Struggling with sciatica

[Sameold23]

Hi, so I started with this 10 days ago. Horrendous pain with numb leg and foot. Ended up in A&E. I've mainly been in bed as could not move. The last few days I've cut my painkillers and have been moving about more. I've managed the stairs a few times. Now my pain is back, but I thought I was supposed to be moving around. Basically I can't sleep as the pain is annoying and I'm freaking out that this is never going to end. The gp has referred me to physio which shouldn't be too much longer. Just wanted advice on what I should be doing please.

Hi, sorry I'm n new here and still working out how/where to reply! I wasn't overweight when it happened (two years ago). I had an MRI but they couldn't figure out which disc was causing the sciatica. I probably delayed getting better because the pain was such agony I stayed resting too long. I realised I was going to have to help myself as much as I could - I was given stretching exercises from a physio and I did these, they do help. I was given the advice by the physio to "lean into the pain" - Ie. stop and try to relax your muscles and see where the pain actually is. Well, when I did that I realised the pain reduced massively, just because my muscles were in knots from the pain.

So I learned to use heat packs to relax the muscles and this worked better than anything else in all honesty! Plus I made myself walk even just a few steps outside and kept doing it while trying to relax my muscles. I think I had about six heat packs of different sizes and shapes and I used them all - I rotated them - they helped in bed behind my lumbar spine.

I was improving after a few months. All up it took a year to be completely OK - but it can still bother me at night/after standing too long, but it's perfectly manageable, really just a bit of an annoyance.

I was lucky I had worked for a pain management specialist long ago, and he used to complain his patients had "learned helplessness" - they didn't try to help themselves and got so depressed with the pain they gave up in despair. I really do find having a mindset that you are determined to get better helps a lot - but honestly, the first couple of months were hell. There is light at the end of the tunnel, it's just horrible for a while yet. I really understand where you are coming from! I wonder if you can get some help with the housework for a while?

Hi there, I am on holiday at the moment so no access to doctor/physio etc, and I have developed what I am pretty sure is sciatica, possibly in response to spending a lot of time on a motorboat on the sea (quite bouncy at times). I am reading this thread with interest and have tried that flossing exercise. It's still pretty bad, though. Would people advise that I decrease level of activity, or that I keep walking and moving?

I have had sciatica and it was with me for around 3 months, I used a walking stick at one point. I actually hardly touched painkillers and walked through the pain and had physio. I moved about a lot and changed position often, did also use some wheat bags.

@Turquioseblue that's interesting about the pain management consultant. I’m not anti meds as such but it obviously masks everything. I pushed through my pain. I do wonder if I have a high pain threshold as I’m used to pain as I have a congenital spine condition.

I'm sure some people get worse sciatica than others, but after several weeks of agony I realized I couldn't just depend on the GP to provide painkillers - I wanted to get rid of the pain and they were just masking it, as you say.

It was when I discovered the difference the heat packs made (at least in my case), I realized the pain actually could be reduced by things other than the meds (though I kept taking them as well for quite some time!)

I really started on slow mobilising and hydrotherapy (walking in a warm hydrotherapy pool and gentle swimming) - plus I read any book I could find on chronic pain and watched videos about it - I really started to improve once I got determined to help myself as much as I could - I think it also made me feel like I had some control.

I think part of the problem is the terrible pain makes you feel desperate, depressed, scared and helpless. Once I realized I could have some effect on it, I started to feel a bit more confident about the future.

Having said that, I would hate to have to go through it all again! I have nothing but the utmost sympathy for people suffering from it. It's vile pain.

Crocs are your best friend ( honestly) I suffered with sciatica a few years back and wearing crocs on my wooden floor and good painkillers stopped it.. the crocs actually cushion the impact on hard surfaces and I still wear them now ( indoors). You don't have to buy the real McCoy as the shoefare cheap ones work just as good. X

I am hoping things will improve when I get home from holiday and am not on a boat all day and sleeping on a slightly uneven bed. The nerve flossing exercise seems to have helped a bit. I will bear in mind the tip about the crocs if it doesn't go away.

Does anyone else have the numb leg and foot?

If you can afford private physio to get it quicker, I would. I did and it was very helpful - the NHS physio was just as good but there was a long wait.

I've found swimming and Pilates both very helpful (make sure you tell any Pilates teacher that you have sciatica - they should tell you if there's anything you shouldn't do.)

In terms of the future, I had it five years ago, so acutely that I had to be collected by an ambulance more than once as I couldn't get off the ground or weight bear on the leg. Eventually I was admitted to hospital for pain management. I've worked hard on it, done the exercises, done the swimming and Pilates and so on and it's now completely fine as long as I continue to do some exercise. It's been fine through two pregnancies and two C-section recoveries. So it can get better (though I'm conscious there's still a weakness there).

I had sciatica caused by a herniated disc and needed surgery to make my life livable. I had the numb foot, and I hate to tell you, even after the surgery (which stopped the rest of the symptoms) the numb foot has not gone away and is worsening, I'm getting shooting nerve pain through the numb foot. My surgeon said that the nerve may have been permanently damaged.

I can walk, swim and mostly live a normal life, but I still take painkillers for the nerve pain and my foot feels like a lump of concrete on the end of my leg. You may need to to learn to live with the foot numbness.

Thanks both. My gp was quite adamant that I should only go to an NHS physio. This is why I'm waiting. I've since learnt that the admin staff at the surgery haven't even typed up the referral yet.

I am quite worried about having the numb foot for life.

Can you drive with a numb foot?

Hot bath helps me loads. And heat pads. I've also learnt that moving in the night, if I put my arms under my body and use them to move my body to a new position it's less painful than just trying to turn over

Yes OP I had the numb tingly foot for a long time after and even now 3 years later it feels a bit strange. In the acute phase I was given pregabalin which helped massively plus zapain ( codeine/ para) and Brufen. Now I’m weaned off the pregab and just take the odd zapain.
I ended up doing the NHS exercises on YT which really helped but you need to pretty much do them every day. I was referred to the spinal team for a phone call appointment (was May 2020 so right in the pandemic). He reckoned that because I didn’t have red flags for cauda equina I didn’t need a scan. The symptoms were enough to confirm a slipped disc. Saying that, he offered me one as I’m a HCP in a very physical job but stupidly I turned it down.

Was so frustrated with NHS got myself referred privately, had a consultation, MRI, second consultation. The MRI showed L2 was herniated. The real kicker was that I have scoliosis, which explained back pain since my first pregnancy on and off. I also have hip impingement.

This week telephone call up by consultant recommending physio. I have all the paperwork and results of MRI to show them.

Cost 1k.

I really cannot fathom how an accurate diagnosis can be made without an MRI. It's rationing the NHS but so shortsighted.

My lovely GP put me on Gabapentin straight away which helped enormously. Ask yours for some.

Forgot I've also had an infiltration of steroids into my spine which helped with the hip impingement.

I’ve had sciatica for 6 months now and am just healing, it’s taken a long time. I didn’t see an nhs physio but did see an osteopath privately for assessment, massage and acupuncture which gave relief. I found that after a few days it was better but then would worsen again. The advice given to me was: keeping moving and use painkillers but if you feel the tingling sensation stop and rest until it passes as this is the trapped nerve and forcing yourself to move when this happens can delay healing. I have a job which keeps me sitting in front of a screen so I have a standing desk and adapted chair now (occ health).
what also helped were ice and heat on the painful areas, daily stretching and exercises to free up, regular gentle walking. I also upped my water intake and take high dose vit D. Particular seating aggravates it so I avoid that and any heavy lifting, even a shopping bag. I find these stretches useful. Hope you feel better soon, constant pain is so draining. https://www.healthline.com/health/lower-back-stretches

My mum has sciatica and she finds acupuncture quite useful. She also takes Amitriptyline (but it will take about two weeks to take effect).

Other people say the exercises can work very well for milder cases.

Thank you.

I think I'm scared to do any exercises until I have met with a physio initially.

I don't know why a GP would say that - all physios are qualified. I think you have to be careful with chiropractors (I may be confusing them with osteopaths though!) as it's not a protected title, so anyone can claim to be one. But physios are ok. When I finally did have physio, it was actually from a private physio who'd been paid to take on NHS patients.

It might be worth double checking with your GP why you shouldn't approach a private physio. There might be a perfectly good reason I'm missing but I don't know what it would be.

Oh, and I had the numb foot, it has gone. So it definitely can go for some people.

And I've been unclear - should have said "when I finally did have NHS physio". I was already having private physio somewhere else.

I've got 2 prolapses discs and get sciatica. I've had it 6yrs. You'll be managing it forever op but it will improve. I go to the private physio whenever I need, usually once or twice a year. I do pilates once a week, for core strength to support my back. And I do exercises at home. Back bends are the most important for me.

I had problems about 11 years ago that were similar but maybe not as painful. I had bought a new pair of running shoes and had used them maybe a handful of times. I noticed I had numbness around my right glute and then my foot went numb. Once the numbness went the pain set in. It was awful especially at night. Painkillers were useless and the doctor prescribed me amitriptyline. The pain went after a month or so. What I discovered was that in 15% of people the sciatic nerve runs through the piriformis muscle. I think a combination of overdoing the running and the wrong shoe aggravated it. I noticed that you said you had started running and it struck a chord. I've been very careful in my choice of shoe since then and haven't had any more issues.

@110APiccadilly

Thanks for the reassurance about the foot.

@BriocheForBreakfast

Thank you. I really relate to what you're saying. I could only manage 20 minutes on the crosstrainer before my foot went numb. The annoying thing is that when I needed new trainers I went out and bought the same pair again!!!