Excruciating sciatica - please help!

[KR2013]

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 😭

I haven't had my Lyrica prescription filled and am going back to my regular doctor tomorrow. The not being able to drive does it for me. I live alone so not on. As important is that as it takes time to kick in, which the doctor did not tell me directly, it could well mask the injection, which I have to evaluate for effectiveness. I need a painkiller I can drop straight away, which is opioids, which they do not like giving out.

This is costing me a fecking fortune.

Thank you to @KR2013 for starting this thread, and to all posters for sharing their experiences. MN at its best.

@Topjoe19 thanks! I will try that. I keep my house very warm to deal with it. As for stress, totally agree. It is related

If you have £350 spare get a private MRI so you know what’s going on. I’m guessing either a herniated or broken disc is pressing on the nerve.

Most cases of sciatica improve within 6 weeks and so the NHS has decided that they won’t do MRIs until then, cos doing them for the minority is much cheaper than doing them for everyone. And hopefully your sciatica will indeed improve by itself, but I’d still get the private MRI asap if you can afford it. The dr can refer you back to NHS system once you have the results.

There is a lot of advice around saying move lots do stretches do physio etc I found that I simply could not do this and it made the agony much worse with spasms etc. When I got the MRI it became clear that physio/ stretches were a terrible idea for me: a broken disc requires different treatment than a herniated disc.

What I needed was gentle upright walks combined with a lot of lying down flat on the floor rest while my body healed. It isn’t what the NHS or the internet currently recommend but it helped me massively. So my number one advice to you is trust what you feel (and don’t be afraid to throw money at private consultants).

I’m so very sorry you have this.

I'm with you on the private MRI. My GP now knows and I know how to treat it exercise wise

@echt not being able to drive is awful. I can manage short distances now. It's strange as sometimes I can drive & feel fine, other times it hurts a lot. Hope you feel better. Have you had your injection or are you waiting for one?

Hope you are feeling slightly better @KR2013 ? And everyone else suffering too.

I think trust what you feel is perfect advice - it's useful to block out the noise of what you 'should' be doing and just work out what is physically possible and brings some relief.

they thought I had a herniated disc but no MRI offered 🤷‍♀️ I would warn about doing exercises too early ...have ended up with slight drop foot ...which has improved a bit hasten to add! rest is what you need and painkillers atb

I am very tentatively feeling slightly better - aware it may not be a smooth recovery and there might be down days, but I've at least been able to get downstairs to make a cup of tea the last couple of days, and have managed a couple of very gently sciatica stretches which seem to relax some of the muscle spasms I've been having. I can't do most of the recommended stretches, but am taking the small win! Other than that, still lots of resting in bed with the heat pad, and just gentle waddling around the bedroom. My GP has agreed to me upping the pregablin if needed, but so far I've managed to hold out. She also prescribed a stronger dose of diazepam, and that allowed me to stretch out the spasms this morning rather than just having to get back into bed. I'll only use it when necessary , but I'm very glad to have the option to step up the meds if I'm struggling, and that will hopefully allow me to keep gently moving. I've also added my naproxen back in and think that may be helping (if nothing else, I don't want an arthritis flare on top of this!)

I'm waiting to hear from rheumatology (who I'm already under) to see if they will do an MRI. If not, we'll then potentially look at self funding just so we know what we're dealing with.

Thanks so much for all your advice - it's so helpful, and also so comforting to know I'm not alone (although also very sorry others are going through this nightmare too!)

@Topjoe19 , I get my injection first week of April. Today I went back to my GP (the one who listens) with the script for Lyrica, explaining why it was not useful as I need to report back on the effectiveness of the injection, so no other painkillers, and also the list of horrendous side effects. I've got Palexia, an opioid but one that can, with the lowish dose, be easily stopped.

I know all drugs have their price to pay. We'll see.

I'm glad you're making some progress @KR2013. As you say, small wins.
Yes to the MRI if you can get it - it clarified my back issue, hence the next step of an injection. If you can afford to go private and get it earlier, go for it. What baffles me is that in Australia, where I am, you get hit with more tax if you don't have private insurance when over a certain income, yet my MRI was free. Baffled but very pleased,

@echt good luck with your injection I really hope it works & gives you lots of relief. Also great that you got an MRI free, I had to wait months & months for mine (NHS). If I'd known how long I'd have paid privately.

@KR2013 I'm glad you're feeling slightly better. I've found topical voltarol to be helpful as well, although I'm not sure how much you can use alongside naproxen. I think I've pretty much tried most stuff by now!

Now I need to get up & walk around for a bit as my foot is feeling numb. Fun times. Hope everyone on here has an OK day pain wise.

A rough few days for me unfortunately after a few better ones. My husband ended up calling for an ambulance yesterday morning as I was in horrendous pain (asn in rolling around on the floor roaring, nothing could relieve it type of pain.)

The paramedics were brilliant, and I was brought straight into majors at A&E due to the level of pain I was in. Whilst there, I developed urinary retention, and needed catheterising to empty my (very full) bladder. I was given an MRI, which showed no cauda equina but a prolapsed disc at L5/S1. I was admitted to try and get control of my pain (although no luck so far, absolutely horrendous night despite as much morphine as I was allowed), and will obviously need to be able to wee independently too - they're not currently sure whether the retention was due to pain or pressure on the nerve.

Hoping for some answers today 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

That sounds absolutely awful. My chiropractor sorts my sciatica every time, as soon as I feel the first twinge I make an appointment and usually 1-2 sessions stops it escalating. I know people are very sniffy about chiros but a good one is worth his/her weight in gold.

@KR2013 that sounds absolutely awful, you poor thing. Are you on any nerve pain medication at all? Like gabapentin or pregabalin? Have you seen your MRI & how bad your prolapse is? A relief it's not CE.

I hope you get some answers today and a plan to control your pain.

Sounds like a possible slipped disc. I had this a few days ago and was in for an emergency MRI within a few hours.

I'm on pregablin, plus diazepam, paracetamol, naproxen and morphine, but literally feels like nothing's touching the sides 😩I haven't seen the scan, but just seen a doctor who said that the spinal team want to see how I respond to increasing pain meds before discussing any potential further plans. I at least feel like I'm in the right place finally 🤞🏻

Sounds hideous on the admission, I've been there and it's not fun. I hope you got lots of morphine though the whole thing makes you feel like a dishrag. Hope you get some rest today.

I have a warning on naproxen; it can apparently cause your bowel to bleed, which looks to have happened to me. I have stopped taking it; because over the weekend I got more pain in my stomach than my back. The doctor described it as a "nasty drug" and I hadn't got prevention drugs too at the time to stop it damaging my stomach! I've lost my appetite and half a stone in three weeks, and this appears to be the reason.

@KR2013 blimey you'd think something would at least take the edge off. It must be horrendous, you're in the right place for sure. I hope you turn a corner today and get the pain down. I'm thinking of you & anyone with this awful condition.

@Isitbedtimeyet3 how are you feeling now? Is your pain under control?

@bombastix that's awful, I had naproxen with omerazepole (spelling?) But I didn't find it that helpful. You definitely should've been prescribed something for your stomach at the same time. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Some progress today - have been seen by the acute pain team, and they've increased my pregablin and added in amitriptyline, and then have upped my morphine and asked the nurses to give it regularly rather than when it gets bad. They're also trying to organise an epidural ASAP to see if that solves the issue. I'm still catheterised (and haven't had a bowel movement since Saturday), but the hope is that once the pain's under control and I can move around, we can get things going again in that department 🤞🏻

@KR2013 have you had an MRI?

Yep - the MRI showed that there's a confirmed prolapsed disc at L5/S1 and the nerve is compressed, but no evidence of cauda equina despite the difficulty urinating.

I've just read through your posts, suspect you've suffered more damage since your first one.

Your husband needs to advocate for you. You're getting worse ergo bed blocking.

My DIL is a solicitor she was a polite rottweiler when my son was admitted. Openly photographed his chart and every update. From yeah it's a burst eardrum it escalated to um brain leakage, CT scan then MRI. To oh dear there's a bone missing so brain fluid leaking. To OH dear meningitis. He was on IV antibiotics and morphine for eight days.

He's since been back for another cat scan, sinus washes, more drugs and they're looking at taking a piece of bone from his hip to put in his ear.

I'm very proud of our rottweiler.

@KR2013 glad to hear some progress has been made. You've been through such an ordeal. I'm glad it's not CE. I found amitriptyline helpful although it made me so sleepy & I have 2 little ones so had to stop taking it as I couldn't get up in the morning. I hope it helps & at least helps you get rest.

Hopefully you can get the epidural as well to reduce the inflammation and pain.

Keep your chin up, I've been thinking about you & hoping you're doing better so thank you for updating. Hope everyone else suffering is doing better too.

@justasking111 having someone like that on your side counts for everything

Absolutely. Reading on MN others stories of how PALS dealt with complaints is dispiriting. They're pretty toothless.

Blimey. Sounds horrendous. Poor you.

I wasn't as bad as you, but I herniated a disc at the beginning of May last year. Initially it was so painful that nothing I did made a difference. At this point, (10 months on) it's clear that my lifestyle massively impacts how much pain I feel. If I sit or stay in one position for too long, it's very painful. Mobilising my back is helpful.

Hope they find a solution for the pain soon.