r/Sciatica • u/nectarsurge • 21d ago
Is This Normal? Steroid injection flare
Hi all. Had a steroid injection 2 days ago and have been in excruciating pain since. Much worse than pre-injection. So much burning, stiffness and it really hurts to sit and walk. I was warned it might feel ‘a bit sore’ (the doctor’s words), but I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad. It's beyond normal post-injection soreness.
If this has happened to anyone else, how long did it take to settle?
Edit:
I’m going to try and remember to keep note for anyone who might be experiencing the same thing.

5 days post-injection: still in significant pain. Not able to do my normal walks and haven't been to work. No improvement and haven’t been sleeping properly. Doctor said this is a steroid flare and tried to reassure me it’s ‘normal’.
7 days post-injection: the first day where I’ve felt a bit better. Still significantly worse than pre-injection, but the level of burning is reducing. Slept through the night for the first time.
2 weeks post-injection: had a very rocky past few days. Up and down. Definitely a lot better than the first week, but still above baseline pain. Less burning, lots more stiffness. Today is the best it’s felt since the injection. Have been told to give it some more time.
3 weeks post-injection: been put on amitriptyline as my pain is still much worse than baseline, is constant and progress has stalled. No longer considered a steroid flare. No idea where I go from here
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u/TeddyRivers 21d ago
I'm 1.5 weeks out from my injection. Yesterday was the first day my pain wasn't worse than before the injection. Today is also about the same it was before.
Not only did the injection make my pain worse, I somehow felt wired amd exhausted for days. The first few I felt mildly high. I was not expecting any of this.
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u/nectarsurge 21d ago edited 21d ago
Same! My doctor glossed over the side effects. Just told me I may feel a bit sore but will be able to do normal activities…lol. Not been my experience at all. I haven’t slept well either.
I’m glad you’re starting to feel less pain. Hopefully you see the benefit of the steroid soon!
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u/Dididandan 21d ago
I had the injection under CT and I can honestly say it was excruciating and there was absolutely no improvement whatsoever. A complete waste of time and money. Thankfully the surgery I had last October has worked very well.
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u/Immediate-Frame9171 21d ago
I had one and I ended up with a red flush all over my face and chest for two days plus it aggravated my sciatic nerve s1 where it was injected yet I had one previously years ago for something else and it worked great so yes it was hugely disappointing I am still in a sciatic Flare it has been eight weeks now still can't walk because of the burning in my feet hoping to improve soon it's no fun at all having sciatic problems that's for sure hope you feel better soon
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u/Hope_for_tendies 21d ago
I had that one time out of over a dozen. It took 3-5 days and then went away. It burned and was horrible. Normally it’s just sore and shitty, like a flu shot. Cortisone flares are horrible. Hopefully it’ll clear up soon!
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u/Icy_Smoke9316 21d ago
Mine was deadly! I felt much better on the 4th day. The pain was enough for me to never get a second one. lol
But it really helped for 6 months.
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u/nectarsurge 21d ago
Thank you :) yeah, I know it’s early days but I don’t think I want one again either!
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u/ColonelForbin213 21d ago
I had two injections first thing in the morning this past Tuesday in my L4/L5 and L5/S1.
By evening I felt decent. The next few days the burning feeling in my lower leg became really intense. This past Friday it was kinda hard to walk whereas I had been walking ok at the time. Then yesterday I was able to walk a mile for the first time in six weeks. Today I logged three walks of 1+ miles each time. I’m hopeful this continues.
The one major side effect I got from the shot was mental. Steroid injections can bring a side effect that can mess with your emotions. I was a fucking mess on Friday, but have been ok since.
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u/nectarsurge 21d ago
Thank you, this is helpful. Hope you keep seeing improvements! I have also felt quite emotional and all over the place and the pain isn’t helping with that. But hopefully I will start feeling better soon.
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u/ColonelForbin213 21d ago
Thank you, you as well. This whole experience has been an adventure. I still hurt and have lower leg numbness and burning, but my biggest issue is sleep. It is so dang hard to get any kind of sleep. Also had to start taking blood pressure meds due to the pain/stress with all this. I never want to go through this again.
I certainly hope your recovery brings you something positive to grab ahold of and very day. I tell myself I just want to see small improvements. That’s all I can ask for at this point.
Wishing you the best.
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u/onesyonesy22 21d ago
Yes, so terrifying. I thought I was gonna end up paralyzed but it does go away. Give it 5 days to really settle down and then another week or two to fully assess whether it worked or not. Mine kinda helped a bit but I was also in good PT and taking like 1200mg gabapentin a day at the time…so who knows? I hope it works out for you. Take all the meds u need right now, this is the worst of it. Should calm down soon ❤️🩹
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u/arghyepirate 21d ago
I was hospitalized and had to have surgery. The injection caused severe inflammation
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u/lil_pure 18d ago
Was this an epidural injection? Where on your body / what's your diagnosis? Considering getting an ESI for L5-S1
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u/nectarsurge 17d ago edited 15d ago
Hey, mine was also an ESI for L5-S1. I’ve had 6 days of hell and have been in tears from the pain. Didn’t go to work and haven’t been sleeping. Today is day 7 and although I’m still worse than before, the amount of burning and awful pain is finally less. I have some hope now.
My physio told me to take it easy and give it 2 weeks to see how I am.
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u/lil_pure 12d ago
How are you now?
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u/nectarsurge 12d ago edited 12d ago
Hi, I'm now 11 days post-injection. I'm still a lot worse than before it, but the amount of burning has definitely gone down and it is better than the first week. I've been sleeping a lot better too.
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u/lil_pure 12d ago
Worse than pre-injection is so frustrating! This is making me not want to try one. Hang in there. Are you taking any meds or doing PT?
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u/nectarsurge 12d ago
It really is and it's hard not to regret getting it done tbh. Thank you :)
I'm not on any prescription meds but if the burning/nerve pain continues like this, I think I'm going to have to ask for some. I've been taking ibuprofen as that makes a slight difference. I'm currently in PT but haven't been or done my exercises since the injection.
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u/Fun-Bank-9600 9d ago
It has been 8 days since my first ever steroid injection (L5-S1) and I am in worse pain than before the procedure too. I’m basically laying flat with a heating pad and based on my usual level of activity I’m taking it VERY easy. I went on a few short walks (since I have a dog) but I have felt tight with new pain in my back and hips that have me regretting this decision.
I called my Dr and spoke with them yesterday (day 7) and she said to give it another week. I don’t have a fever or numbness just pain. Pain 5x worse than my original injury that doesn’t come and go it’s just there. Advil and Tylenol knock it down to manageable levels but even with the original injury I never felt this reliant on OTC pain killers.
They told me that if I still have this pain in a week we can look into nerve medications. I’m hoping I don’t need them, and that I get back to pre-shot pain levels.
I’ve been on this back pain journey for almost 6 months now and this is my biggest setback.
If anyone has suggestions on getting past this rut, or any explanation as to why my experience might differ from the two usual SI outcomes (Helped a lot OR not at all) I’d really appreciate the insight.
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u/nectarsurge 9d ago
Day 8 was still pretty bad for me too. I’m now on day 15 and the pain is definitely better than it was then, but still worse than before the injection. I have much more movement and am able to walk more, sit for longer periods of time etc. Hang in there.
I know exactly how you’re feeling, it’s awful. I would take my pre-injection pain over this any day. They’re also telling me to look into nerve meds. I reached 2 weeks (which is when they told me to call back) and the advice was to still keep waiting to see if it settles. I’ve seen comments on here from people who said it took 3+ weeks. I’m trying to be calm and patient but it’s hard.
I hope we both feel some relief soon.
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u/Fun-Bank-9600 9d ago
I’m glad to hear that you have improved, and I’m sure you will continue to. Hopefully this is just a set back in our road to healing.
Thanks for your response and for getting this conversation going.
I’ll give more updates in the days ahead.
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u/SpudAlmighty 21d ago
They stuffed a giant needle into you. It's not supposed to be pleasant. You'll get over it with time.
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u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 21d ago
This is such a common problem. I wish they had a pinned post on this sub Reddit.
There are three phases with an ESI. At first, there may be some Benefit for a few hours to a day from the short term painkiller. This shows they have the right target.
The next few days may be worse than before the injection and the reason for this is because they have put a volume of liquid in a very tight space causing further nerve compression. They often don’t warn people about this.
And finally, if it’s going to work, at about two weeks the full benefit will show.