Prednisolone Injection in leg - is this normal?

creakybones

I had my first appt. with rheumatologst on Monday having had really bad joint pains for about 2 months. The pains had been attributed to my chrons disease but my chrons consultant wanted a rheumy opinion. I had been taking 15mg of pred daily along with pain killers which had helped but I was still in a lot of pain at night/early morning. Anyway I went to my appt. on Monday and he agreed it was an inflammatory arthritis linked to bowel - As my appointment was at 10am I was in a lot of pain - he could see this and gave me a prednisolone jab in my leg muscle which i wasnt really expecting ( didnt hurt at all). Two days later and the improvement is quite remarkable. Now I am thinking how long does this jab last and is this improvement a temporary thing- I have had a minor op yesterday ( not related) but im thinking my joints are so good I may go back to work.
Is it normal to have this jab and what have your experiences been of it?
Thank you

dreamdaisy

Whoah creaky! Hold your horses girl, it sounds as though you have had a good result from this jab and I am VERY pleased for you BUT - and yes, it's a big but - steroid jabs are, alas, just a 'temporary' fix (as are the oral ones). The temporary bit can last from three days to six months but they are temperamental - your next one may not work at all. I have never had lasting success from injected steroids (3 days tops) so please give yourself time to see what is what. I am aware from your other thread that you currently have complex health issues, I also know that there are one or two on here with inflammatory arthritis and Crohns, so please just try to wait and see how things turn out before you do anything hasty. I wish you well - and I hope this lovely feeling lasts. DD

stickywicket

If I'm smiling it's only because I remember. It's amazing, isn't it? Enjoy every minute of it but listen carefully to DD. It doesn't last forever. But it's sooooo good while it does, isn't it?

valval

so glad it helping but as dd says do not rush see how things go and enjoy being able to move about more good luck val

ichabod6

Hello Creakybones,

Like you The blips in my life are ra and cd plus oa and osteoarthritis.
I have had steroid injections in my legs and sometimes my bum for
several years now and as with dd they have worked for various periods
of time usually for several months.
I am fortunate in that the medication for cd also works for my ra so
the only extras I take are occassional pain killers and calcium tablets,
which aint too bad compared to previous medications.
You will have to wait and see how it works out for you.

elnafinn

Dear CD, please do not hurry back to work cos you are feeling great. I have had various injections in different places and some work well and others have not. The best one for me, so far so good, was injections via xray direction performed on 3 December 2009 and the sciatica that I had previously suffered with for one year, has disappeared. I had an injection in the back of my shoulder again by xray direction in about April this year and although I have perhaps more movement still, the discomfort is returning although it does improve as the day goes on. I do take anti inflams which help me.

Hugs
Elna x

creakybones

Thank you for your replies. Think I was having an unusual bout of euphoria when I started this thread Having spent many years on and off steroids when I first developed chrons, I know they are not the wonder drug the initially appear to be. As my husband reminded me the rheumy did say he was giving me the jab to give me a break ( from the pain and resulting lack of sleep). So yes I will enjoy it whilst I can but yes I also accept the pains will return.
As for work - im trying not to think about it and take one day at a time.
Have a nice weekend everyone Xxx

ruby2

That sounds brilliant Creaky,
my nurse specialist offered me an injection that would boost my well being but I didn't catch the name ..I'm wondering if it is this.
I will certainly tell her yes next month when I see her as the mtx is making me violently sick.
Sounds great that you feel up to going back to work ...but don't rush things enjoy it!

Well Done long may it continue.

Colin1

DD got it in one i'm affraid ' its great whilst it lasts but you need to know exactly what it is you have got. Pred only masks the lets say illness it does not cure it. and it will wear off but i assume your still on the 15mg a day as well. You also need something to protect your bones as long term use of steroids can cause damage. The imortant thing is get treatment ASAP as the sooner you catch these things the better the treatment works.
Hope this has been some help
Colin

creakybones

Thank you for your replies.
Colin - you say I need to know exactly what it is - well I couldnt agree more but Im not finding it that easy to be honest. I have sort of hard a diagnosis - the joint pain is linked to my chrons disease - and they are going with this partularly as I have been so responsive to the pred. But surely if you have RA it doesnt just appear - how do I know im not at the early stages of RA ( blood test was however negative). They wont give me the other available drugs because I am due to have major surgery and as you lovely ppl know far better than me - these drugs can affect your ability to heal.
At the moment im on 10mg pred plus ibuprofen and pain is managable. So thats how it is - thank you all for your very helpful replies.