Epidural steroid injection... Really nervous!

[CautionHormone]

Hi all,

I'm booked in to have an epidural steroid injection on 23rd June, to help with the degenerative L5/S1 disc I have.
I'm really nervous about this, though, as I know there's risks of paralysis/nerve damage. Has anyone had one, and are they worth it? Or should I just carry on with the pain? I'm used to the pain now and it's just part of my every day life, but to get rid of it temporarily would be amazing... It's just the nerves!

Thank you!

I've had a few of these done on either side. In my opinion they were nothing at all to worry about. Very little pain when the anaesthetic was injected and didn't feel the actual epidural at all. In the end I had them done without sedation as it took longer to get over the sedation.

I did get an increase in the pain for about a week afterwards but once this had settled I got a lot of relief from them. I had them done for complications from a different procedure and only got about 6 weeks relief each time but worth it though.

Try not to worry. Make sure you talk through your concerns with the doctor before they do them. Good luck