I tried some type of cortisone injection one time. Not only did it NOT work, but they injected it in my hip and it ate away at the muscle in my right buttock. I ended up with a fist sized indent in my hip that took 1 1/2 years to rebuild that muscle. I can still see the indent but the "hole" left by the shot is not nearly so noticeable. My bf lovingly teased me about being a half ass. lol
Needless to say I won't do that again.
That is only MY experience. I do hear that cortisteroids work well for some people. Maybe someone else will have better input than me, but I wanted to caution you on this.
Good luck!

Oh my gosh, Nomorera! That would have never cross my mind as a possible side effect! Learn something everyday.

I had my very first cortisone shot into my knee last fall. It is the only joint I have that doesn't hurt. Got rid of the pain and the stiffness.

Now the other knee is becoming totally non functional and the pain keeps me up at night. I am going to arrange a shot in it as soon as I can.

I always get cortisone injections when I have a swollen/immobile joint for at least 3 days. Unfortunately, they haven't been working as well as they used to. I had my elbow injected about a month ago and it has flared at least 10 times since then. I've had fingers injected also and those have been OK but all my bigger joints seem to flare right back up. :/

I've never had to seek one out- every rheumatologist and orthopedist I've seen the past few years doesn't think they are doing their job if they don't offer cortisone at each visit.

My answer is, "Get away from me with that stuff!" I've had two bad reactions to it: excruciating pain a few hours after. Any relief is short lived, and the original problem is worse when it returns. There are plenty of people who love cortisone, but not me.

I see quite the varied responses here, pain still is extra concentrated in the shoulder joint, wearing me out extra early in the day. When do you make the decision to inject? Are the benefits totally localized, or is there any reduction in overall pain? Really hard to keep things going at the end of the school year.

I had it done. cortizone shot for my plantar facitis and it worked very well though the shot itself hurt like heck ouch city!!

They have never worked for me all tho for some silly reason I get so desperate I keep trying thinking this time might be different but I also get steroid flare 9 times out of 10 which is very painful

I had an injection once about two years ago for what the Dr described as frozen shoulder. It helped then. I've bee hurting more all over the past few weeks, which may be due to a late Orencia infusion (due to infection). I certainly don't want a flare due to the injection, so I'll see how I feel next week. I've had many lidocaine injections in my back due to Fibromyalgia, so pain from the shot doesn't worry me.

Melissa,

The decision for me to get my first cortisone injection was about five months ago. I started having a lot of pain in my left shoulder and I noticed, as you mentioned, the I was having flexibility problems in my pool therapy classes. Whether flexed or not, I wasn't able to lift my left arm over my head.

When I saw my Rheumy about four months ago, he injected my left shoulder with Marcaine mixed with steroids. Blessedly, the Marcaine provided instantaneous relief.

I saw my Rheumy again this past Monday and had steroid shots into both of my shoulders.

My Rheumy forgot the Marcaine with these shots and I can easily say the shots caused soreness for about three days, tapering off each day. Ice packs to my shoulders helped.

Today is Friday and my shoulders feel great.

When you ask about getting these type shots for flexibility or pain, I would like to offer that if you get these shots for one of these reasons, then the other problem is helped as well.

Regards,
TheWino

Update: after a terrible weekend, I was able to get in to the Dr. who did injections in both shoulders. The ultrasound showed erosions in both shoulders. Not cheap, but here's hoping the injections got in at the right spot and my sleep will be more comfortable.

I had plantar fasciitis in both feet. Xrays showed heel bones growing spurs and some joint erosions. Orthopaedist injected one foot - and the injection hurt so bad I wouldn't let him touch the other. Took a week before any symptom relief. The relief only lasted one week. Eventually tendonitis subsided at the same time in both feet.

Now when I feel it start up again, I start sitting on counters more when I teach. Resting the inflamed area and taking prednisone seems to work faster for me.

Hope you get better results. My late father in law swore by them.

2sci,
I also teach, and can definitely empathasize with you on the challenge it is to your job when your feet area is in agony. I also may need to temporarily up my prednisone levels to get me through the rest of the year. Have a great summer!

I've had them before RA for the shoulder. Not fun & no help although it was a guessing game.
Now my husband had a few. The first one he swore never to get another.
Ate those words when he could no longer walk.
Had my PM do the other 2 injections.
He does injections daily & my husband did great.
It was more the doctor then the injection in his case.
Something to consider.
Sammy

Wrote long reply which horrible Windows H8 has lost. So shortly - try shots or oral or as with me both.

18month problem shoulder sorted after period on 10mg but had had a couple of cortisone shots unsuccessfully over the time before.

Hi There...
I had a cortisone injection in each shoulder at the end of last month and it's helped me a lot. I wouldn't recommend going that route too often, but for me, it was great.
I golf, I sleep better with the reduction in pain, I can lift my arms over my head and do lots of arm movement in my gym classes that I couldn't before.

The needles hurt like a son of a gun... and lots of pain in my arms for a few hours after, but the next day - right as rain!