Epidural Steroid Injection (ESI) for Leg and Back Pain

For over fifteen years I have had problems with my back. It all started in college when I was trying out a Health Rider exercise machine that a friend of mine had just purchased. It was a lot of fun and I started really getting into it when I felt this awful POP in my back. I could not move and had to roll onto the floor. I tried to get up but was not able to. Being stuck on the floor, my friend called 911 to get me to the hospital. They gave me some pain medicine, muscle relaxers, and anti-inflammatory drugs and sent me on my way. That was my first experience throwing my back out, but not my last.

For the next fifteen years my back would go out at least once or twice a year. Every time I was told it was a muscular issue and got my regimen of medication from my primary care provider and went home to rest and recover. That was until last spring. I was outside doing a little yard work in preparation for the summer. I had the grass trimmer out edging the patio. I was just about half way done when that awful feeling hit me and I froze. I had to drop what I was doing and go right in the house and call the doctor. I had just switched doctors on my health plan and had not yet been to see him.

Somehow I made it to the doctor's office and was seen right away. Again I got my Vicodin, Flexeril, and was put on Aleve. It usually takes me about a week to get back to some useful form with my back issues, but this time I ran out of drugs before the pain stopped. I went back in and was sent to physical therapy to help. Oh, how I wish that someone had sent me for physical therapy many years ago. I learned much about how to better care for my back. When I started, I was noticeably walking crooked. By the time I was done some fifteen sessions later, I was able to stand straight. However, there was a new problem.

My legs were numb above the knee. When I stood or walked for any period of time, I would get pain in my left thigh. It started as an electric shock feeling. Then it turned to a bee sting sensation. As the day wore on the pain would progress to where it felt like someone had stabbed my leg with an ice pick. It was horrible. My physical therapist sent me back to my primary care for help. I had an X-ray and an MRI. The results showed moderate disc degeneration in the L5-S1, a torn disc at L4-L5, and a bulging disc at L3-L4. The decision was made to send me to the Pain Clinic.

I was prescribed an Epidural Steroid Injection on my left side of L3-L4. I was ready to try anything. It was an outpatient procedure done at the hospital. I was sedated and they used fluoroscopy which is a real time X-ray to guide the needle. The procedure was over in about ten minutes. I was very hopeful, but the doctor had told me that they often do a series of three ESIs and wanted to see me two weeks after the procedure. Well, I had a very little improvement in my pain level for a couple of days, but then it was back to the severe pain. At my follow-up appointment, I was mentioning actually feeling a new pain in my right leg which had previously just had numbness. I knew from reading online that not everyone had success with the first shot, so I went in expecting a second.

For the second time, I had an ESI on both sides of L3-L4. Still had pain until about a week after. Then, all of the sudden it felt pretty good. I was excited. That lasted about four or five days, then the pain started coming back on the left. It was not as severe and it did take longer to come on, but pain is pain and I do not have the highest tolerance. Back to the doctor who suggested completing the series of three shots. Last one only on the left side again. I did that two days ago. So far I have no pain in my leg and I am elated. I don't know how long it will last, but I am enjoying it while it does. I have seen many accounts online about epidural steroid injections and the various reactions. They are not always the best option, but anything to avoid back surgery.