steroid injection

bailey27

hi
just wondering what steroid injetion is like. was told today that i may need to have a steroid injection in the bum as i dont seem to be able to come down on the tabs. hopefully going to try and get the tabs down but was wondering what it was like and what the benefts / negatives were???

i've heard of having steroid injections in joints to relieve that particular joint but not one in the bum in order to help reduce the oral steroids.

any advice would be great, cheers.xx

pluggathome

Hi,

I have had three steroid injections, prednisolone, all into the thigh.

One did not work but two did and when they work i feel like I've been given 'superjuice'. It benefits people in different ways but i can only report good.

The jab was into my thigh muscle and they tell you not to tense and yes it stings but for the benefit for me, i am happy to grit my teetch/clench my fists(when I can do that that is) for the benefits.

It's worth trying once i'd say then you can make better/more informed decisions for the future.

Plugg

page35

Hi Bailey
ive had 2 of these jabs first one worked well for 3 weeks then started to wear off, but for some it lasts for months. the second one i had didnt work at all, but i would if i was you give it a try.
i am a wimp and hate needles but i was ok with this jab, was a little bruised but that was all.
good luck and i hope you get some relief

jenzie06

Hi Bailey
I've had loads of these inj over the years both in joints and in bum or thigh.
They sting a bit when they do it and can feel a bit bruised for a day or two. I find when I get them in the thigh I can have a dead leg for a while but only if the nurse hits a nerve. To be honest the bum/thigh inj are dead easy compared to the joint inj (although it depends on the joint). Larger joints are less painful and the last couple in my shoulder I haven't really felt. The most painful I've ever had was an inj into a finger as there is not really a lot of extra space in a finger joint so it hurts.
Side effects of the bum/thigh inj - usually its a lot larger dose than you take orally (I usually have 120mg) and can cause weight gain (but this can be controlled if you keep an eye on what you eat - it can make me very hungry so I have to be quite strict!), moonface, can affect your bones but in all fairness I find that the side effects are massively outweighed by the benefits.

For me it can take between 48hrs and a week or two before I see any benefit. There has been the odd occasion where it hasn't made any difference but that's quite unusual. You should be give an information sheet after the inj on what to look out for.

Hope this helps.

chile168

Hi Bailey,

I have had steroid injections since 2005 (depo-medrone) and had them every so often although rheumy said if I was really bad I could just call the clinic and request for one. Had one steroid injection in shoulder as I also have fibromyalgia but cannot remember the name of it.

I must admit and be honest that the first time I had the steroid injection, I felt absolutely fantastic within 24 hours. I thought - yep I can live on this and my worries were over. The Depo-medrone is injected into the muscle of bum cheek and can hurt but the benefit of having pain relief is great. First injection lasted for quite a while but found the subsequent were not lasting as long. From what I have read on this particular injection is that you cannot be on it for too long so I have had breaks in between. The negative for me was that I personally found the flare ups were more aggressive after the steroid injections so I only have them now and again.

I hope you have a good reaction to them and wish you all the best.

Love xxxxx

Eve

lizzie7ne

Hi

I have had five of these since my RA diagnosis in Aug 08. One lasted just 2 weeks others another a month another three months and one lasted six months!, so its variable. The pain relief is variable too sometimes just a little improvement other times the stiffness is almost gone,, however every single one of them got rid of the awful fatigue and flu like symptoms you get with RA, in my case completely eradicated them, I had so much more energy, I felt like I used to feel before RA, they also lifted my mood.

Hope this helps

lizzie

jennac

Hi Ive had the 3 in the bum and i felt no Different but the consultant said the scans showed it had reduced the inflammation but afew weeks later the inflammation was worse,So now i have had 2 in the thumb and 1 in my foot Which have worked alot better than the ones in the bum. x

nuttynana

Hi

I too have had several steriod injections over the years - usually beneficial. My rheumy has said to always request them in my thigh, apparently the drug disperses more effectively. If I have problems I now call my GP and pop along there for a jab, unless it is into a specific joint.

I think it is always worth the short term discomfort for the long term gain and pain/stiffness relief - obviously there is a limit to how many you can have. Must say 1 year when I was going to be on the back of a motor bike down to the South of France and had had some joint stiffness before I went and asked for a booster before I went - glad I did!!

Hope all goes well.

Hazel x

jonny_g

I refused one the other week, wasn't feeling sore or unwell but just because I was off my meds they wanted to give me a jag in the bum!

Was like no thanks! Especially as I had a 7 hour car journey planned for the following day, didn't fancy having a sore backside for that!!

bailey27

hi
thanks for all the advice.
as always i am trying to come down off the oral steroids as much as possible first and for the first time have had a week on 20 mg from 25mg so am chuffed to bits already so far. my sulphasalazine was increased last week too so i am hoping in another week or two i can try and get down to 15mg, if not i will probably go for the jab.
cheers
x

tkachev

My MTX was reduced to 15mg and I was really happy but then they put it back up again cos inflammation back .I was gutted.I dont know if ill ever be able to my reduce MTX at this rate.
Are you feeling any benefits from the medication yet asI know you have been suffering lately?
Elizabeth x

joyful164

My thigh, bum! is like a pin cushion at the moment. just got back from rheumy appt. and as usual, just for good measure, they gave me my usual steroid injection into my rump. It's suppose to help calm down the pain and is usually given just before starting new medication or mtx.

And, if you turn up for your appt and you are in loads of pain, they just love doing it so that you don't moan again. 'Joke'
The Cortissteroid injection which is actually given into the joint is to get the steroid right to the eye of the pain and this can be somewhat eyewatering in it's intensity to say the least. Good luck with the injection you're having, you shouldn't have a problem.
joy

bailey27

Cheers for that.
I would prefer to just have a steroid injecion now and then not take anymore orally. is this possible??