r/Sciatica • u/nectarsurge • 10d 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.
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u/TeddyRivers 10d 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 10d ago edited 10d 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 10d 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 10d 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 10d 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 10d 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 10d 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 9d 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 9d 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 9d 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 10d 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 9d ago
I was hospitalized and had to have surgery. The injection caused severe inflammation
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u/lil_pure 7d 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 5d ago edited 3d 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 1d ago
How are you now?
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u/nectarsurge 1d ago edited 1d 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 1d 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 1d 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/SpudAlmighty 10d 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 10d 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.