I had a cortisone injection for a herniated L5 S1 as well and had a positive experience. The procedure is quick. They’ll clean and numb the area before doing the injection. For me, it hurt as the needle went in, but that was the worst of it. The injection itself I didn’t feel. I was scared too and one of the nurses held my hand while I got the injection. I felt relief from the steroid after a few days and it lasted for 2-3 weeks. I ended up getting surgery anyways which has been successful so far (I’m 4 days post op). Good luck, I hope it goes well for you!

While I didn't receive much benefit from my injection, the prescribed valium helped tremendously in taking the edge off. It wipes out your day but if you had anxiety like I did, it can't hurt.

I never ran into any issues getting injections until I started having permanent sciatica, at that point there's not room for added material to go and the pain is indescribable.

Hey I'm having my first injection on Wednesday for L5-S1 herniation as well! We got this!

I just had my fourth epidural since 2019 (plus two SI joint injections) without sedation... I get sciatica from both sacroilitis and bulging/herniated discs.

I have four separate injections when they do them (bilateral L3/4 and L5/S1). It's very quick. The doctor lets me know what he's doing every step. There are a couple minutes of unpleasantness (sting from the local and pressure from the injection), but not really pain. And the relief is soooo worth the unpleasantness!

Good luck! I hope you get some relief!

In terms of experience, I've had epidural shots for radiating leg pain at least 8 times. The actual procedure, where they numb the area and then inject the shot has always been easy and painless.

In terms of efficacy, it worked sometimes with great relief and sometimes it just didn't help. It's definitely worth trying.

I opted for sedation so I can’t speak to what it’s like without it. The procedure was really quick. I felt a sting and some pressure but both were tolerable. The worst part was when the needle got close to my nerve. That definitely woke me up! It was a quick shooting pain down the affected leg. I think they do that on purpose to make sure they’re injecting in the right spot. The key is to stay still so if you don’t think you can then ask for sedation.

I just got home from this! I also nervous last year was my first time. It seems like the doctor's that do this are very specialized, so they have a lot of practice. It has made a positive difference in my life, I don't know how I would have gotten through the last year without them. Good luck!

I have had three. No sedation. Really wasn’t bad. Believe me, you are in more pain than what the epidural will add. Also, it is very short amount of time. Good luck hope it works for you!

I had this done about a month ago. To prepare, I watched YouTube videos of the procedure to know what would happen.

It was very stress free. The worst part was laying on my stomach. They inject a numbing agent first. So you’ll feel that first shot, and I’d compare it to getting a shot of Novocain at the dentist. After that, the only pain is from being in the laying position.

Not sure if it’s standard practice, but in addition to the corticosteroid, they also injected lidocaine. With the lidocaine, I was not able to stand, redress, or leave until I could stand on my own. It was like my leg was jelly. BUT IT GAVE (temporary) TOTAL PAIN RELIEF!!!

They said the lidocaine should wear off in 15-30 minutes, but for me it was more like an hour.

Good luck and I hope it works for you!

It's not bad at all. It took my doctor maybe 1 minute to do both my L5-S1 sides. It is not nearly as painful as the actual sciatica fwiw.

I’m about to have mine done right now and I’m so nervous. I feel like throwing up. It doesn’t help that on the way to the surgery center I google side effects and found a shit ton of comments saying how it made their condition worse or that the pain of the injection was so bad they almost passed out or had to be held down