Guy, in the early days of my ordeal, I had 8 epidural injections. Most helped, a few had no impact and one set me off (made me much worse) for about a week.
It sounds like you are relatively new to spine problems and are in the stage where you are trying to avoid surgery. Epidurals stand a good chance of cooling down the inflammation and allowing you to heal quicker. The don't work for everyone, but IMHO, the risks are relatively low. That is why such a high percentage of lumbar patients get epidurals, even though a relatively small percentage of us get long term relief.
The ESI's were helpful to me when I was still the the avoiding surgery phase. They saved several vacations, as my pain management doc would fit me in if I was having problems just before a trip was planned.
Good luck,
Mark
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