Denied Steroid injections.

Redrock251
Redrock251 Member Posts: 2
My wife was given trigger point steroid injections last year and they were very effective.
Since then she has been refused further injections both by the pain management clinic and her GP, without any coherent reason being given.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

Comments

  • helpline_team
    helpline_team Posts: 3,727
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Redrock251 many thanks for your posting.

    You may like to re post on our ‘living with arthritis’ forum here you will probably get far more responses of people sharing their experiences:
    http://arthritiscareforum.org.uk/viewforum.php?f=8

    If at any time you or your wife would like to speak to us on our free phone helplines please give us a call: 0808 800 4050 (weekdays 10-4)

    Best wishes
    Lynda
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello. I'm just an ordinary forum member not one of the Helpline team but I wanted to say there may be many very good reasons for refusing steroid injections and, if both GP and Pain Management team are in agreement, it sounds as if one or more of these might exist in your wife's case.

    If your wife takes an anticoagulant (eg warfarin) there's a danger of bleeding into the joint. Steroids can cause BP and blood sugar levels to rise so, if your wife has an existing problem with either, they might not be a good idea for her. Steroids can cause mood changes so, if there is any previous history of eg depression, the docs might not wish to risk this.

    (What were the 'incoherent' :wink: reasons given for refusing them?)

    Even if none of these problems exist, steroids can only be given a few times annually. They do appear to work miracles but the operative word here is 'appear'. They don't change anything: they just mask the symptoms and thin all tissues not just the required ones. They are a precipitating factor for osteoporosis.

    All these are reasons why many of us have a love / hate relationship with them. The relief they give is addictive but short-lived. Long-term, they damage more than they relieve.

    Has your wife tried other methods of dealing with the pain? Some of these might be useful. http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Selfmanagement/pain-management And / or might she like to come on here and talk to us :D
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Redrock

    What reason(s) was your wife given as to why she is being denied further steroid injections?

    Elna (a member of the forum)
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.