Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Thoracic injections

Hi
I just wanted to say the pain specialist that said u would get relief in a couple of day was talking out of his ***! This is so not the case with this type of injection. U have the affection area giving u grief, and then an injection goin into it! Its no suprprise the body is still telling u ur in lots of pain! I honestly dont know if the throracic injections r any different i can only tell u what i have found from the same bein done to the sacriolic. It deffo takes 1 week for any effect, depending on the person the pain consultant that u spoke to that said 2 weeks could most deffo b rite. Secondly there is some truth in that in can take up to 3 of these injections for the required affect. I had one a month for 3 months and it helped with some pain and mobility, but not all, my pain management consultant keeps telling me to remember it wont completely stop the pain just ease it to make it bearable. Also after my first injection it only seemed to last for a couple weeks then i was rite back at square one again, i told the consultant this and on the next one, he gave me a higher dose, and again on the 3rd.
I am always awake when they do mine and mostly i pass out thru the pain of it. I think its important to remember u already have an area that is excruitaingly pain, and painful to touch too, that area is goin to feel very much injured by these needles goin in, therefore making it a bit worse, before it can get better, this means it will take time to feel any relief, may be u need a higher dose? I dont know, try and give it a bit longer. But considering how much pain u r in, u really have to get that dr to give u some meds for breakthru pain in my opinion. As i know it can b hell living with this pain sometimes!
Still got fingers crossed u will have some relief yet.
take care
heather

What does SI pain feel like? I can't speak for others, but this is what my experience has been...

For the first 7 years of my affliction, when I was in a flare, it would affect my left hip and I would limp with what I thought was Sciatica. When in a flare, I would limp because the pain would radiate from my left buttock, then down my leg to my foot if the flare was very severe. Flares vary in intensity for me. Around 2000, things switched to my right hip, more recently it alternates.

The most severe flare I ever had was a total nightmare. We were driving home from Florida, and the pain in my right hip was so severe I could not find a comfortable position for my right leg, and eating Advil did not touch the pain at all. We pulled off for a pit stop and I absolutely could not bear any weight on that leg-the pain was like hot knives stabbing in my buttock through to the front of my pelvis/groin area, and was so acute I groaned the whole way. Ron tried to be a support on that side, but just hanging my leg hurt, and I was in tears. I could find no relief-it was a nightmare. He drove up to the door of the restrooms to pick me up.

I've also had nightly pain, even with a pillow between legs, where just moving my leg would wake me up with pain, and trying to get out of bed would result in hubby supporting me to the bathroom because the leg could not bear weight.

More recently both SI's will just ache deeply, in about the area where the low back and buttocks have those dimples (so I don't know the scientific name ) and perhaps just below that area, but very deep and radiating outward. This pain does not travel down the leg so I don't limp, but I kind of waddle. I would take this pain over the sciatic-like pain anyday, but I wonder what kind of damage occurs at these times.

Hope this helps... BTW, AS is most commonly Dx'd by x-rays of the SI joints demonstrating a condition called Sacroiliitis.

Thanks Sigrid,
I am having pain in that area where the dimples are on my left side. It is deep aching, sometimes burning if I move wrong. I find it nearly impossible to sit. And this pain actually gets worse throughout the day. by evening I am limping. But i limp because it hurts to move that leg at all. Alternating ice and heat seems to help a bit. It's just so frustrating now to have this pain on top of my t-spine and neck. My pain has been so bad that I didn't think it could get any worse, but it has. I had an MRI today on neck and upper back. I will have to call rheumy about SI pain. She'll want an xray I'm sure. UGh.............
Thanks so much for your reply and in depth explaination of SI pain!!!

Talk to ya later,
Meg

Hi
I started with sacriolic pain first, mine is like the dull ache but a bit more, like somebodys took a baseball bat at u and continualy banging away. I used to get a lot of leg pain how can i describe like growing pains but 10x worse. Then i had physio, and then traction and then it damaged the nerve in my rite leg (like things werent already bad enough!) So now i limp, during a flare i cannot put my rite foot flat on the floor. Also my lower back feels very heavy like its dragging (wierd i know) walking is like trying to wade thru water, legs r as heavy as lead. I have had sciatic pain since i was dx with a twisted spine at 13, first it was mild now well, its like some is using my sciatic nerve as a guitar string!
Its only this last 4 months my hips have really started to play up so bad, before that they were tender and sore, sciatic pain in them and terrible clicking and grinding. Now its the actual hip bone, like someones scraping the inside i suppose!
Theres prob a lot more, but i have never really put it into words like this before, i just got on with it.
take care
heather

Yeah, I think we all just suck it up. Ha ha-suckitup-itis Yes, we all suffer with suckitup-itis. sorry....

hi
i think maybe i am having a blonde moment here sigrid, i cannot work out what ur on about!
heather

Hi Meg,

With my initial SI pains back in 1995 I went through the SI injections to the joint... sure, felt great for 1-2 days, but like you said, WHAM the pain came back. The injections are only treating the symptoms and not the route cause, so of course the pain will always come back.

I remember that it was the biggest needle I had ever had injected into me since had to get to the SI joint.

Tim

Re: "suckitup-itis" you had said:

Quote:

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Theres prob a lot more, but i have never really put it into words like this before, i just got on with it.

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Your words "get on with it" made me think of how often we suck up our pain ("suck it up" is quite a popular phrase here in North America-akin to getting on with it in spite of the problems you're facing).

It was a stupid joke, really-gave me a few chuckles, hopefully for some of the other Kick AS'ers here too, so no, you're not having a blonde moment, I just didn't realize the phrase may not be as common for our international folk. Sorry...

hi
Thanks for explaining that for me Its not a phrase that i am familiar with, never heard it in the uk! What a relief it wasnt a blonde moment I am happy tho if i have made a few of u laugh, i may have cracked a joke without knowing it
take care
heather