Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group SI Sacrum Cortisone Injection

Sorry Jason that you had that experience. I have those injections in my facet joint's in the Sacro joint's. I have had four and only one didn't last long so he did it again a month later. They are diagnostic to see if where they are shooting you is the right joint. If they work well, the next step is a rhizotomy for which I am scheduled for on May 10th.
I have two very kind Dr.s that work with me at two separate pain clinic's. One only does pain injections and the other does both and treat's with rx's. I started the first one and like him so well and you know what 'Kindness Matters' when you are dealing with this awful disease. My Dr. gives me a sedative to take an hour before the procedure because when you are in that kind of pain already, it is sensory overload to go into a cold sterile room and have someone touch you. He also gives me an I.V. with more sedative and he doesn't believe in painful procedures. He gives me a shot close to the surface just to numb me up good and I don't feel a thing after that. Maybe you can find someone else. So sorry you had this awful experience but don't give up. Keep trying the shots.

Pea, hope your rhizotomy goes well. I'm very happy with the results on mine. Also, my pain doc has been a godsend. She is awesome. Had some reservations about doing this, and wondered what I got myself into as the nerves were trying to die off....sheesh. Make sure you are taking NSAIDs of some sort in the initial period after the procedure (with doc's okay, of course) as this will help with the huge amounts of inflammation inflicted on the SIJ area. Is your doc doing both sides in one procedure? Mine didn't want to because of the number of injections (12 on each side). Would have been nice to get it all done in one fell swoop, but she knows best.

Again, Good luck! (and welcome to KA--this is the first post of yours I've seen)

Hi,
Allow me to add my two cents worth...
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Well it was Monday when I had my bilateral si joint cortisone injections and I think today I may finally be feeling some relief. They told me I may feel crummy on the second or third day and they were right. My sacrum is still sore to the touch but hopefully that will improve in a couple days.

The procedure was easy, they gave me a sedative and told me it would be like having a Margarita, they were right. If this helps the dr told me I could get the radiofrequency ablation done to my si joint nerves ? I haven't read up on that yet to see if it is really risky or not.
I'm not sure what I am going to do, I just wanted some relief, even if is temporary.

Thanks again everyone for telling me your experience, it made it much easier for me.

Glad to hear it was a success! I hope you get a long period of relief from the pain.

I did the RFA and am totally happy with the results. It was a tough time to recover from (just a bit more pain for a couple of weeks, but didn't have to miss work or anything like that--just more pain meds than usual!), but it was worth it! In researching it, I found they've done the procedure (not always on SIJ) for years, so it's very safe.

Pea, your doc sounds great. I went to a random pain clinic that my reglar doc sent me to when he ran out of options/ideas. This clinic was popular with addicts I think. This was also before Enbrel and any regular pain meds. I was still in a tough spot with the pain, so the procedure at the time did no favors. I do wonder how I would feel now?

Valsmum, glad to hear that the injections are working. I hope it lasts a long time!