Back Pain Community

Hi Teegee514 - welcome to the support group -

I have not had this happen - but wanted to say how sorry I am that this happened to you.

You may want to discuss this with an attorney to see if you may have a case against them as I don't believe this is normal.

I would also make sure that you were given the procedure under a florascopic x-ray machine - this machine helps them guide the needle into the right places.

Make sure that you are seeing the right kind of pain management - the best that i have found is a PHYSIATRISTS PAIN MANAGEMENT. They go deeper into pain management than regular pain clinics.

You may also want to see either an Orthopedic Spine Specialist or a Neurosurgeon Spine Specialist - not saying you need surgery but they are the best at reading MRI/CT/Myelogram reports - they can also direct you to the best treatment plans - they can refer you to a PHYSIATRIST PAIN MANAGEMENT.

hope and pray that you can find good pain control -

please let us know what happens - take care - ^ Joy ^

You talk about not feeling like the same person now, as you did before this happened and before you suffered a stroke as a result. As a fellow stroke survivor, I can say that you are most likely NOT the same person as before. I say this because I was told that any stroke, whether small or large, affects your brain in some way. There is a possibility this is what you are feeling and your fear of a stroke happening again but being much worse, added to your fear of what happened after the epidural happening again, is enough to make ANYONE afraid to go through having another epidural. You have every reason to feel afraid.

Speaking of your fears, please realize that what happened to you is NOT the norm and because it did happen, any doctor who would do another epidural pain block on you, would be extremely cautious. For this reason, if there is no clotting problem or any other health issue that caused this and it was genuinely caused by being moved too soon, please understand that it would most likely NOT happen again. Si

Sorry, I hit post before finishing!

Since suffering a car accident in 2003, I have gone through 2 cervical disk surgeries and am still in pain. As a result, I have had at least 50 epidural injections, both to deliver steroid medication and to cauterize the nerves so that they cannot send pain signals. Only a few of these have caused unusual reactions and none causing anything like you have gone through.I hope that reassures you to some extent. So, as someone who knows a little about these, I would discuss what happened with a lawyer. You might have no lasting effects except for the stroke, and that is bad enough (I will comment on that in a moment), but since things happened the way they did, you have the possibility of developing a horrible spinal disease that I have developed, called Arachnoiditis. If you don't know anything about this disease, please look it up and you will understand why I am giving you a heads up about seeing a lawyer now. It is a disease which usually develops through time and most likely would not show up now. I spent 9 hours with one of the most well-known Arachnoiditis experts in the US, and through research, he decided mine was caused by either a myleogram or one of the few epidurals that caused me problems. My disease has progressed quite a bit and unless a cure is found, I will most likely be paralyzed at some point in time.

Even though I have Arachnoiditis, and it could have been caused by an epidural, I still must get them. You talk about just taking medications and handling your pain that way. I speak from experience when I say that if you have the same level of pain that I do, there is NO medication, no matter how strong, that will be able to control your pain and the ONLY choice you have to live any kind of a normal life, is an epidural. As much as I HATE having to get one, I have NO choice in the matter, if I want to be a part of anything at all.

I stated earlier that I would talk about your stroke in a more detailed way. I do believe that every stroke affects a person in some way. People around you might not see any effects, but you may notice them and feel them yourself. I suffered a stroke 5 years after my car accident. My doctor thinks the blood clot that caused mine, was there after my accident, but no one did any scans of my head at that time, even though I complained of neck and head pain. Unfortunately, the doctors on call, only looked at my neck. Through time, it is believed that the clot moved and blocked the area of my brain where the stroke occurred. You talked about feeling different. I am a completely different person since my stroke! My personality, thinking skills, organizational skills and most everything, was affected in some way. Some ways are obvious to myself, as well as others, while some are only obvious to me. I wonder if that is why you might be feeling as you do. Please get a thorough checkup from a trusted and respected neurologist. A stroke is a serious thing and should be dealt with accordingly.

I am sorry this is so long, but I felt like your email was meant for me to find and respond to. I hope things go well for you and that you improve in every way. If you decide to have another epidural at some point in time, make sure to meet with the doctor beforehand and explain what happened to you previously. Let him know your fears and make sure you feel comfortable with him. Make sure his is an EXPERT in giving epidurals, as many who do them are not experts. Whomever you choose to give your epidural should be your choice. Someone you trust and that you can feel comfortable with. Someone who understands your fear and addresses that fear. I have only one doctor that I allow to perform my epidurals for this very reason. I trust no one else.

I am so sorry that both teegee514 and bargainteach10 have had this horrific experience. While I have been managing serious spine problems for over 30 years, I am not a candidate for injections of any type. I have a history of blood clots and would have to go off my anticoagulant medication for about 3 days if I had any injections. The risk is not worth the benefits as the success rate of the injections is too low.

Thank you both for sharing your stories. Joy has given excellent advice as always. I hope both of you will post again with questions or just to check in and chat with us.

Praying you both find ways to recovery and relief.

thank you so much.....the fact is , is that i was comeing out of anastesia fine after the procedure...20 min later the nurse ask if i wanted to start sitting up but what happened is she sat me up too quickly and it tore the clot off my spinal cord that caused the spinal fluid to leak to my brain and thats when i grabbed my head screaming and grabbed the nurses hand and the doctor came running shoving meds down my throat like ativan to calm me down percocet then the phenteol lollipop....the pain was so intenseand i was scared....dont know what i should do but i know they used the x-ray machine for the procedeure its the nurse that did this to me and it was aweful....any help u can offer will help tremendously and ty for responding....im so confused...its like a switch in my brain was turned of and another was turned on...i honestly dont feel like im the same person b4 this all happened...if u have any suggestions on what i should possibly do ...please let me know..and thank you again for your response,,,sincerely tara

am honestly so glad u responded to me...to be honest i would love to talk to you on the phone....i have cried so much b/c noone understands my husband, friends,family..i AM SO SCARED..sorry im crying now but i am happy that you wrote me so bittersweet tears of joy....would u be willing to talk to me b/c for some reason i feel a connection with you...my # is 919-397-0301 and my name is tara....i dont normally do this but i am scared i have had other procedeures b4 but this was my first epidural they are the best in north carolina as far as i know...i was comeing out of anastesia fine then 25 min later the nurse sat me up so fast causeing the clot to rip open and spinal fluid was leaking to my brain i was haveing convultions sezures,no feeling below my waist couldnt walk couldnt talk i sounded like a robot....like i said b4 i dont remember much but they told my sister and husband they wanted to do what is called a blood patch, if u dont know what it is its when they put u back to sleep do another epidural ,take blood out from arm or leg then inject it through the epidural to clott the hole...i told them no more procedures..the headaches are unreal...thank you for responding to me and id love to chat with u on the phone..only if u r comfortable with it....sincerely tara

thank you dave for your blessings and prayers...im 37 yrs old and never thought id have a stroke this young....i dont feel the same mentally or physiclly..im not the same person as i was b4...this may sound strange but....i miss myself, especially for my kids and husband...hopefully in time i will heal and not be so scatterbrained...thank you again...sincerely tara

The advice you have gotten is very solid.. I am a retired nurse and you should not have had a problem with sitting up even immediately after an epidural. Epidurals are done so that they DO NOT pierce the spinal cord. A myelogram or "sadle block" goes into the spinal cord and can cause spinal fluid leakage if you are sat up within 24hrs after the procedure. I would also try to find out what type of documents she had you sign while being medicated. To reinterate, an epidural does not open the spinal cord at all, someone messed up. There should have been nothing invading your spinal cord. Did you have anyone with you when your informed consent was given to you and possibly heard the explanation of your procedure? A lawyer needs to get ahold of your medical records from that procedure and go through them with a fine tooth comb. I wish you good luck!

The advice you have gotten is very solid.. I am a retired nurse and you should not have had a problem with sitting up even immediately after an epidural. Epidurals are done so that they DO NOT pierce the spinal cord. A myelogram or "sadle block" goes into the spinal cord and can cause spinal fluid leakage if you are sat up within 24hrs after the procedure. I would also try to find out what type of documents she had you sign while being medicated. To reinterate, an epidural does not open the spinal cord at all, someone messed up. There should have been nothing invading your spinal cord. Did you have anyone with you when your informed consent was given to you and possibly heard the explanation of your procedure? A lawyer needs to get ahold of your medical records from that procedure and go through them with a fine tooth comb. I wish you good luck!

My husband is to have this epidural done soon,we are unsure of going through with this.My concern is his age 66 ,weight,and he is a dieabetic. We have heard that pain and being dieabtic go hand in hand, has anyone else hear this? Right now he is in alot of pain and his blood sugar is out of control 180 plus and into the 200's

Hello, dawnaheppe44 and welcome.

I also have type 2 diabetes. It would be far better for your husband if he can get his diabetes in control before undergoing any procedure and for his general health. He needs to discuss this with his doctor and perhaps see a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), nutritionist or dietitian. Patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes need to follow a healthy diet that is low in carbohydrates and get moderate activity.

You are wise to hold off on the injections or any procedures until your husband has worked with his doctor to get his diabetes under control.

have you had the injections ?Also he cann't exersice because of the pain he is in It seems when his pain is at it's worst then his blood sugar spikes,is there a connection there.

No, I can not have the injections due to other health problems.

Yes, pain will cause blood sugar to spike. Elevated blood sugar can also increase pain.

Bottom line, though, is he still needs to work with his doctor to get all this under control.

its me teegee36 i had to change my stuffb/c i cant remember my password...im glad that u did reply to me...im haveing a very difficult time with this and my husband is haveing a hard time even understanding whats going on with me im haveing memory loss,petitte mal sezures no feeling around the misection of my body to the middle of my thighsmy speech is really slow i cant move around without a cane now which the doc perscribed to me i hate this and im angry i have to make sure someones home just for me to take a shower and im scared everytime my head starts to hurt almost paranoya of whats going to happen next...i feel like the doctors hideing something from meand hes not being upfront and honest with meabout what happened....i did speak to a lawyer and shes mad that this happened and they hospital relast me after my stroke and that they r not doing much about it...if u have anymore suggestions plz let me know