I've had sciatica since Tuesday morning, and I'm absolutely going out of my mind with the pain. Think I've been pretty lucky with the GPs taking it seriously (although turning up in my PJs and deep breathing like I was in labour throughout the appointment probably helped 😬) and I've been prescribed pregablin and diazepam, plus oral steroids as I have Rheumatoid Arthritis so he thought trying a stronger treatment to reduce inflammation was reasonable. I tried a diclofenac suppository and codeine with diazepam initially but got no relief, and GP removed the first two as he didn't think they'd do much for sciatica. I've also tried a tens machine but didn't feel like it helped when the pain was really severe.
Yesterday was a better day and I was relatively spasm free, although literally lay on a heat pad all day and only got up to go to the toilet.
I've had another huge burst of pain this evening (I think because I tried to move around more today rather than just lie on the floor/bed) and I honestly don't know how much more I can take - the pain is just horrendous, and I literally can't move when it hits 😩 I've come close to ringing for an ambulance twice as I don't know what else to do when I'm locked in one place and grunting in agony.
We're looking into whether I can get an MRI through my husband's health insurance, and the GP said if not, rheumatology should arrange it due to higher potential for disc issues (although he suspects the wait will still be pretty long, but it's quicker than the usual NHS avenues), but any wait feels unbearable currently.
The doctor said physio is an absolute no go currently as I'm in far too much pain for them to do anything.
Not sure what I'm hoping to achieve with this message, apart from maybe hearing others' experiences and any tips...and maybe just some sympathy whilst I'm feeling truly shit and sorry for myself 😭
Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.
General health
Excruciating sciatica - please help!
KR2013 · 23/03/2024 20:19
ZekeZeke · 23/03/2024 21:17
My BIL was waiting for an MRI for months for sciatica, in the end he was in so much pain he went to A&E, told them he had lost control of his bladder and bowel and had an MRI immediately
He had a bulging disk, needed a microdiscetomy and was operated on.
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.