Diandra,

You are welcome! Based on your first post my thinking is that your doctor is attempting to target (more specifically) your pain generators. So, that's a good thing! ESI's tend to just flood the area in hopes that it calms everything down. Now, I am just going to say this because facet joints are my problem in the cervical and lumbar..all the time. If they are inflamed, you will know it. The injections may be painful or maybe not. But since you are concerned you can always ask the doc for perhaps 10mg of Valium to get you through the procedure and to help you relax your neck muscles. Or perhaps an IV with Versed. I did that a few times. The nice thing is, these injections are usually pretty quick. And the best thing of all is that I normally had great relief right away from the numbing med! Which told the doc, yes, that was my pain generator. Having said that, you may find an increase in pain for about a week but give the steroid a chance. It takes a little time for it to kick in. And if they work, and the RF is next, rest assured it is actually easier than the injections themselves. I have had 3 in the lumbar over the years and never felt it.