FDA Orders Label Changes: Epidural Corticosteroid Injection Warning

You may have noticed that it takes A LOT for the FDA to change the warning on a drug.  However, on April 23rd of this year the FDA did just that on the injections of corticosteroids into the epidural space of the spine. This has been a widespread practice for several decades; however, the effectiveness and safety of the drugs for this type of use have not been established, and FDA has not approved corticosteroids for such use.
These injections are typically given to treat neck and back pain that radiates into the extremities.  The warning the FDA posted suggested that these injections may result in rare, but serious adverse reactions including, loss of vision, paralysis, stoke, and death.
For now, the FDA has issued the warning on the use of these drugs when injected into the spine.  And in order to address this further, they have put together a panel of experts to help define how these techniques can be used and reduce preventable harm.  They will release these recommendations when they are finalized.
Until then, if this procedure is recommended for you, you may want to discuss all your treatment options thoroughly with your healthcare provider.
At Smith Family Chiropractic, we can help you sort through all of your pain management options as well.  We take a holistic approach and offer excellent chiropractic care that is very safe and effective.  And when that isn't enough, we will help you navigate all the other options available to you!

Check out the progress of one of our FirstLine Therapy (FLT) patients.  He came into us with real ill health.  With some direction from Dr. Ala through our FLT program, and a lot of personal dedication, he was able to make dramatic changes in his health!  Check out his incredible progress below:

Paul, 56 year old, Male

Primary complaints:

•         Stage 3 kidney failure
•          Pre Diabetic
•         High Blood Pressure
•          Overweight

First Visit: 2/13/2014

Complaints:

•         High blood pressure
•          Stage 3 kidney failure
•          Pre Diabetic
•          Overweight
•          Dependence on prescription meds

Goals:

•          Prevent diabetes
•          Regain kidney health
•          Reduce dependence on prescription meds
•          Lose weight
•          Consistent exercise
•          Reduce risk of disease
•          Maintain a longer, healthier life

Second visit: 3/25/2014 On FLT for 7 weeks

Follow up on Complaints:

• Hypertension: Blood pressure reduced from 136/74 to 105/71 consistently.  Started decreasing blood pressure medication.
•  Kidney health:  Labs show improvement.  Original labs showed Creatinine (kidney health marker) level of  1.72 mg/dL.  After first 7 weeks of FLT Creatinine was 1.61 mg/dL.
• Prevent diabetes: Initial fasting glucose was 110 mg/dL.  After 7 weeks of FLT fasting glucose was 83 mg/dL.
• Overweight: Initial weight was 186 lbs, after 7 weeks of FLT weight was down to 171. Weight loss total: 15 lbs.  Better than that, check out the quality of weight loss, listed below:
• Initial fat mass, 48.84 lbs, after FLT fat mass, 26.84 lbs, total of 22 lbs of fat loss.
• Initial muscle mass, 71.94, after FLT muscle mass of 78.54, total of 6.6 increase in lean tissue.
• Bonus: Paul changed his body composition dramatically, increasing lean tissue and decreasing fat tissue.  Although he lost 15 pounds, he actually shed 22 pounds of fat!
• Dependence on prescription meds.  Already decreasing high blood pressure medication.  Plus, diabetes is much less of a threat now, so future dependence on drugs has decreased significantly.  The improvement in kidney function also correlates with his goal of decreasing drug dependence.

Objective Data

Date	2/14/2014	3/26/2014
Weight (lbs)	186	171
BMI	28.7	26.4
Waist Circ. (cm/in)	103/40.5	97.15/38.25
Hip Circ. (cm/in)	102/40.1	100.33/39.5
WHR	1.009	0.968
Total body water (L)	44.9	47.2
TBW%	53.20%	60.80%
Ref. Ranges	57-61	57-61
Intracellular water(L)	23.4	25.5
ICW%	52.00%	54.00%
Ref. Ranges	50-60	50-60
Extracellular water (L)	21.6	21.7
ECW%	48.00%	46.00%
Ref. Ranges	40-50	40-50
Fat lbs	48.84	26.84
Fat%	26.20%	15.70%
ATM lbs	71.94	78.54
ATM% (Lean Tissue)	38.70%	45.90%
Fat free mass lbs	137.06	144.1
Fat free mass %	73.80%	84.30%