Epidural Steroid Injection

I really should post more then once a year :doh: My back is a complete disaster. Not only do I have degenerative disc disease, that made 5 discs dry out, I also have 2 bulging discs, one herniated disc and a torn disc. I thought about the table for along time before getting it. I wish I had bought it years ago, I might have avoided all of this if I had.

When I first got the table, I started off at 20 degrees and it gave me a huge stretch. Now I hang completely upside down and go through the stretches. There are some days it doesn't help, but like my girlfriend said, 90% of the time it does it's job.

Just for an idea what the table does, before I got hurt I was 6'2". After my back fell apart I was down to 5'11". Today, after using it for about 6 months, I am back up to 6'1".

I saw this on TV not too long ago, and I am assuming this is what you guys are talking about:
Inversion Therapy for Back Pain - Do Inversion Tables Really Work? (http://www.losethebackpain.com/inversion3.html)

Does it really work?

I really sympathize with everyone that has back pain. My lowest disk is about 1/8th of the size it should be (fusion has been discussed), I have two bulging disks, authritis (sp?), and I have a lumbar that is twisted out of place. The chiropractor has tried and tried, but he's only been successful at taking my money. I have been on vicodin for over 3 years. My pain is about a 3 on a scale from 1-10 all the time (10 being drop dead pain), but when I piss it off (seems to be at least once a week), the pain is a 7 or 8. The doctors are talking surgery, but they say once I start, there will be a series of surgeries. I am only 33 and very hesitant. So if a device like this would work, I'm all for it.
Has anybody out there tried it?

Smooter...sorry man, I have not had an injection. My intial reaction to it is that I wouldn't do it. I have heard a lot of negative stories about people that have had injections into the spine. Not trying to scare you, but unless your pain is severe all the time, I don't think I would risk it. But hey, you probably have better doctors out there, so the chance of a screw up is far less likely, and you likely have talked to others that have success. So I wish you the best of luck. I know nothing can be as annoying as back pain.

From watching my wife get an epidural while delivering our son...you're in for some pain. :D

Plus, it they poke it just a fraction of an inch to the left or right, you could be paralyzed.





Have fun. :)

Well I'm home and coherent enough to post up here. It was fairly easy and painless. They shot me up with something in my arm once I got there, after about 15-30 minutes they rolled me into the operating room and rolled me over. Then the doctor started asking me a few questions as a nurse was injecting some other shot in my arm. The doctor then tells me I'm going to feel a prick and the next thing I know I'm being told to roll over. I'm not completely sure what happened, lol. I'm unsure if I was completely knocked out or not, but regardless it was a painless ordeal. Right now I'm feeling absolutely no pain, but I'm still somewhat groggy from the sedatives. If everything goes well and I still feel relatively well within the next few days to a week I will continue on with the next two injections. I'll keep up to date. Thanks to everyone who posted.

Well I'm home and coherent enough to post up here. It was fairly easy and painless. They shot me up with something in my arm once I got there, after about 15-30 minutes they rolled me into the operating room and rolled me over. Then the doctor started asking me a few questions as a nurse was injecting some other shot in my arm. The doctor then tells me I'm going to feel a prick and the next thing I know I'm being told to roll over. I'm not completely sure what happened, lol. I'm unsure if I was completely knocked out or not, but regardless it was a painless ordeal. Right now I'm feeling absolutely no pain, but I'm still somewhat groggy from the sedatives. If everything goes well and I still feel relatively well within the next few days to a week I will continue on with the next two injections. I'll keep up to date. Thanks to everyone who posted.

Giggidy!

jk, glad to hear it all went ok.