Epidural Injection

[jjurgy]

Yesterday my doctor told me that I have cervical bone pressing against my spinal cord which is causing all kinds of pains through my back, arms and legs. He suggested an Epidural instead of surgery as it's "less risky". If I allow this god knows how many Epi's will have to be done in my lifetime.... am I correct so far - as he said the pain may just go away. Then others have already told me that the Epi is just as risky as the surgery... Lost and need lots of help.

Jack

[HeyLady]

My husband had lumbar fusion surgery after being diagnosed with DDD. A year later he was still experiencing a great deal of pain. The recommendation was epidural injections. He had 3 injections over a period of time. I am not sure if you would continue having shots, they haven't said anything about him having more. The pain came down to a managable 4-5 on the pain level scale. As far as I know the injections are not as dangerous as surgery, we have gone through both.
This may not answer your question but we have gone through these. He also had a spinal tap done and it was done right in the dr. office. I was really surprized, I thought that was dangerous.
Good luck and God bless!

[aventuraneurosurgery]

Hello Jack, you should try the injection first because I have seen people well my own grandmother for one and she was having these same pain and she did her Epidurals with a Neurosurgeon and believe me she has been doing great for over a year now, she still has a little pain but nothing like in the beginning. Keep in mind that different methods work for different people, you might do the epidural and feel much better whereas you can and still feel pain as opposed to you doing surgery you can have the same outcome. Some people do these surgery and later on still have the same pain and come to do epidurals on top of surgery. Jack if you are still confused about these options you should aslo go for a second opinion with a Neurosurgeon, then weight your options and see the outcome.
Hope this helps you a bit. Please feel free to email me back with any additional questions or if you need referral to any doctor.

Monique