I think it depend on the one giving the shot....I had a PA give me cortisone in the knee and could hardly feel it.

I had one in my hip. It's a strange sensation, not actually painful, just weird.

I had one for my shoulder years ago. I was being such a baby, and didn't even realize they had already given it to me.

Really need another one now.

One of the women at work got one on Thursday. The shot itself did not hurt her, but yesterday she could barely move her arm at all. The shot was in the shoulder, from an injury she got when she fell at work a few months ago. She asked another lady at work if who had a similar shot if that was normal pain. She said it was and would probably hurt for another week, and then all the pain, including the pain she got the shot for, would be gone. In the end, it will be worth it.

Would you rather suffer a little more pain for no more pain? Or continue with the pain you have forever?

Well, Debby, that's a good question. I can take Advil, and that's not a bit painful! LOL! But seriously, I'd rather not be taking Advil forever.

I had one. The doctor said the shot wouldn't hurt, but within several hours my arm would be very, very sore, then it would be better. Just as debby_ab said, above. And he was right! However, it was well worth it, as then I was pain free. As debby said, right now you've got ongoing pain. Are you willing to put up with that instead of having it be better after a few hours of aching?

For my shoulder, I've been advised to ice it for 20 minutes at a time. My pain is in the muscle not the joint.

Sure has helped!

I've been putting off the cortisone shot to see if the ice helps and been using it since Tuesday. Today, I don't feel the need for ice.

I've had Synvisc injections in my knees - no problem, only a slight pinch. I hurt my lower back years ago when I bent down to pick up my toddler - I couldn't move the pain was so severe. That cortisone shot didn't hurt as much as the pain I was having.

I've also had cortisone injected into my spine - and my hip. But for that he gave me a shot of a local anesthetic first - and of course that only hurts for a few seconds and I never felt the cortisone. My neurosurgeon uses extremely fine German needles for those injections. I never had any residual pain or soreness afterwards.

I recently had the shot done into each wrist and mixed in with the cortisone was some lydocaine to numb it afterword. The shot that went into the palm of my hand was not too much fun but the other had got it into the top of the wrist. I felt a pinch and nothing else there.

Both swelled up a few hours later as the lydocaine wore off but I iced it right away and kept do that for several hours. I was fine the next day.

Keep in mind that it can take up to a week for the full effect of the cortisone to work, so it is not instant.

Over time I have had many cortisone shots. I have never considered them painful; depends on the doctor, and your individual pain threshold. One new-to-me doctor, before the injection, quickly shot a stream of something that was supposed to deaden the pain, but that felt like I had been stabbed with a sharp instrument. I actually screamed. No doctor had ever done that before and I told her to never do it again!

But before you get any shot, please find out what your problem is. Cortisone is not a cure-all.

Sue

Honestly, it makes me feel faint just reading about these shots--I'm not kidding! OK OK OK, I'll make an appointment and go. I don't want to limp the rest of my life.

I got a steroid shot for some shoulder tendonosis a couple of months ago. No pain at all, but I got the shot in the hip, not the joint, because it's not joint pain that I have. Had no pain, no steroid appetite or side effects, but the inflammation went down, which was the objective.

Ice, heat and then ice again really does help with pain, if you have nothing better to do than sit around with packs on ya all day. :) Needless to say, I did that for about 2 weeks and then decided I would rather have a little pain and get some stuff done, instead of sitting around, held captive.

I received cortisone shots a number of years ago in my palm for tennis-elbow. I was welding at the time, and the constant motion made my arm and hand numb and it hurt when I lifted anything.

I was always told that the most a patient should receive is 3 shots.

The needle itself didn't hurt, but I felt the medication going in, which did. It does take a while to feel the positive effects of it.

My sister is getting cortisone shots. There's some indication that one shot and the pain is gone "forever". Uh, not true. In her case, it has pain for a while after the shot, couple days maybe? Then it gets better for a while. But *not* "forever"! Several months, many months, it varies and she's much more comfortable but again, not "pain free" either. However she feels that it's worth it since it helps for a relatively long time. That's her situation and your situation is obviously different so find out about it and make your decision.

From what I have experienced it is in all who gives the shot. My old dr. use to give me shots in my right knee and it was so painful! My new dr. lets his nurse practitioner give me my shots and I cannot even tell when she goes in or out. (I turn my head) I call them my new and improved team of dr.'s. They get a kick out of that. They are so much better than my old dr. in sooooo many ways!

The pain I had from cortisone shots in my knees occurred afterward. My knees were on fire, and I couldn't move from my bed. Then the pain moved up to my hips. I practically panicked, thinking it would eventually reach my brain. LOL

So no more cortisone for me. Ever.

The best thing I ever did for my sore right hip was to change desk chairs. Most desk chair seats these days are padded on the sides, which raises your hips slightly. I read that this can cause or exacerbate hip pain, and therefore one should look for a chair with a flat seat. Believe it or not, it wasn't easy to find. But I did, and it made a world of difference in my hip pain.

Mine didn't work for my shoulder.

Please be aware that cortisone shots WILL RAISE BLOOD SUGAR!!!!!!!!!! I was not diabetic at the time, but was tracking it. It went up into the 140's for 3 months before it would come down to normal. When I told the dr, he said that was a normal side affect. I told him with my family history, he was never going to give me another one!

Good luck.

Tami

No more than any shot, unless they hit a nerve, which they are trying to get NEAR but not on.. Still well worth the relief in my experience!!!

I got one in my shoulder and I think the shot hurt for about fifteen seconds while it went in. I felt a little sore after, so I iced it.

That brief pain didn't matter to me because -- it worked!!!

My shoulder had been messed up for months, and I had gone through physical therapy with no relief.

My advice -- get the shot!

I had one in my elbow for tennis elbow. I am tolerant of needles (I get regular allergy shots), but the feeling of the cortisone going in hurt like heck. But you just breath through it and it is over with in 10 seconds or so. It wouldn't stop me from getting another one.

Cortisone was all they had to help my late MIL with her RA. She had shots in her knees many times. Sometimes the relief lasted; sometimes it didn't.

I was offered shots but decided to just get on with the hip replacements. Those have *lasted* for years! I had taken Vioxx before that drug was recalled. My surgeon said pain relief can make things worse. Your brain 'thinks' there is less pain, and you go on destroying your joints further.

Just to follow up, I went to the doctor today. I have the beginning of a fracture in the thigh (femur). He has recommended that I walk with a cane for a month. A higher incidence of femur fractures is seen in people taking osteoporosis meds, and I believe this is what has caused my problem. I have already had a fracture and surgery in the other leg. I'm not whining or complaining, just reporting in.

Wow, Susan, that's a tough risk-reward ratio. Have you explored the possibility of getting off the meds?

I discussed the meds with my endocrinologist a few months ago. He encourages me to stay on something to keep the bones from deteriorating further. I fear taking the meds, I fear not taking the meds. I'll call him later to report this latest "revoltin' development!"

Oh, fooey! Doesn't that seem weird? I find it hard to believe that drugs to help BUILD bone would lead to more fractures. Could it be that the 'identified cohort' (people who have thinnng bones and get meds to combat that) just have more fractures in the first place?

Yes, it seems weird, makes no sense. Here's the FDA link. Not totally proven yet but suspected.

You could be right about "people who have thinning bones..."

I am going to lunch with a girlfriend who has been hounding me about the dangers of these medications. I don't look forward to telling her what's going on. Oh well.

Here is a link that might be useful: FDA to investigate link

just got my first knee shot last month...they "numbed" it, then the shot....like another poster it wierd feeling not exactly painful, but hurt slightly...it took 5 days for my knee pain to finally subside...since i was almost to the point of not walking, it was well worth it...

from the beginning of the appt to the end, it was less than half hour and included xrays...

Thanks for the link. Some scary responses to the article.

Really sorry you have had and are having these problems!

That makes three meds I was *prescribed* that could harm me: Vioxx, a hormone-replacement long after I'd finished menopause (to 'protect' my heart), now Fosomax. I never filled the prescription for the latter -- in part because I have had kidney stones.