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Old 09-17-2012, 11:04 AM #1
hmarie18 hmarie18 is offline
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Angry cervical steroid epidural injection questions

Hi everyone,

I have some questions that have been left unanswered about what happened during my procedure of cervical steroid epidural injections that have left me very uneasy and confused, If anyone can help i would be very grateful.

I had epidural injection in feb 2012, using fluoroscopy for my c56 disc which was herniated and causing pain. Something had to have went wrong, I had extreme pain when he inserted needle, it felt electricuting, it was so bad I was crying and could barely catch my breath... in his report he states there was an absence of radicular complaint and csf flow and he injected the depo medrol, withdrew slightly, added a little numbing medicine and withdrew and reinserted the needle at c67, injected depo medrol, withdrew slightly, added a little numbing medicine and withdrew..He also stated that the epidrual space was confirmed on fluoroscopy...after the injection I did have a slight headache, but nothing excruciating, I also lost function of my right arm and hand, I did regain it after about 2 weeks, and my headache did go away, however the increase in pain is still there...

The doctor originally ordered from the pharmacy, numbing medication, depo-medrol, and isuvue, which is contrast. He did not put in his report that he injected the contrast, and the nurse only listed the depo medrol and numbing medication as the medications administered... One of my questions is, why did he not use the contrast he already pre-ordered for the procedure? Also why did he not report me crying in pain? By him stating that there was an absence of radicular pain that is him saying I never complaned of the pain, right? Could he be trying to hide the fact that he hit my spinal cord? When I called him the day after the procedure to tell him I lost motor function and was in more pain, he said it was not from injection and dismissed me completely... Told me I needed to go to pain managment...

Could he not have injected the contrast bc then it would show on the fluoroscopy that he hit my cord? Also why did he inject half the depo medrol in my c56 and then the other half in my c67? He told the nurse he was injecting my c56 and that is what the nurse wrote on her operative report, he did put on my consent form that he was injecting the c56 and possibly the c67, Im wondering if he only put that on my consent form just incase he would hit the cord during the procedure and have to move to a different spot, just to cover himself...so he injected half in c56 and half in c67...

everything that ive read on fluoroscopy injections states that after the needle is confirmed on fluoroscopy they inject the contrast and take another image to be sure it spreads right to confirm the exact location to be sure the dura was not hit... why would the doctor not want that type of proof that he was in the correct spot? especially since he had the contrast on hand? Also does the hospital keep the fluoroscopy images on file?

Thank you anyone who has any thoughts, Im trying to figure out what has happened to me and the doctor wont talk to me, I just want answers...thanks again!
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Old 09-17-2012, 01:39 PM #2
ginnie ginnie is offline
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Default Hi Hmarie

Get a copy of the complete report, that was made out at the time of the cerivcal epidural. Lots of times people get to be put into a twilight sleep for this proceedure, even with floroscopy. The fact he did not NOTE your pain and distress isn't right. The entire truth is suppose to be told when the nurse makes the notes on how the proceedure went. If your pain is worse, I would take these notes, and any note you care to write about the event, and see another pain specialist. Unless doctors pay attention to us, it doesn't do any good to have that particular doctor. Brushing you away, well do the same thing and get someone to listen to you. I dismissed my first neuro surgeon, flat out. He was rude and crude, and I said bye bye. He didn't listen to me.
I kept right on going until I found that special doctor who took a real intest in me, and made my life better. I wish you all the best. ginnie
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Old 09-17-2012, 05:20 PM #3
hmarie18 hmarie18 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ginnie View Post
Get a copy of the complete report, that was made out at the time of the cerivcal epidural. Lots of times people get to be put into a twilight sleep for this proceedure, even with floroscopy. The fact he did not NOTE your pain and distress isn't right. The entire truth is suppose to be told when the nurse makes the notes on how the proceedure went. If your pain is worse, I would take these notes, and any note you care to write about the event, and see another pain specialist. Unless doctors pay attention to us, it doesn't do any good to have that particular doctor. Brushing you away, well do the same thing and get someone to listen to you. I dismissed my first neuro surgeon, flat out. He was rude and crude, and I said bye bye. He didn't listen to me.
I kept right on going until I found that special doctor who took a real intest in me, and made my life better. I wish you all the best. ginnie
thanks for ur reply ginnie, I did go up to the hospital adn they wont give me all my records...I got 17 pages and she said it was between 30 and 40, I asked her for the imaging report and she said there wasnt any imaging, but he said he used the fluoroscope... I havent seen him since he did it back in feb and am working with a new dr, and he is trying to figure out what happened, but as he has told me, since the dr didnt put anything into the report about me crying and complaining of pain during the procedure and he stated that everything went good and as planned, there is no proof that anything went wrong... I can say what happened a million times, but if I have no proof b/c he failed to note it, its just me saying it with nothing to back it up, and since he didnt inject the contrast there is no way to know where the depo medrol went, or if my cord was hit...thats why Im trying to find out if there is any reason why a dr that has ordered contrast would not use it??
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Old 09-17-2012, 05:49 PM #4
ginnie ginnie is offline
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Default Hi Hmarie

By law, we are entitled to ALL of our medical records. If they say there is 30 or 40 pages, demand them. Offer to pay for it if you have to. What they are doing to you is not legal. Also the floroscope is usually coppied to disk, so I think you are getting a whopper. I have gone to a lawyer over this stuff. Threaten if you have to, but you deserve to have all your records, and that the records do indeed reflect what you went through. If there is a descripancy, in the records, seek the hospital administrator and ask why the truth of this matter was not recorded in the records. I am so sorry you have to go through all this. I wish I could help more. I am such a stubborn person, that I ususally will follow through with an issue and get results. Your records are yours, and they have no right to keep any portion of them. ginnie
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Old 09-17-2012, 06:51 PM #5
hmarie18 hmarie18 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ginnie View Post
By law, we are entitled to ALL of our medical records. If they say there is 30 or 40 pages, demand them. Offer to pay for it if you have to. What they are doing to you is not legal. Also the floroscope is usually coppied to disk, so I think you are getting a whopper. I have gone to a lawyer over this stuff. Threaten if you have to, but you deserve to have all your records, and that the records do indeed reflect what you went through. If there is a descripancy, in the records, seek the hospital administrator and ask why the truth of this matter was not recorded in the records. I am so sorry you have to go through all this. I wish I could help more. I am such a stubborn person, that I ususally will follow through with an issue and get results. Your records are yours, and they have no right to keep any portion of them. ginnie

thanks ginnie, I told them I would pay for them and they have been giving me a hard time, I originally filled out a form to have them emailed to me, b/c they said they can not hand me my own records even if I show ID, they said they could either fax to my dr, which is free or I could fill out a form and have then either mailed or emailed but I would have to pay per page, I told them I wanted them emailed and I would pay per page so I filled out the form and they gave me the number to the copying company, I called them a couple days later and they told me they could not email and I didnt have my mailing address in the spot to send them so i had to go back to the hospital and request them again, which I did and I said just fax them to my dr, the entire record and they said they could fax the entire thing, so thats what I got, 17 pages, Im going to have to go back tomorrow and now wait another 2 weeks to get the rest, but while I was there she did tell me there was no imgaing record, bc I specifically asked for that... this is just getting so frustrating, Im just trying to find out what happened to me... My new dr even told me usually when a mistake is made the doc tells you and tries to help fix the problem he caused, he said when drs do what my old dr did and shun the patient after a mistake thats when they get sued... Also considering when I first met with this surgeon that did the injection I did ask him what % of disability I had and told him my lawyer wanted to know for my lawsuit with the ins. company of the driver that hit me, and right when I said lawyer he got very nasty with me and said if your lawyer wants that he needs to follow protocol and send me a request via fax or mail, and I said ok well Ide like to know for my own knowledge as well and he said tell your lawyer to follow protocol and send me something then, he was just very nasty and that was my first meeting with him, I was seeing a dif dr in the practice for months before that but he doesnt do procedures anymore so told me to schedule with him to get a surgical eval...my worst mistake!
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Old 09-18-2012, 08:40 AM #6
hmarie18 hmarie18 is offline
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Ok update .... I just argued with the film library and they finally found my fluoroscopy imaging records... so I'm going to pick them up now.... hopefully it shows something!
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Old 09-18-2012, 11:59 AM #7
ginnie ginnie is offline
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Default Hi hmarie

Something fishy is in dodge. I never had trouble getting my records from either of the hospitals I was in. I stood there, and waited till they could copy them off. This two week BS just sounds weird. This whole mess should not have happened to you. I knew they had records of that floroscopy! What is it he doesn't care for you to know about? good luck ginnie ps they don't need to send your records to your doctor, as you have the right to have them with out a doctors approval. ginnie
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Old 09-18-2012, 12:34 PM #8
hmarie18 hmarie18 is offline
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I got the fluoroscopy images, its only 2 pictures, Im going to try to upload them on here so maybe someone will know what it is showing... there was no contrast...unless the dark circle is contrast, but I feel that it is bupivacaine, the numbing meds... it doesnt show any dye that i can see that would tell him where the medication is going to go... Also they told me I had to return them in 2 weeks and I requested the rest of my records as well, which will take up to 2 weeks as they can not print them and hand them to me... They have a copying company that does all that for them, all they do is take the request or send them to ur doctor
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Old 09-19-2012, 09:24 AM #9
ginnie ginnie is offline
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Default Hi hmarie

I spent quite a bit of time looking in google for ventral remodeling of the cervical cord. I didn't find anything on causes, other than a narrowing of the disk space. Nothing on causes, or specifically that an injection can agreviate the condition. Leesa is absolutly the best in research, and may be able to find out more for you. Clearly there is something going ON. In the articles I read, both a CT scan and MRI were recommended. Each one shows a different aspect of the soft and hard tissues in your spine. I will keep looking however, and I will be here for you. I really wish I was smarter at this. ginnie
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