experiences vary widely w cortisone shots, but i had a very positive one. long story short, after experiencing pain in the area of my left shoulder for years, i got a cortisone shot between the shoulder and spine last may. believe it or not, the relief is still there! now, relief usually lasts for 3 to 4 months, but i've been lucky. i'd asked other drs for shots before, and they were reluctant to give me one. i'm so glad i tried it.

fyi, i did experience a 'systemic reaction' to the shot; meaning, i got flushed and warm all over my body, had elevated heart rate and accelerated breathing for about 5 mins afterwards. it's apparently a rare reaction, but not painful...just wasn't prepared for it. i just stayed on the table for a few extra mins and everything was fine. you can't OD on cortisone, they said.

so...i'm glad i did the cortisone shot, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

thanks trin, appreciate your input-

oooh my doctor said if i ever get to the point of wanting the shot it is painful.

i had trouble with my right knee ever since i was in hospital in january with pneumonia and it started throbbing all of a sudden.

i always had trouble with it before when i played softball before all my health problems i guess it was in remission for all these years but now runners knee is back.
nothing helps with my pain and im already on steroids for 13+ years for my asthma.


i get cortisone shots in the back of my head once a month for migraines and they help a great deal. im not so sure i would want it in the back of my knee tho.

I also had a cortisone shot in my knee. It was not bad at all and it sure helped the pain. It lasted for about 8 months for me. So far it hasn't been bad enough to get another one. Good luck.

I had the Shot before too, it's not that bad, but it didn't help. I went to a Orthopedic Dr. and he said we need to do a clean out. I went and had that done and after about as month, I could walk without any problems. It's been a Year now and I am back to my old self again doing everything I did before I had all the trouble wih my Knee. I couldn't bend it and it hurt for months. So maybe you should go and have an Orthopedic look at it.

Cortisone shots can have an amazing effect! I've had them in my elbows for tendonitis and also in my hip (though it wasn't effective in my hip due to the severity of the injury.) But if you're still having pain with your knee you should talk to your doctor about doing that. It will most likely remove the remainder of the pain. Just plan to take it easy for the first 24 hours after the shot, I always felt worse for the first 24 hours and then all the pain would go away.

thank you everybody for taking the time to give me your input- think I'm going to wait for healing a couple more weeks then make some decisions.

I've had 3 cortisone shots.
(1) Ball of my foot. OOOOUUUUCCCHHH!!!!! (Then I punched the doc in her face...no, not really....just kidding. :) Worked for good.

(2) Left shoulder: Not painful at all compared to my foot. Worked for good.

(3) Palm of my left hand at the base of my index finger. Hurt a ton and did not work...I later had trigger finger surgery and a nodule removed.

I think it depends largely on where you get them, and if it's just RA and not something else, like trigger finger. Maybe?

I did finally go get an mri on my knee, it showed no tears or rips in any parts that could be seen, said the cartilage was partially gone - but the inflammation was keeping more healing from happening. So my rheum. suggested the "conservative" 1st step which was the cortisone shot. I had it today, it didn't hurt at all, now I'm waiting for the shot to tale effect all the way, she said it could be up to 48 hrs.
Now I am wondering if I should have just gotten the shot in January when I first had pain, instead of waiting to heal on my own.

I think you should have gotten the shot asap....if you listen to those who have never had them, they put such a negative spin on it that you will delay or never do it.

Before the RA really kicked in on me, I would get the max of 3 shots at a visit, knuckles, shoulder and knee with usually a fluid drain. Can be a little discomfort but think positive as to the relief it will give you. My biggest mistake was I did not refrain from physical activity for 24 hours to let it soak it..........worked much better for me when I do this. I had a knee clean out last Feb., worked great but I do have a torn ACL and that is going to stay that way for now or maybe forever, no more contact sports anyway. I still feel when the RA takes residence in this area and will not hesitate to ask for an injection to alleviate the problem.

Sometimes they just miss the location and you may need another one...........just have the Dr. get the freeze bottle out for the injection and get it done.....good luck.

thanks for your input Geolin-- now that I've had a shot-- I probably won't wait it out next time. Didn't help me to wait this last time-