Advice - can't handle sciatic/piriformis syndrome pain

[Sabee]

Hi

I am desperately seeking advice/tips on how to deal with some health issues.

I am six weeks pregnant and have developed lower back pain as well as shape pain in my bottom that radiates out up my back a bit and down my leg. It is v v painful.

I can't walk, I'm stuck in bed. When i go to the toilet, it is excruciating.

I went to the GP when it started (don't ask, i was v close to calling an ambulance) and as I'm pregnant, i was told i can only take paracetamol, and there is absolutely nothing i can do. Ive been told to rest. When i asked about physio, she said not recommended in early pregnancy.

The issue is that i find the pain absolutely unbearable. Im in constant pain, even in my moments where there is a lull, I'm uncomfortable

Ive looked up exercises, but most of them are too painful to do.

Is there really nothing I can take? at the moment its so bad i can't leave the bed and am using a short mop (improvised to be a crutch) to walk.

When i get on my feet, the pain radiates down my leg, such that my right foot twists inwards. I can't get very far, and its really hard to even sit on the toilet.

Has anyone been through something like this? I feel like I'm in the middle of a nightmare :(

I would really appreciate any advice or tips on how i can cope.

thank you

Hi @Sabee. I'm sorry you're in so much pain. In those circumstances I'd recommend seeking a second opinion. I'm assuming that what you're experiencing is similar to PGP which I had very early in my first pregnancy, and my pregnancy physiotherapist told me staying still is not good because you'll seize up, and keeping moving is best.

I appreciate you're very early in your pregnancy. Have you got a booking in appointment with your midwife yet? They are usually more accustomed to dealing with that sort of pain and may be able to get you to a pregnancy physiotherapist sooner.

You're not supposed to take any pain relief stronger than paracetamol in pregnancy. I found hot water bottles and swimming (well floating in the swimming pool) really helped me on bad PGP days (for context I could barely get from the sofa to the toilet and was off work for months).

I def think you need a second opinion one way or another though; if you weren't pregnant they wouldn't just leave you in so much pain.

Take care, OP.

I used a TENS machine for sciatica during pregnancy. Loaned for free from mw.

I used a massage ball when I was pregnant. looks evil but you sandwich it between the wall and your bum check and kind of roll around on it (there are lots of videos on YouTube) the relief is ssometning else I still get it so I still use it

Unfortunately because sciatica is nerve pain, even the strong painkillers don't tend to touch it. So you're probably not missing out on much drugs-wise.

I'm surprised about the physio, but I don't know any better to say. Second opinion from another GP? Try and contact someone who does sciatica massage for some more advice?

I get this from time to time when I wear flat shoes and do a lot of walking. I'm nervous pregnancy will flare it up but fortunately it's not happened yet. I know how horrible it feels so you have all my sympathy.

Sorry to hear this op.

I had it very bad in my first pregnancy up until about 8 months. At one point for three days I had to wee standing up over a towel as couldn't sit on toilet or open legs wide enough to put bucket or anything between them. So i feel your pain.

At the time it was really bad I was in second trimester and told I could take Codine and at one point when it was really bad I was prescribed liquid morphine ( at the paracetamol and codine didn't work I never took it as I was scared for baby wellbeing) I also found lying down was easiest way to reduce the pain and the painkiller s didn't really do much so stopped really taking them much.

It's hard and not easy. Defo ask again for physio I had physio and they helped me to do the gentlest of exercises to build up core muscles around back ( so trying to remember... squeeze bum muscles for ten seconds a time several times a day, do you pelvic floor muscles and I then there were others but a bit foggy about them and don't want it half describe them and get them wrong)

Get a ball with nodules on ( often dog balls have them and you can get in most shops and pound shops too) and either sit on it ( with ball on the bum cheek where sciatica goes down that leg) or lean against a wall with it on bum cheek/ lower back. Then wiggle against it pressing into it- can help relieve pain. Sometimes it's too painful to do this so you have to gauge this and when you can do it. It helped me but when sciatica very bad I could barely stand or sit so didn't do it those days/ weeks

Something cold against back to make sure muscles don't get inflamed ( I often used cold cans of coke as easy to put in and out fridge.

Also I found often I did need lots of bed rest as couldn't sit or stand for long but do try and get up when you can even if just move a bit in bedroom so muscles don't seize up too much.

I hope any of this helps but also a hand hold for you as it's pretty miserable when it is that bad. To give you hope I had good days and then around the 8 month mark I think everything loosened up and suddenly I could drive again and actually go out to places. Afterward the birth I had some back pain but kept physio up and got better and I haven't had any issues with wetting myself when sneezing due to all the pelvic muscle exercises I did!

Best of luck xxxxxxxxxxxx

Ooh and another thing my mum got me one of those diasabled toilet seat frames - they go over your normal toilet but make the toilet higher- means you don't have to bend as low to sit - still hurts when pain really bad but it does help having a higher up toilet seat.

Also get a walking stick for support so you can get move with support. Xx

Thank you so much for your replies

Glitterandunicorn Its a bit different to PGP I think... because at the moment I am effectively immobile due to the pain, i need to improve a bit before i can attempt the exercises that are good for this area.

I did have a phone consultation with a GP, and the next day, I talked to another GP, who both said the same thing... I also felt disbelief that there was nothing they could offer!

I havent had my booking appointment yet, and if this pain doesnt improve in the next day, I think I will contact her and ask about physio. The GP who i saw was really dismissive, saying you don't want to disturb the growing baby... which is ridiculous, as lots of people carry on activities in pregnancy, and do pilates etc. so how is physio different! Its better!

Aprilshowersarecomingsoon I had no idea, thank you so much! I have ordered one...husband asked GP friend for advice at my stage of pregnancy.. ...apparently they can't be used generally before 26 weeks or something (unless with medical advice), but can on a few areas of the body at my stage. If this works it will be miracle thank you so much x

Aberforthsgoat I will look into this... at the moment i can hardly walk, but will need to consider remaining fit as I can for the rest of the pregnancy

Lavellan Its suprising isn't it, will need to talk to my midwife. Ive booked an appointment with a Chiropracter next week, ill have a chat and see how it goes.

OneMoreWish your experiences sound horrific - I can't imagine how it must feel to go through that at that stage of pregnancy when you have a bump and upto 8months :(

Will look into toilet seat and crutches - def need some walking support, using a short mop at the moment to help me get out of bed

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support and sharing your stories as well - it really feels like a nightmare and it helps knowing how you all got through it as well xxx

You can also use a tennis ball if you don’t have a massage ball, although massage balls are better as they aren’t nobbly
Really good for easing the tension in the piriformis which eases the pressure on the sciatic nerve

I had acupuncture for mine

Oh, I have tennis balls - will try it.

I will look into acupuncture too - i never thought of it to be honest!

I have a spinal cord injury which is permanent damage, one of the things I struggle with is this kind of pain. Its excruciating and leaves you immobile.

I'm currently pregnant (35 weeks) with baby number 3 since my injury so I've done this three times in this situation. With the added immobility of spd.

I know it's not what you want to hear but I really don't think there's anything much they can do other than offer physio and tell you to gently exercise as much as you can (even just stretching) and get plenty of rest. Try and utilise every support system that you have because you're going to really need it to look after yourself.

It sounds unusual if it's just a pregnancy thing that it would come on this early on (but I may have misread your post) so I would brace yourself for it getting worse the bigger you get and taking it really easy.

They can prescribe things like paracetamol, codiene, amitriptyline and oromorph for pain relief but it's an informed choice to make, I had to stay in hospital for 2 weeks with dc 1&2 to get the pain under control with amitriptiline and small doses of oramorph, towards the end and that didn't do much. I've not taken anything this pregnancy but I have looked after myself a lot better and rested much more, I finished work at 30 weeks. I use crutches to get around anyway so get some of those if you can and see if you can borrow a wheelchair so you can still get out and about towards the end of the pregnancy if you need to.

Most importantly, things can change really quickly. Look up "red flags for cauda equina syndrome" and be aware of them. If you feel anything changes you need to get help straight away as they only have a certain number of hours to operate and it does happen to women during pregnancy & labour x