sciatica - is there an end??

[dipsy210987]

I have been suffering with sciatica now for nearly 6 weeks

It all started with me pulling me back (although I have had a week back for years but this is by far the worst I've done it)

the back pain slowly got better, but then I started getting sciatica. I have obviously been in contact with doctors and i am on numerous pain killers and have been signed of work as well

I have been referred to physio (a month ago) and my appointment is next month

my pain was so unbearable I paid to see a chiropractor - they think it sounds like a slipped discs. He gave me a range of exercises which I THINK are slowly helping, but the pain still comes and goes, although it is less frequent - is this a sign it is slowly getting better?

i've been told by doctors I can't be scanned till i see the physio

If it is definitely a slipped disc- can they heal on their own with the exercise I have been given plus physio ?

I am due to go on holiday next week and I am rather worried!

I had to stop work and have an operation on mine. The disc was too far blown.

It still comes and goes somewhat and my ‘opposite side to the pain’ hip is buggered due to being lopsided for so long…….
Pilates and being active helps.

God it's depressing isn't it. I've tried many things but nothing helps. I don't think they'll do surgery on mine. I feel like I make a tiny step forward in terms of improvement & then it's backwards again! I'm sorry yours is still bothering you.

Hello, I ended up having surgery in December private, it was the best decision I have ever made. I was so adamant I didn't want surgery, but my dics were bulging badly and pushing my nerve very hard. It was taking over my life and was clearly not getting any better,

@Topjoe19 sorry was meant to tag you, I thought things were getting better, by my back just kept giving way on me. Recovery so far has been amazing, but I am get anxious and caution with my back as I'm terrified it will go on me again.

@Topjoe19 sorry hope I'm not confusing you ! I meant my back kept going on me before the surgery, I had so much time of work, the doctors simply didn't believe the amount of pain i was in. They kept telling me it was muscle issue, eventually got MRI which shored to severe slipped discs l4 & l5, . Doctors still didn't want to offer much help, even though it has been 6 months at this point , I could not walk for mine than 2 minutes without being in excruciating pain, nerve pain had got straight after surgery. I get the odd niggle here and there but nothing compared to what I was going through. I've been stick to my physio, keeping active and started gentle pilates

Sciatica is so depressing. I had surgery and woke up pain free after 18 months of it. Injections didn't do anything any exercise made it worse. You just need to rest.

Gabapentin was a life saver but I'm sure it's done damage to my memory.

Pilates is the way forward when it's healed. Get to a nuffield clinic for physio, nhs physio was SHIT!

@PlantsFallLikeDominoes I agree, NHS physio is just print out exercises for the most part. It also takes so long to get any help unless you can pay.

I'm glad you are feeling recovered now @dipsy210987 I've heard pilates is very good.

The main thing I hear is give it time, in time it will get better but it's hard to wait!

Thanks both.

Well after 2 years of pain free thanks to my spinal injection the pain is back. Bizarrely only just for walking or standing, sitting and sleeping are ok, but just walking. And very strangely the Pregabalin is not working this time. I had another MRI and they said nothing has changed. But it has as the pain back. My consultant has agreed to see me again so just waiting for an appoitment.

I hope its surgery this time. When i had my spinal injection the doctor who did it came to see me first to sign the consent form and actually said he didnt know why they were bothering with a spinal injection as my bulges are very severe and it should be surgery 😯

I hate living with the pain.

Hi @dipsy210987 did you have a decompression or full fusion?

I'm going to have a second surgery for this, a discectomy, on the 29th Feb. I have had a full year of sciatica problems. I haven't been able to work and I've piled on 10kg because I literally couldn't move most of the time.

I had 3 spine injections which worked for a few weeks. In December I had the hernia removed in surgery but after 3 weeks the pain and tingling was back. Less than before but still there. I had another MRI and it showed another hernia so the surgeon said that the disc has to come out.

The disc itself is collapsed because the gel is coming out of it so my spine is misaligned at the bottom. It's making me walk funny which can cause hip and knee problems if I don't get it sorted.

TBH I wish I'd gone straight to the disc removal and fusion surgery much earlier. Now I have a much bigger battle on my hands. I'm not in the UK so health services are not the same so can't give any advice on waiting times etc.

@WednesdaysMentor I'm sorry to hear you are in pain. Did you go private for MRI? Can you try gabapentin instead of pregablin perhaps?

@EspressoMacchiato so sorry to hear of your ongoing problems, it must be so painful. Good luck with your surgery.

No i went NHS for my MRI, it came through very quickly. Ironically it was in a private hospital as they were helping my local NHS hospital catch up with the back log.

I dont really want to try Gabpentin as i have heard the side affects are worse than Pregabalin but i might have to try it.

@Daftasabroom i had a microdiscectomy

When you say that your slipped disc is “severe”, do you mean disc sequestration or extrusion? I had disc extrusion, which looked horrific on the MRI scan, but it healed wonderfully in some 10 months thanks to pilates and psychological exercises. The first six months however were excruciatingly painful - I didn’t use painkillers though, gave a go at them for a couple of weeks but they didn’t seem to do much difference.

@GoBubbles after surgery my surgeon informed me it was severely pushing on the nerve, more so that he thought with regards to the MRI (i think it may have herniated even more from MRi to surgery) nothing helped mine, i was on strong pain killers as well as amitriptyline, nothing made a difference. I was informed most slipped discs heal on their own, but he believed as mine was going on for so long, at such a young age that it would not heal on it's own as physio therapy etc did not help at all . He did also say disc issues can be hereditary (my father had surgery many years ago as he had the same issue)

@GoBubbles what sort of psychological exercises helped you? I agree that painkillers aren't always helpful apart from sometimes knocking me out so I sleep.

@dipsy210987 I also have family members with disc issues as well as my parent. Seems to be a thing in my family! Dreading if my kids get it

I have suffered for more than 30 years on and off. When it started I was told it would go away - it does, but then it comes back again if I do something silly like spend to much time in the car or sitting at a desk.

Things that have helped:

Steriod injection into the spine
Exercises and lots of walking
Ice packs on the spine when it's really inflamed - I always keep them in the freezer for acute episodes.
Painkilling gel on the spine (not where you feel the referred sciatic pain). I can't remember the trade name but it has the same effect as the ice and is much more effective than oral painkillers.

I did the exercises drawn from the book by Sarno, Healing Back Pain. Basically you praise your body and curse your brain for mistaking normal sensations for pain signals and misrecognising anger. A lot of shaking and twisting, generally making the body move in a way that is not careful and protective. I tried because I was just desperate and it surprisingly worked. But I had a disc extrusion, not sure if this would work for sequestration which is more severe. The argument goes that most of people have slipped discs as early as in their 20s but not all of them will experience pain. Ergo… the pain is caused not by slipped disc but possibly something else. Might not be for everyone but worked for me.

Make sure you do regular physio long term (for life) as you need to now prevent issues from scary tissue from the op.

I find dihydrocodeine works wonders, I take usually around 60mgs four times a day usull for hip pain which is with me constantly. Can't imagine how excruciating it is with sciatica. You must be in agony. Hopefully you get pain medication that works for you as it will help you relax enough to rest and recuperate so you can get back to normal.

I'm finding physio helpful in terms of I feel a bit stronger but it doesn't correspond with my pain levels decreasing. I find myself constantly scanning my body for symptoms. I do think stress affects me. I will look up that book. I've also downloaded the curable app. I am so sick of bloody sciatica!

Hello, reading with interest…. Have been doing curable for 4 months for chronic sciatica. It’s definitely helped, just wondering how you got on with it? My symptoms are about 50% better but still struggling. I’ve been struggling for about 18 months now and it’s exhausting.

I agree - 14 months in and I'm so fed up. Exhausted is the right word. Hope you feel better soon. @Foundation31 are you on any meds? I've come off everything & can feel the nerve firing up. Weirdly had a run of a few good days of very low pain/pain free but always end up going backwards. So frustrating!