I think every person is different and you shouldn't be rude like that. I am an RN who hurt her back at work and had to have a steroid injection. I gained at least 20 lbs and I have always been skinny so I know it was the injections. They say you don't gain wait but I call BS on that. I did get great relief for a yr/half now, but I gain weight and dont eat more than I use to. It beats having to have another back surgery, but I would like to get some of this fat off of me. I weigh 160 @5'7 and this is the heavest I have ever been.
I do agree with some of the post, that we must drink lots of water and exercise,there is no other true way to lose weight no matter how long you search.
I wish all of you good luck, remember, you can do it, just set your mind and get moving..Thats what I am doing, I lost 4 lbs in 2 days just cutting the sugar out of my coffee and eating fresh veges for lunch instead of a whole meal.
Wish you the best,
ICU RN
I had a steroid injection in my neck on November 8, 2011. I have gained 12 lbs. since that morning. I have always worked out daily, weights or cardio or both. I normally wear 32" waist jeans and and now I am in 34" jeans. Same brand and they are tight. my face is also blaoted. If I new this would happen I would have not had the injection. The pain recently came back. I also had a severe rash over 80% of my body, scratching and itching for 3 weeks. i will never take another steroid shot again.
Just my opinion, I'm sure they are beneficial to others.
Jim
I know the feeling Guest, if I had known that the weight gain was a factor, I would not have had the injections either. Come to find out Ibuprofen helps me more than the injections did. I would never want another injection. My legs are small, the weight gain is in the belly. I will probably never be able to lose it. Judy
Thank you Judy,
You can call me Jim. My weight is in my waist and face, a little bit. I am also sticking to ibuprofen. I am trying to find ways to help reverse the effect of the weight gain due to steroids but appears that only time will help. I still exercise 4 - 5 times per week about an hour a day. I am building muscle but the fat is not burning. Hopefully by summer the weight gain will diminish.
I wish you well. If you learn of any way to speed up the process please pass it my way and I will do the same.
Jim Baca
I hope it works for you Jim. The weight gain has made it very hard for me to exercise. Can't go for walks because when my back starts hurting, I have to sit down wherever I am. Going to try water aerobics, wish me luck. Good day. Judy
i here u i had cancer remission now tons of back and leg issues to many to type pills i get sick needles muscle steroids yuck to all dont help at all i believe u cant help whats in muscles it niot like a broking leg do steroids make u look and gain wieght does it ever come off lbs
What a blessing that you have taken the time away from your perfect life to come and preach truth to such lost souls! I am enlightened and humbled by your assessment of our plight. Certainly, I must have been stuffing my face and sitting on my rear this entire time - how blind I have been! I'm sure all of the medical studies and proof that steroid injections cause weight gain mean absolutely nothing.
Go back to your bridge, troll. Get a new hobby.
Go back to your bridge, troll. Get a new hobby.
There are several different classes of "steriods." You are referring to two very different things when writing about anti-inflammatory intra-articular injections (corticosteroids) and the drugs to "buff up" (anabolic steroids). Corticosteroids DO cause a tremendous increase in appetite, particularly when used over a long period of time.
Oh my gosh. If you are more concerned about the weight gained than the relief from pain, don't get the injection!! I get the injections for herniated disk and I have never noticed weight gain or increased hunger. However, I promise you when I am really hurting I certainly wouldn't care about the weight gain at the time!
C section so you clearly are a women so of course you gained weight you no mind
Yesterday after three weeks of absolutely debilitating arm, mid back and neck pain, with pain radiating down my arm and loss of use of my left had I had the cervical epidural steroid injection. I am a freak about needles to begin with - was in a terrible car accident as a little kid and as a result spent many summer breaks with visits to the hospital for surgery. Back then there was really no rehab to speak of -just fixing the outer appearance, which included skin grafts on my forehead. Additionally, after/during that ordeal of surgeries I had to have tonsils removed at five (accident was when I was 3 - through the windshield of the car my mom was driving, standing on the front seat no less!). I am sure I had PTSD from this and never totally got over it. Had three kids natural childbirth because of my fear of needles! So when some of the resulting wear and tear on the bad accident as well as genetic spinal issues came together in a cascade of crippling pain about five years ago (it was always there but I winced through it till I no longer could) I was referred to a neurosurgeon. She has been seeing me twice a year now, annual lumbar and cervical MRI's, and monitoring my issues and has told me all along one day a couple of BIG surgeries are in my future. And then told me that there is a good chance, with the amount of degeneration and damage I have, my pain could be no better, worse in fact, but paralysis and function could result at some point if I do not have it. Great!
With my usual bite the bullet approach, I began to walk about 3-4 miles per day, knowing that I have to keep moving or die. The old sciatica that was so bad several years ago abated some; I just can't spend hours in a car or flying to sitting which is certainly life changing. I decided to try to conservatively add some upper body stuff - I have been through PT several times and had notes and experience and thought I was clear on what I can do. But during a workout over three weeks ago, I definitely badly hurt myself. My understanding is that the path that my spine provides for the spinal column and nerves associated with it is so damaged, bent and slender that really almost anything can touch off terrible pain. But - as I said I had been doing pretty well and since I am over 50, post menopausal, low thyroid, all that great stuff keeping my weight right is also important to control blood pressure issues, cholesterol, etc. It is a slippery slope even if you do your best to be healthy. By the way, also have a type 1 diabetic son and although I am not a licensed dietician I think I could be! And I cook everything from stretch and we eat good food.
Anyway, my neuro couldn't see me for over a month when I called after day three of nauseous, constant pain - no sleep as it turned out for three weeks till last night after my procedure. She referred me to a PSHYIATRIST, not an anesthesiologist, who is part of a large very reputable pain management group here in Tampa. I had not heard of the specialty so of course, I looked it up. They deal with not just administering drugs, but with the whole, hurting person. Most of his patients have damage and chronic pain. He also was telling me that a) looking at my MRI's he didn't think there was anything to be done for me from a pain relief standpoint with getting surgery, which I pretty much already knew. What I have been doing is getting the annual MRI's to see if anything is getting worse which so far it hasn't (pretty much] maybe because there isn't much that could get worse!). So I keep on, keeping on. Finding out that there could be relief for this all with pain management in a rather conservative, not overly pill popping way, was a revelation and while I had my days of lying in bed recently, thinking if I had to have the same level of pounding, unrelenting pain as labor was I would rather die, I also know I do not want to be drugged up most of my life.
The qualms I had about the procedure were baseless as far as being scared of the needle thing went. They gave me Toprodol, a non narcotic pain reliever intravenously when I got there, as I had a very bad night. It is like a Mega Motrin dose. My blood pressure was 169/110 when they first took it. It came down after that dose about 20 minutes later to 133/83 even though I was still anxious about the procedure and the pain was not entirely gone. They then gave me Versed, which I had read terrifying things about - waking up feeling pain, knowing you are paralyzed, people getting PTSD from it. All I can say is, they put the Versed into the vein, by the time I got to the room I was groggy and they positioned my face down, sort of like an elevated massage table (I think I joked about oh, I thought I was there for a procedure! Thank God it's a massage!). The next thing I knew it was over. About 15 minutes in all and then some recovery. They do go in through your neck (or lower back) with a small needle, and anesthetic is used to dull that - fentanyl I think (sort of like morphine). Can't recall one thing about that. They told me when the first 24 hours was up I might 'regress' some till the steroid begins to really work, which can take 3 days or so. Right now I have a minuscule pinch in my shoulder blade area, but about a 2-3 out of 10. I slept for the first time without pain waking me up last night. That alone was worth it all. I follow up with him next week then I think there are two more planned. Then possibly a facet joint round of injections for which you are knocked out.
This particular doc told me that the reason he went into this specialty, after looking at the MRI and reports is that his own mom, who is a little older than I am, was in a wheelchair from the kind of stuff I have going on. He seems vested in it because of that I had really prayed for a miracle. I don't know if I have a miracle, but I do have relief right now, and confidence on my plan for care and in my doctor. That is the best at this point I can ask for.
I know other people who have had injections who said they didn't work for them, they hurt like crazy, etc. My understanding of the Versed is that it keeps you totally still. You are evidently awake but I had no remembering of any of it; they like you to be awake to get your input and monitor how you are doing. If you are anxious you may move or flinch and that can affect a bad outcome. All I have is my history and experience but I would say to anybody - get a doctor you trust, educate yourself about your condition and treatment and I think you will be glad you did it. When we read a lot about how certain things make us "fat" or "will have lasting terrible effects" or "you have no voice but surgery" it produces anxiety, a change in lifestyle (giving up or doing less because those things are "inevitable"). I would also personally recommend that anyone who struggles with such issues consider an anti depressant. For some reason, a lot of us hate to go there, but we will do a number of other things that hold us back and hurt our quality of life.
Thank you, all, for your confirmation that I am not crazy in thinking my weight gain and voracious appetite has been caused by the EPIs! Validation of suspicion brings peace! 4-1/2 months to go before the steroid wears off, infinity before the effects are counteracted!
For all the disclosure of side effects in the pharmaceutical world, it does seem that the doctor's list for this procedure did not effectively spell out what the consequences for temporary relief would be. And when you are in that much pain, sometimes it is hard to think in the long-term.
Thanks again and best of luck on your journeys!
It has been a week since my EPI cervical injection and after two and a half weeks of labor-level pain I didn't care if they cut my head off if it had a chance of curbing my pain. So I guess...what is the alternative? That kind of suffering? I called my doctor's office and also did a lot of research before the injection, because I am so needle-opposed. In the end I had the shot, will be getting two more and then possible facet joint injections. I am calmed to know that if I am ever in such misery there is some relief in sight. I am seeing a PHYSIATRIST. Yes, when I first heard it, after two weeks of muscle relaxants and very little sleep I kept thinking he said he was a psychiatrist! Look up the specialty. The way I see it, people used to be in terrible pain and then usually what caused it also killed them! Now, people outlive cancer, back surgery that didn't work, diabetes that takes it's toll, you name it. This medical specialty is for a more holistic approach that includes rehab and pain management through the wonder of pharmaceuticals. That's the best I can do with what I have to deal with, so I am being as positive as I can be. My advice is - which is so hard to do when in terrible pain and scared! - breathe deeply, try to calm down and make the best informed choice you can. I have to think injected steroids to the source to decrease inflammation at that point, that doesn't metabolize through the liver, has to be better than pills.
I was all worked up, but have found really, I am in so much less pain, sleeping better which helps my perspective in general, and truly am not any hungrier than I was. Don't feel any immediate trigger at all. In fact, being wide awake and anxious was more inductive to eating, drinking, all of it, than now. I started walking three or four miles a day and am not so scared to move because I might disturb something in my arm and neck that would make me want to do myself in! I do believe so much of this is mental and emotional and I am not immune. I am trying to be in the moment and stay as healthy as possible. Surgery, from what I have been advised by more than one doctor, may result in a spiral of more pain. I will avoid that as much as possible! I am trying to adjust my mind to not having the youngest looking arms around anymore. I pushed through the pain before thinking I could do it. I am 56, usually people think I am about ten years younger, and am not in a beauty contest. I think it is hard to grow older and admit we can't do what we used to do. But what we are doing is ok.
Maybe u are a nasty human being!! Who has no idea about pain or injections. Get a life!!
I know several males that have had the shots with no weight gain. I have been getting the shots on and off for several years. I have gained weight each time, and have had no success in losing the weight. I am a female, so I wonder if there is a connection with our hormones.