Facet joint injections

[silleecharle]

Hi, has anyone here had lumbar facet joint injections, iv suffered with osteoarthritis for many yrs, I had epidural injections back in 2014 which didn't work and the following yr I had an operation, a lumbar disectomy and decompression, this cured my nerve pain but the arthritic pain has continued to b extremely painful and the pain clinic referred me for facet joint injections which I had done 2weeks ago but my pain has gotten worse, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me is it possible for these injections to cause increased pain, my review isn't until July and I'm not sure how much more of this pain I can handle.

[weathervane]

Hi , i had 4 facet joint injections back in September, they took a couple of weeks to fully kick in . I found the actual injections very painful and i was in some discomfort initially but I wasn’t in severe pain . I think it might be an idea to speak to your consultants secretary or your gp as this may not be normal. Were you given a number to contact? I hope things do settle down and you are able to get some benefit 🌸

[silleecharle in reply to weathervane]

Thank you for your reply, I too had 4 injections and was told I shud feel some change between 2-7 days, tomorrow see's it 2weeks since I had them so I'm not hopeful they are going to work at all, I seem to b experiencing alot of nerve pain, spasms which are radiating as far as the back of my calf, I'm in constant pain, virtually impossible to get any ease, I was in a lot of pain before but it was more arthritic pain, stiffness etc so something has definitely changed, il contact my gp tomorrow, I was told by the specialist that this was my last hope of any ease as we have exhausted everything from treatments to medications, I feel so deflated, I had hoped so much they would work as they cud then carry out burning the nerves to get longer relief, any hope for ease has totally gone now.

[weathervane in reply to silleecharle]

Its rough . The facet joint injections worked till Christmas when I slipped a disc , they tried a nerve root injection which helped with the extreme pain but still v sore so having disc shaved next Friday. I found that increasing lyrica helped with some of the nerve pain so could get a bit of sleep , also taking tramadol, it’s lucky i can tolerate these drugs . I hope the gp can help or email your consultant to review your treatment. Its horrible and I know how you are feeling , im also guilty of comfort eating as i cant drive or get out so putting on weight ☹️