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Failed SIJ steroid injections

Hello! I received my first SIJ steroid injections 21 March, and, to be honest, fully expected to feel some relief, at least a couple days post-injections. Not the case, however. Over the past eight days, I have experienced a flare worse than any I've had while on my biologic (Cimzia). I feel joint, muscle and nerve pain on both sides. It's been difficult to find a comfortable seated or sleeping position, and walking and icing has not helped.

I'd be curious if this has happened to anyone else and if yes, if you had any recommendations for easing the flare or for booking any follow-up injections. (I feel steroid injection-shy now.)

  1. It’s so hard to be in pain in every position 🤗. I had the SIJ injections in both sides and it sent me into a flare up that took over a month to get over. Then my doc wanted to try radio frequency on

    1. Steroids are wonderful anti-inflammatory drugs, but not everyone experiences "relief" after taking them. You may be one of those who are adversely affected by having steroids in your system. Have you ever tried a low dose of oral steroids for a few days to see if you generally feel better?


      I've had several steroid injections in various areas, only had relief with 1 location (hip joint). The other injections were painful and certainly not helpful. Interesting enough, they injected anesthetic in one location when the steroid failed, and that worked for a couple days...

      1. hello there, im sorry to hear that... I am thinking about asking my reumathologist for a SI injection next week. i feel like i really need one. How do your pains feel like? when you walk?
        i cant even sit down and its tender to the touch. strenght for you!!!!

        1. Thank you for the encouragement! From what I have heard, most people benefit from the steroid injections, so if your doctor recommends it, I’d say go for it! The pain I have from the injection is still persisting but seems to be getting better slowly. Short distance walking feels okay. Pre-injections I could walk all day, so a little disappointing.

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