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What Are The Side Effects Of Epidural Injection?

Posted on Mon, 19 Dec 2016

Question: I have had seven different epidural injections in the last two months with very little improvement in pain. I really want to know the side effects of these injections. I also have a lot of arthritis. These injections were given in 4 different areas of my back.

Answered by Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Pain may persist for sometime

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.

The most prominent adverse effect of epidural injections is pain over the injection site. Other reported side effects from epidural steroid injections include:
Localized increase in pain.
Non-positional headaches resolving within 24 hours.
Facial flushing.
Anxiety.
Sleeplessness.
Fever the night of injection.
High blood sugar.
A transient decrease in immunity because of the suppressive effect of the steroid.

Let me know if I could help further.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (1 hour later)

Thank you. Do you have any suggestions for further control of pain. I am allergic to many pain medicines, so I just take double strength Tylenol which doesn't help enough. Should I continue with epideral injections or possible see a neurosurgeon? My life had been severely curtailed because of pain.

Answered by Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Check with an anesthesiologist first.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back. Unfortunately enough, this pain is difficult to manage. Seeing an anesthetist would be a better idea since they also deal with pain relief. If that does not help, you can get a neurosurgical opinion.

Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar