Corticosteroid injection, any experience?

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DietPrada
DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I had two of these in the past, a few years ago as I had that dreaded fat girl affliction - Plantars Fasciitis. It helped the first time but didn't do much the second time.

Last Tuesday morning I had an ultrasound on my hip due to ongoing pain in the joint. There's mild inflammation/bursitis. The doctor gave me a steroid injection into the joint (guided by the ultrasound to make sure it was in the right spot). The info flyer they gave me said I could experience discomfort for 48 hours. When I went back to the Dr on Friday to review the films he said it can last for up to 2 weeks.

Today is day 7, and I am having trouble still. It's not outright pain, but more like that feeling you get when you get pins and needles and then the feeling is returning and you get that unbearable tingly weird feeling. If I sit for longer than about 10 minutes I get pins and needles in my leg. If I stand it aches and my legs feel a bit weak like I've climbed a massive hill. I also have nausea on and off. I can't sit in an office chair, or even the lounge without losing feeling in my limb within a short time. It's not getting any better. There's no point going back to the Dr as he told me "two weeks" but I feel it's not normal to have this level of discomfort for this long.

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  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    that sucks. i know the feeling, or at least i have the impression i do. i'll deal with your specific question first.

    i have had a cortisone shot into one hip, due to ongoing rheumatoid inflammation. to be honest, i can't remember if i felt those effects after it, but i don' t think so somehow. i remember being so high on the idea of cortisone that i was really upset when they told me you can only get them so many times a year as they're not super-great for your body's cartilage-repair processes.

    i do recall having another one into my shoulder a few years later and being very uncomfortable once the novocaine work off for that one. the shot puts extra fluid into the joint capsule and the added pressure alone made it very achey and sore for a day or two. after 7 days though, i think i'd be making some followup calls. yes, they said up to two weeks but if it's not at least on an improving trend i think that warrants a call.

    the other thing i have to say could be completely irrelevant so please don't take this as an alternative to calling them back and getting someone real to give their feedback. it's about the symptoms you're listing. they sound exactly like how i've felt for the past week for other reasons, and finally i tracked it down to a muscle called quadratus femoris. never even heard of it, but it's right up there in hip-capsule turf. i must have pissed one of mine off about a week ago and it gave me everything that you describe, except nausea.
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
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    canadianlbs wrote: »
    that sucks. i know the feeling, or at least i have the impression i do. i'll deal with your specific question first.

    i have had a cortisone shot into one hip, due to ongoing rheumatoid inflammation. to be honest, i can't remember if i felt those effects after it, but i don' t think so somehow. i remember being so high on the idea of cortisone that i was really upset when they told me you can only get them so many times a year as they're not super-great for your body's cartilage-repair processes.

    i do recall having another one into my shoulder a few years later and being very uncomfortable once the novocaine work off for that one. the shot puts extra fluid into the joint capsule and the added pressure alone made it very achey and sore for a day or two. after 7 days though, i think i'd be making some followup calls. yes, they said up to two weeks but if it's not at least on an improving trend i think that warrants a call.

    the other thing i have to say could be completely irrelevant so please don't take this as an alternative to calling them back and getting someone real to give their feedback. it's about the symptoms you're listing. they sound exactly like how i've felt for the past week for other reasons, and finally i tracked it down to a muscle called quadratus femoris. never even heard of it, but it's right up there in hip-capsule turf. i must have pissed one of mine off about a week ago and it gave me everything that you describe, except nausea.

    Thank you, whatever it is is a direct result of the injection. Normal joint pain before, this weird pain and pins and needles since (from when the anaesthetic wore off 2 hours after the needle).
  • ejsilvi
    ejsilvi Posts: 205 Member
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    Did NOTHING for my pain !
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
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    I'm allergic to corticosteroids. Found that one out the hard way.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    Had this done on my right wrist. After having the baby, I had post partum carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. It hurt like hell for at least a week, then all of a sudden the pain was gone. I hope it doesn't come back cause that was the worse.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    My mother had a one in her hips a few years back. She was joining us on a large family vacation and did not want her activities to be limited by the pain. Her bursitis was/is fairly bad. She had a lot of relief from it. I do not remember her having much discomfort from the shot beyond a couple of days, although she may have and not told me.

    I'm following this. I am considering a shot in one hip for the summer so I can be more active. My hip issues appear to be osteoarthritis so I am not keen on getting the shot often since it is not good for cartiledge, and worn out cartiledge and bone spurs is my problem.

    Hope it is better soon.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    EbonyDahlia wrote: »
    Thank you, whatever it is is a direct result of the injection. Normal joint pain before, this weird pain and pins and needles since (from when the anaesthetic wore off 2 hours after the needle).

    again, i really think you've got every right to call your care provider and report on all this. but just because it makes me nuts not to have answers to things, pins and needles sounds like maybe your sciatic nerve got involved in it all in some way. maybe if the capsule of your joint is swollen it's impinging the nerve a little.



  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,576 Member
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    The main issue I have with doctors is they always seem to just treat the symptom and not the actual problem. Did he go over why you have hip pain? And what options you have to alleviate it besides a shot? Maybe consult an orthopedist to get exercises and movements you can do to get your hip back into shape.

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  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
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    Okay so it's been just over two weeks. The discomfort from the needle has finally almost gone. The original pain in the hip is back though, so it was a complete waste of 2 weeks of misery.

    Funny you should mention sciatic nerve. I saw an ad on facebook this morning with an actual picture highlighting the sciatic nerve and it is EXACTLY where I have discomfort and pins and needles. It's been uncomfortable to sit for months in what I call my "seatbone area". Seems I have an issue there as well as the joint fluid.
  • GrayRider61
    GrayRider61 Posts: 337 Member
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    I just had one about 2 weeks ago for sciatic pain due to spinal stenosis. It has helped a lot. I'm able to exercise again. I also try not to sit for extended periods, stretch often, etc.
  • runningkel
    runningkel Posts: 54 Member
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    I had wicked bursitis in my hip last year and instead of a steroid injection they recommended PT (because while the steroid could've helped the pain, it wouldn't fix the underlying problem). I couldn't run for about 2 months, and it was a slow healing process...but since the PT I'm totally pain free and my running has improved substantially. If you are able, I suggest you look into PT for the bursitis. Good luck!!

    (Note: I have had steroid injections in my shoulder before...but it didn't help and I still ended up having surgery. That's one main reason why I chose PT and not an injection for the bursitis.)
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    GrayRider61 wrote: »
    I just had one about 2 weeks ago for sciatic pain due to spinal stenosis. It has helped a lot. I'm able to exercise again. I also try not to sit for extended periods, stretch often, etc.

    I've had many injections in my lumbar spine for spinal stenosis and bulging discs. Hurts like hell and seems to help speed healing. What the OP describes is either that the doctor hit a nerve bundle when he/she did the injection, or there is still swelling causing pressure on a nerve. You might want to consider a second opinion, maybe see a different Orthopedic doctor. There are good ones and there are bad ones, and maybe, the steroids are doing you more harm than good and it's not the doctor's fault. I had an injection once that made my issues worse. Two weeks later I went to a different Ortho doc and had a different injection done and the pain and problems were gone within 2 days.
  • katsmo
    katsmo Posts: 219 Member
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    I'm a licensed massage therapist. Try getting some relief from massage and chiropractic care before getting an injection like this. A skilled massage therapist can do trigger-point release of your piriformis muscle to help with sciatica. Good luck

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