How long will a prednisone injection control your sciatic nerve pain injected into the buttock not the nerve?

Answer 1

Depending on the type of shot (whether it was an epidural or just a steroid shot), and which nerve is being compressed by the disk, and how bad it is, will determine how long it takes to start working. Also, if your doctor really put the needle in your buttock and not the small of your back where the pain is (not the nerve - it takes a special procedure for that) then I'd wonder what he/she is doing, and think about getting another doctor. That's not where it's supposed to go.

Steroid shots don't control or reduce pain - they reduce the inflammation of the disk pressing on the nerve and the back spasms associated with it. It's the back spasms and the nerve pressure which cause the pain in your legs. Depending on the type of shot, there's sometimes a specific period and procedure for how long they wait. For example, if it's an epidural (you'll know if it is - before I had major structural problems in my back that needed working on I used to get epidurals all the time - they're not fun. Imagine a steel shank being sunk into your back next to your spine about 4 inches to deliver the steroid. In those cases, they allow for 3 shots, with checking every week to see how much you've improved. If you haven't improved they give you another at the end of the first week, second and third weeks. If you don't have any improvement by the third shot, they start talking about surgery, but in reality it's after the second shot - they rarely give a third.

If you've just gotten a steroid shot to reduce the muscle spasms, it'll wear off pretty fast, within about 2-3 days - they don't last long at all. If you can stand to take Flexeril, it'll loosen you up and stop the back spasms and allow the pressure on the nerve to relax. Trick is you have to take it for a couple of days to really notice the effects, which will knock you out pretty good. Other than that, your doctor probably told you the standard lines about lying on your side in a fetal position, pillow between the legs to reduce hip pressure and spine pressure, etc. I've actually found it's more comfortable laying on the floor with your butt up againd the front of a couch (the bottom) and your legs on the couch itself, so your back is flat on the floor. The idea is to reduce all pressure on the flat of the back, so the nerve pressure can relax and the spasms can stop.

Sciatic pain is bad, but trust me, do what your doctor tells you to do, and use the 'net to learn as much as you can about your particular problem. There's much worse pain that you could have to endure if you don't take care of yourself. After 3 major spinal surgeries, and having to take some of the strongest opiates on the planet for the past 9 years and likely the rest of my life, I WISH all I had to deal with was sciatic pain. I relish those days.

If a shot doesn't last long enough for you, talk to your doctor about getting a Prednisone dosepak or a 9 day course - that'll loosen you up real good. 2 years ago before my last operation my L3 disk finally collapsed (when I mean collapse, I mean bone on bone with the vertebrae - that's the result of the disease I have) none of my opiates were putting a dent in the pain, and as a result of constant chronic pain for the past 11 years (I've had disk problems for 20) I have an extremely high pain and opiate tolerance. I had an idea about using Prednisone to reduce the inflammation enough for the opiates to work, as I also have Asthma, and I normally have a 9 day course on hand for emergencies. That did the trick - I wound up doing several 9 day courses (if you don't know what "courses" mean with Prednisone, it's 3 pills a day for 3 days, then 2 pills a day for 3 days, then 1 pill a day for 3 days. You can't just stop Prednisone or you run the risk of heart failure). I gained 60 lbs in the 2 months I had to do it before my surgery, but it at least allowed the opiates to work. So consider it as a possibility.

There are a couple of good sites I use and contribute to - one is a spine site, the other is a pain site. They are:

American Pain Foundation. Spine Universe Another good item if you don't have one is a Thermopore pad - if you've ever been to a Chiropractor some of them use 'em a lot. They only cost about 75 bucks, give you moist heat in about a minute, and is a godsend for Back pain of any type.