Facet Joints - Injected, Updated Update, Page 5

Sorry but I've had no experience with this.  Just reading about it made me queasy [:-].  I hope someone else has info for you and if you go thru with it, I hope it's helpful. 

yes.  The doc was a complete quack and has been sued and almost killed people.  So keep that in mind with my story.

Went to said doc with back pain.  Said I had facet syndrome and needed injections.  So into the room we go THE SAME VISIT, some mild anesthesia and he injects my back.  Supposed to kill pain for up to 6 months.  I was back the next week with same back pain.  He said, oh we didn't do right spot.  Into the room we go in the same visit and inject again.  Still didn't help.  $1000 later I did not ever go back, nor ever will. 

Now that being said, I don't think that's my problem, so obviously it won't help me.  However I can say, that yes it hurts when it's done.  As for after the fact?  Well it didn't do anything for me.

Is this for back pain?  What's the diagnosis for having it done?

Holy Crap, tashakota. []

I was rear-ended over a year ago while I was stopped at a stop sign. No major damage to the car, but I was in another accident 3 years before. I had a MRI done which showed a centrally herniated disc at L4-5 or L5-S1, can't remember. Also had muscle spasms and soft tissue injuries.
 
Since last March, I've been doing chiropractic, stretches and exercises. The pain got worse around Christmas, when my family doctor prescribed Naprosyn. I went back in March, had a repeat MRI, which showed the disc to be a bit worse, but no other issues. Doctor prescribed Ultram, which made me sick. I went for an EMG, results were relatively normal.
 
Meanwhile, the pain has still been getting worse - back pain with radiating pain down my left leg. I went to a horse show last Sunday and by the end of the day, the pain was so bad that hubby had to carry me to bed. That's when I went back to the family doctor, who said I should see a pain management doctor and a neurologist. Saw the pain management doctor last Tuesday. He suspects a facet joint problem, because of my type of accident and the fact that it hasn't gotten better with conservative treatments (plus, I didn't ride from October to April, and the pain was still worsening). He scheduled me for the first injections next Monday, and so long as some improvement is seen, I will go back 2 more times, 3 weeks apart. The pain is constant and much worse at work - so that I can't even stay seated at my desk - I have to get up and walk every half hour or so, or lay on the floor for 5 minutes to allow my back to stretch.

My best friend was having the exact same pain and symptoms as you are.  It started in Feb 06.  She didn't have any major injury happen, but they suspect it was something that might've happened years ago and just reached the point of causing the pain (and numbness) in her leg.  She went thru PT, the exact same meds as you, and injections in her back (which didn't help at all).  They finally did surgery on her last November, and although it wasn't the 100% relief she'd hoped for, she's much better.  She had the same problem with sitting, but eventually she couldn't stand or walk very far either.  I hope that they can get you some relief.  I know how completely depressed she became as time wore on and she was more and more limited in what she could do.

Cathy, that's exactly what's happening to me! I went for the EMG because the left side of my left foot gets numb and tingly!
 
It is depressing, especially since I'm only 24, newly married (Oct. '05) and active - I have 3 horses of my own and USED to ride for other barns. I try not to let it get me down, but some days I just want to bawl.
 
What kind of surgery did they do on your friend? Fusion? Diskectomy?

I really do understand how you must be feeling.  I know it was awful for my friend and it seemed to drag on for soooo long.  She was fortunate in that she only had to have the discectomy (sp?).  One of our other forum member's husband (Dyan) had to have the fusion surgery and it sounded much more complicated.  I know the Dr's only seem to want to do the surgery as a last resort, but now that I've seen what my friend went thru, I'm not sure how patient of a patient I'd be [].   As I said, she's not completely pain free and still uses ice if she's overdone it, but I just spent a week with her in Florida at theme parks and we didn't slow down at all.  Prior to the surgery, we wouldn't have even considered it.  Have they referred you to a surgeon yet?

I haven't had it done but totally know how much back pains stink. Hopefully after it's done, things like sitting the trot and two-point won't hurt anymore when riding or sitting at your desk. Major ouch.

*edited for spelling error... oops

[&o]Kelly.. no personal experience here but I wanted to say I am sorry to hear you are going through this. I have neck problems but was able to control my pain, numbness and muscle spasms through PT, massage and mild exercise. BUT I KNOW how stressful and crappy this can be as I was out of work for almost 2 months and no one wanted to even release me to coem back so I almost lost my job.   
 
I do want to say that I work with a lot of neurosurgeons and REALLY.. surgery is and should be one of the last options. I am not saying that these injections are gonna help, but I would still try it before I went the surgery route.
 
NOW.. that said, if you don#%92t feel completely comfortable with your doc… I would get a second opinion…   [] 

Cathy, I'm glad your friend found some relief. I certainly don't want to have surgery, but if it would fix it once and for all, I would rather do it and be done with it! I'm awaiting a call from a neurosurgeon - he wanted to review my records first.
 
Luvmykcdawg, that sitting trot is what I suspect killed me last week. I hopped on a good, quiet mare for a barn I rode for prior to the accident to see if I could get her head down. She totally doesn't use her hind end, so sitting was less effort than posting. Boy, did it screw me up, though!
 
Shelly, thanks for the thoughts. Trying these is pretty much where I'm at now, at least then I could tell the surgeon that I tried. The injections terrify me, though - even though I worked for a vet and have seen needles stuck into joints!
 
 

have you considered something less invasive like acupuncture or acupressure?

i have never had this procedure done, but i know my grandmother has ongoing problems with her back and right leg. it seems all the medical procedures either make things worse or do nothing.

Cyclefiend, I have, kinda - my chiro does a fair bit of acupressure, along with his adjustments and PT stuff. Never considered acupuncture. I hate needles. Don't mind bloodwork, but that EMG about killed me.

i know what you mean about needles. i hate them too. not sure i could do acupuncture either.

i didnt mean to sound so discouraging in my last post. i hope everything works out well. []

Not discouraging, at all. I'd rather the facts from people who have done it or know others who have. The doctors, while honest, don't tend to tell you the whole story. Probably because most of them have never experienced it personally!

I've been seeing the heading to this post all day and keep reading it as FACE joints!!  So I finally had to open it and see what is up.

I do not have personal experience with this issue, however my Dad had a very similar injury to yours.  When he was 18 he was in a motorcycle accident and gradually his back degenerated to the point where he had the same physical pain symptoms that you do.  I remember when we were touring college campuses when I was 17 and my Dad could not walk for more than 30 minutes...he could not do the campus tours with my Mom and I!  So anyway, when he was 55 he had surgery.  I believe that they had to remove L5 which had been completely crushed and degenerated over the years.  So they removed it and fused the remaining vertebrae.  He has two metal rods in his back.  The recovery was a couple of weeks and he had to do PT - he was uncomfortable postop but did well and had no complaints about his back.  About 7 years later he had to go back in and have some scar tissue cleaned up and he bounced back from that within days.  He has nearly full range of motion and no longer complains about pain.  He works out regularly now and doesn't have the stamina problem that he had before either, so he is a big success story.

I know surgery is the last resort for spinal injuries but you're so young, I wonder if there isn't a more long-term or permanent solution that's reasonable for you.  I can't imagine being 24 and sentenced to a lifetime of pain management with drugs and injections.  Have any of your doctors talked about surgery, or do they want to wait and see how bad it gets first?