Chronic pain
Steroid injection into hip
Glitterblue · 19/08/2021 22:09
Hi, I've been suffering awful hip pain for a while now and my GP suggested a steroid injection- he knows how I feel about needles and said I could go away and think about it. I've heard that they really really hurt - has anyone had one and can you tell me the honest truth about them please, to try to help my decision? Thank you!
SmallGreenStripes · 19/08/2021 22:14
Haven’t had one into my hip, but have had four into my hands.
They hurt like absolute fuck. They do give a local anaesthetic but for me it was the pressure into the tendon sheath that was the killer. Just thinking about it makes me want to curl up my hands and hide them away. But it made a massive difference, and lasts for a year.
They hurt , a lot, for maybe 30 seconds.
Then they really help for a long time. 
DrMadelineMaxwell · 19/08/2021 22:17
I had an xray guided steroid injection into my hip to help diagnose an issue I was having.
It wasnt very comfortable but was nowhere near the worst thing I've ever had done. My lumbar puncture was much more I comfortable.
The nurse held my hand and stroked it. Bless her.
Blueuggboots · 19/08/2021 22:22
I had one into my hip joint. It was most definitely one of the most painful things I have ever experienced. It didn't help the pain and I had a full hip replacement about 8 months later. I had bone on bone.
Last year (9 years on from the hip replacement), I had a steroid injection into the muscles of my thigh which was uncomfortable but not unbearable.
What is wrong with your hip? I would ensure you know exactly what the issue is before making your decision.
justabigdisco · 19/08/2021 22:40
If your GP is doing it then it isn’t actually going into the hip joint (as that needs to be done in theatre under ultrasound guidance), but the soft tissues on the side of your hip. Therefore not as painful as a joint injection such as knee/shoulder/thumb.
Bagelsandbrie · 19/08/2021 22:57
I’ve had a few for lupus. Being honest I didn’t find the pain any worse than any other injection I’ve had. The injection initially worked amazingly but wore off very quickly for me - about 3/4 weeks later I could feel the pain coming back. But then my lupus is extremely difficult to treat and I’ve been on 4 different drugs now and none of them have helped or have given me side effects so I think I’m just very difficult!
Glitterblue · 19/08/2021 23:06
@Blueuggboots I don't know yet what's wrong. I've had awful pain and stiffness for months, both hips click and lock, that goes down the thighs as well, and one is so painful down the outside. The GP said that one is showing symptoms of bursitis but he said it doesn't explain the other side clicking and being stiff. I've to get xrays tomorrow and blood tests on Tuesday, and see the GP next Friday again. The receptionist wasn't going to let me near a GP, she just got the physio to do a telephone assessment and I got caught up in the whole physio system without knowing what's wrong. I finally got to see a GP yesterday but it took a lot of fighting to get to that point.
pandora206 · 19/08/2021 23:14
I had steroid injections into the hip on two occasions. It was years ago but I recall being given lidocaine cream first which helped. It wasn't very comfortable even then but after a few minutes my joint pain had disappeared. I was pain free for months (after having problems with hip joint bursitis for over a year). It was amazing.
savagebaggagemaster · 19/08/2021 23:53
I've had one twice in the shoulder joint and it was okay. The local anaesthetic that was given first really helps to numb any pain.
Thank you to the pp who mentioned tronchateric tendonitis. I googled the symptoms and I think this is what's been wrong with my hip since March. I've been seeing a physio and it's never been diagnosed and it hasn't improved one bit. It's miserable! 
Good luck op!
DrMadelineMaxwell · 20/08/2021 00:13
Glitter, I second the request to be referred to an orthopaedic surgeon.
I had one hip that would lock and was painful. It took 3 years of going back to the gp and being referred and re referred for physio before I was seen by orthopaedics and that was because my chartered physio drew a blank. Several times I was told it was probably bursitis.
If you have the steroid and it acts for a very short amount of time then it is definitely worth a referral.
My pain was caused by my hip.socket and the hip joint being the wrong shape. It was missed by my gp on the xray then pointed out instantly by the orthopaedic surgeon when he saw it... and demanded to know why he was looking at a 3 year old cray when the problem was obvious to him.
It was him that sent me for my steroid injection and the fact that it only gave a few weeks of relief helped pinpoint that surgery was needed.
It was. I had it 7 years ago and haven't looked back.
savagebaggagemaster · 20/08/2021 13:52
@Evenstar thank you! I've actually been waiting all morning on a call back. I eventually rang the surgery to be told there was no record of my callback request, even though I spoke to the receptionist on Tuesday and put it in my diary. 
She asked if it was urgent as it's only the emergency gps this pm and of course I said no, but it just prolongs matters and means more pain for longer.
I'll be speaking to the doctor next week instead, so fingers crossed she'll refer me. (Though she is the one who told me to take up pilates!)
RNBrie · 21/08/2021 23:00
I’ve got bursitis in a hip and had a steroid injection in it. I was sedated and it was done in a theatre. I was pretty nervous too but it didn’t hurt at all and when I came around from the sedation I was underneath a weighted, heated blanket which was one of the nicest experiences of my life (apparently I’d got really cold during the procedure and they wanted to warm me up 
My hip felt amazing afterwards but then I twisted a month or so later messing around with the kids and the pain all came back. My consultant recommended regular spin classes and I’ve had almost no pain since I started doing them three times a week. Something to look into OP…
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