Some people suggest breathing exercises for that kind of thing, but I tend to find focusing on internal stuff like bodily sensations, especially breathing, to be really hit or miss for dealing with acute anxiety—works great for some, but makes some people feel more anxious.
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how frequently do you have to get these shots? Does the pain begin to return after a while? How long is the relief from the injured hip?
Also, I just wanted to note that I have not been able to find a doctor here in NYC who uses the Zilretta drug. I am left having to use the old standard steroid injection (as opposed to the slow release).
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So for my hip bursitis, it honestly didn’t do a whole lot. I didn’t get follow up ones in either hip, tried one in each at different points. PT is what eventually helped me. My issue was caused by IT band problems, and doing active, yoga-based stretching that allowed the IT band to gradually loosen up while not putting more strain on joints (like many traditional stretches can) is what helped for me. I think effectiveness though will vary tremendously based on the cause of the inflammation and your responsiveness to the cortisone, etc.
I have found them helpful for my shoulder though (frozen shoulder with underlying tendinitis of the supraspinatus)—I find they dramatically help starting within a couple of days with most notable effects in the first 2-3 weeks, but then a substantial “tail” effect, where it’s still better than it was for a while. For me, the trick is to pair that with PT that then takes advantage of the improvement to move things along. I’ve repeated it maybe 4-5 months later for another boost in my first frozen shoulder. Just recently got my initial injection in my second shoulder, and hoping since I caught this one earlier and am treating it correctly from the get-go, to not need another but we will see.
My overall takeaway would be though that if you aren’t also getting evaluated by a PT, do that too. It seems like it’s rare that for any joint issue you need medical or surgical intervention for, PT wouldn’t also be an important component of the treatment plan.
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I plan to be going to PT twice a week for 6 weeks post injection recovery.
I started originally with just the PT and it made matters and pain MUCH worse, so I had to discontinue it. Now, hopefully, after the injection, I will be able to pick it up again and this time successfully. 
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@daisymae
My hip issue was actual deterioration of the joint area due to inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis. The space between the two bones had greatly decreased and it was filled with fluid from the inflammation.
To do the procedure I just laid flat on my back in an exam room, no special procedure room or anything. They had me take off my jeans and put on a gown, but left my underwear on and the rest of my clothes. It was an ultrasound guided procedure, so there was a compact portable ultrasound machine on a chair next to me that the Dr used to guide the needle. That makes sure he gets it in the right place (the space between the bones) and doesn’t touch a bone. That’s why it doesn’t hurt.
I just looked straight up or over at the Dr who was standing next to me and I couldn’t see anything that he was doing.
It took literally just 5 or so minutes. He cleaned the area, then sprayed the local anesthesic, and waited a couple of seconds, then I didn’t feel a thing or see anything with the needle. I could see he was looking at the ultrasound screen and then it was over. He said he was trying to remove some of the fluid but he couldn’t because the needle was too small.
I called the Dr’s office ahead of time and asked if he used ultrasound guided procedure or not, and they said he did, so I knew ahead of time about the ultrasound.
It felt better pretty much immediately, but got even better as the first 2 weeks went on. I don’t know how long it will last, especially since I’m starting a new Rheumatoid arthritis drug and it takes several weeks to get effective, so in the meantime I’ll still have inflammation going on.
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