, despite the fact

I

> > take enough pills to make an elephant sleep. But I can sleep

> while

> > reclined in my LaZboy chair. So for me I have much better luck,

> not

> > laying down, but reclining. I go to bed because I'm away from

my

> > wife all day long, but If it's sleep I want, then it's down to

the

> > chair. So you may want to try a recliner, or a Craftmatic type

> > bed. They are expensive but I see them used all the time in the

> > local pennysaver newspapers, or craigs list. Well that's my

long

> > winded diatribe for this evening. Sorry but this subject hit a

> nerve

> > and we have several new friends on our list who may benefit if

> they

> > are considering surgery. Also Remember these are my results, we

> are

> > all very much individuals with our own sets of problems and some

> of

> > us are blessed with the best Doctors around, others not so

> > good. Just remember this is your spine your talking about you

> want

> > only the best in there poking around or you could be in for a

life

> of

> > misery. Thanks for listening, Dave

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My doc has suggested the trigger point injections but I am scared that they will

paralize me. also have scared of needles. They told me I have to have six or

seven the first time. Do these hurt? So you had light sedation;how did that make

you feel? I also have fibromyalgia and osteoporosis among other problems. I am

in the process of SSDI with Allsup. They do everything for me. Let me know if

you had these injections without sedation. My pain right now is about a 7. Wanda

From: Randy Tusone <randy6789@...>

Subject: Re: Trigger Point Injections

neck pain

Date: Friday, August 29, 2008, 9:45 AM

Just to make it clear: the trigger point injections I mentioned that

I get at the TJ headache center are very shallow and wouldn't cause

this problem. I have, however, had deep trigger point injections

right along my spinal cord. Those are the dangerous ones. When I had

those done I was under a very light sedation and the doctor was

talking to me the entire time to ensure he wasn't hitting anything

he wasn't supposed to.

Blessings,

Randy

> >

> > I heard and or read more than once that about 90% of spinal

> surgeries

> > are unsuccessful. I don't believe that they are quacks or they

> mean

> > wrong I do believe that the spine is such a complex system that

> they

> > do their absolute best but there are so many variables, and so

> much

> > that can go wrong. I believe that those who are cured by

surgery

> or

> > chiropractic, or P/T are damn lucky few and should thank God,

kiss

> > the ground and generally be very happy and careful that they

> dodged

> > that bullet. The rest of us are here, or should be here. When I

> had

> > my first surgery in 1982-3 or so, there was no P/T no banks of

> tests,

> > they did x-rays and went right in surgically. It was an utter

> > failure, and that doctor was a butcher. My Second surgery done

4

> > years later was at a big city teaching hospital,

Jefferson

> in

> > Philadelphia. I had a surgeon who was at the top of his game

and

> was

> > doing fusion which then in 1987 were new and experimental. I

was

> > under for about 12 hours, he did a great job, I felt better when

I

> > woke up, was walking the next day, and had 13 very good years.

I

> was

> > also careful and thankful for a new lease on life. The Doctor

who

> > did the fusions was sued out of business because he was doing

> fusions

> > with hardware and in a way that were not approved by the FDA. I

> > didn't get in on the suit because he saved my life, and I told

him

> > so. He now raises horses in Delaware. His name is Sanford

> > Davne. He was a young bright Doctor who took his time to

explain

> > everything and really cared. He also did surgical rebuilds for

> many

> > famous Philadelphia Athletes, and the R & B singer Teddy

> > Pendergrass. I was damn luck he took me on as a patient. My

Back

> > gave out from me just bending over slightly in Jan 5, 2000. I

> knew I

> > needed surgery but by then the Doctors were required by the

> insurance

> > companies to try every non surgical method first. before they

> could

> > cut. This wasted 4 months and thousands of dollars, when both I

> and

> > my Doctor knew I needed surgery. The MRI's, CatScans, EMG's you

> name

> > it all pointed to disk and nerve damage. I had a business that

> was

> > busy in the summer and dead to slow in the winter / spring. It

> would

> > have really helped me to have surgery in Feb / March, but I had

to

> > wait until May 15th. Right before our Busy season hit in our

> > Portrait Photography business. Thanks to insurance regulations

I

> > almost lost my business that summer. The surgery was somewhat

> > successful. I went from total agony, couldn't walk etc, to

> tolerable

> > agony with meds, braces etc. Again insurance required all types

> of

> > P/T. I went to 3 different physical therapy practices, rang up

> huge

> > bills and in the end, hurt my back, and blew out my knee. The

one

> > good thing is I lost 50 lbs, because I was awake almost 24 hours

a

> > day and couldn't eat. Before I move on My 3rd back surgery

was

> to

> > remove my old hardware, clean out bone spurs and scar tissue,

> remove

> > 2 newly damaged disks, fix a tear in the Dura, the sheath that

> covers

> > the spinal cord, they didn't know I had that until they went in

(

> it

> > also caused spinal fluid to leak ) and fuse 2 additional levels.

> So I

> > now had all new hardware with 4 or 5 levels fused now, I really

> don't

> > know. I know it's S1, L1, L2, L3, & L4. It also took about 12

> hours

> > because the old hardware was very hard to get out, and they

hadn't

> > foreseen the Dura damage. They had me walk the same day. That

was

> > real fun. I stood up after being basically forced to and lets

just

> > say fluids came out both ends. I was totally embarrassed, But

had

> a

> > great caring nurse who said I wasn't the first or the last to do

> that.

> >

> > My Doctor had noticed damage to my neck area and kept asking

> before

> > the latest lower back surgery if my neck and or shoulder hurt.

I

> > said no they didn't. But once the pain subsided from the

surgery

> my

> > neck and shoulder started to kill me. Seems the pain from the

> lower

> > back over-rode the pain from the neck and shoulder. He showed

me

> > where on my Cervical spine there were bone spurs pressing on my

> > spinal cord to the point of almost cutting into them. There

were

> > also herniated disks on two levels. He told me this was the

cause

> of

> > my shoulder and neck pain and this surgery was a no brainer that

> > would relieve that pain. He told me he had the same problems

and

> > surgery cured him, and he has to look down over patients for

> > multi-hour operations. I had that surgery December 28th

> > 2000. Wanted to get it in while all my deductible was used for

> the

> > year. As Soon as I woke up, I said to myself what the hell did

I

> > do. I was in much more pain that pre surgery. They said that

was

> > normal and it would subside, but it never did. The next two

years

> I

> > tried everything, P/T, Injections, acupuncture, healing

services,

> > second opinions, 3 pain management specialists, nothing

> > helped. This surgery was a total failure. The best anyone

could

> > offer was exploratory surgery, because no test showed a reason

for

> the pain.

> >

> > So my reason for saying all of this is get second or third

> opinions,

> > look into the new very non-invasive disk repairs, try to avoid

> > surgery and or fusion if you can. If you get all the opinions

you

> > can and they all say surgery is your only hope, then by all

means

> > make an educated decision and do it. yours may be the one that

is

> a

> > great success. My Brother-in-law had surgery and fusion and his

> has

> > been a success. My second one was a great success fro 13

years.

> For

> > me I've been told that having had 4 surgeries from age 22 up

until

> > age 40 that this is as good as it get. Until they find a way to

> > replace disks and undue some of the damage I have, this is where

> I'm at.

> >

> >

> > As far as the pillow. I require an ice pack on my shoulder

> blade

> > and or neck to reduce the pain enough to even think about

> > sleeping. Still I don't sleep anymore in bed, despite the fact

I

> > take enough pills to make an elephant sleep. But I can sleep

> while

> > reclined in my LaZboy chair. So for me I have much better luck,

> not

> > laying down, but reclining. I go to bed because I'm away from

my

> > wife all day long, but If it's sleep I want, then it's down to

the

> > chair. So you may want to try a recliner, or a Craftmatic type

> > bed. They are expensive but I see them used all the time in the

> > local pennysaver newspapers, or craigs list. Well that's my

long

> > winded diatribe for this evening. Sorry but this subject hit a

> nerve

> > and we have several new friends on our list who may benefit if

> they

> > are considering surgery. Also Remember these are my results, we

> are

> > all very much individuals with our own sets of problems and some

> of

> > us are blessed with the best Doctors around, others not so

> > good. Just remember this is your spine your talking about you

> want

> > only the best in there poking around or you could be in for a

life

> of

> > misery. Thanks for listening, Dave

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>