I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but looking for feedback on steroid shots... [View all]

Back in February, I had the flu, was walking down the hall to my bedroom, passed out cold from being dehydrated. Whacked my chin on a piece of furniture, neck hurt for a bit... fast forward a few weeks, I'm having chronic headaches, back hurts, etc. Have to travel across country for work, and after being the on the 5 hour flight home, I was in so much pain I was almost in tears.

Urgent care center the day after I got back and the x-rays revealed I had a centro-lateral herniated disk in my thoracic spine, mid-way between my shoulder blades. I was referred to a specialist. The MRI they did also showed annular tears in my neck, C6-7.

My pain levels are about 3-4 for about 1/2 of the week, with days that spike to 7 or so for the other half. I'm doing physical therapy twice a week. My doc wants me to get steroid shots in my spine to help with the pain. I am not taking any narcotic pain meds, trying to manage with alternating advil/tylenol on the bad days, which doesn't make the pain go away, but makes it so I can get through the day without crying.

To FINALLY get to what feedback I'm looking for - I have heard VERY mixed reviews on the shots. Probably about 60% of the people I work with that have back issues have told me to NOT get the shots, that they are awful, don't really help, etc. Then there are a few that have had very good experiences with them. I'm so tired of being in pain. Just checking to see if anyone here had them and if they did, in fact, help. I hate needles, so am not thrilled about the thought of it, but I am so tired of hurting all of the time.

Thanks for anyone who has any input!