Thanks for all your thoughts…. My concerns have been not so much with the procedure itself, but potential side affects of the meds…. From what the majority of you have said – (Sandi - sorry, that must have been awful for your husband) the injections have helped – and we are hoping that they will 1) of course decrease the back pain to a manageable level and give my liver a break from the Tylenol, and 2) also as a diagnostic tool to “separate” the pain (the gut pain could be from many things including the nerve pressure, and as mentioned, gastroparesis, endomitriosis (and adhesions left from 3 surgeries for that), and fibroids….. I’m not a good candid date for any type of exploratory abdominal surgery at this point – in fact several doctors flat out refused to do because of other health issues – so hoping this will help find cause/effect…….

I’m not afraid of the shots at all actually – but again, potential medication problems…. I’ve had some very severe reactions during my life (no illegal meds) – but have had things happen like going into bradycardia for hours wihile the docs had no idea why and were frantic as to why a healthy 33 year old was suddenly in heart failure (turned out it was a reaction to one allergy pill that has since been removed from the market) – terrible nausea that each time resulted in hospital admits following test procedures or day surguries when opiates were used - a couple trips from the dentist to ER unconscious because of epinephrine in Novocain, anti-b reactions which ranged from turning me into a giant hive sausage to giving me C-difficile for six months and the resulting attack on my system (whether it be from the infection or the flagyl used to treat it – we’ll never know) resulting in a six month progression from “slight sensory nerve damage” to “complete sensory nerve death”….

So yes, I’m going to make a list for the doctor of potential medication problems – and be sure I am monitored during initial period after injection – and go forward…..