Sciatica pain going on four months

Hi Koo & welcome to the forum. Sorry to read that you are having such a hard time of things. There are lots of folks here that get hit with the sciatica. How did you get yours calmed down the last time you had it? Are you seeing a dr?

You can use our forum search here if you would like & read what others have done to help get it under control. We do ask that you not post on those older threads as we like to keep the older ones off of the main page.

The thing about epidurals are they are either a hit or a miss, no guarantee they will work. They are done in a series of 3 injections usually spread out over weeks. I can't say that I know anyone here that has done an epidural for it.

Keep checking back as we have the weekend coming up & things slow down over the weekend.

I have never heard of this pain pump before, no doctor has ever mentioned it. Previously, I was just on pain management with oxycodone, kadian, gabapentin, morphine ir, OxyContin
. The only thing that seems to cut through the pain I have is OxyContin 50 three times a day and oxycodone in between. It's worse this time around and nothing is cutting through the pain except high levels of narcotics (30-50 mg of morphine ir, 30 oxycodone...not at the same time!!) I'll ask my doc about this pump. How do you shower? And how do you refill it? Sorry about your back that sounds painful!!

Did your dr rx you any other meds besides the oxycodone ? The reason I ask is because drs usually prescribe a med that helps with nerve pain.

Dear Koo,

Just saying it's hereditary doesn't say what's causing it. Is it a hip problem or maybe something in the spine? Have you been checked for sciatic nerve impingement in one of the buttock muscles?
Have you had any tests - MRI or CT? Do you have arthritis?

I wouldn't be hopping into treatment until you find out what you are treating. My pain docs wouldn't give me the pain meds you were given, even when I broke my neck.

I've had good results just from simple cortisone injections in the hip bursae. On other occasions I've had spinal epidural cortisone injections that worked. All this was over many years. When my condition (arthritic changes and injuries) got worse I've had some pain nerves ablated - which is much like the injections.

Look at the videos on the web for piriformis muscle sciatic nerve impingement. You could try the exercises to rule out that, simply, non-invasive and free.

Don't hop onto one of our problems. Ask your doctor what's causing the problem, and then start with the simplest treatment. If your problem is arthritis, I hope you will see a rheumatologist.

I have had MRIs and X-rays; been tested for rheumatoid arthritis and all is negative. I was an avid sports player and got injured a lot as a young kid but there is no breakage, hernias or the like. I'm tall, 5"11 and the doctor says because of that I have to bend a lot more than normal when doing every day activities such as dish washing, cooking, etc. Also my hips are slightly out of line, I have had chiropractic work but they just go back to their original form. I actually just went back to the doctor's today and I have another MRI scheduled on jan 5 since my last one was 10 years ago and she wants to see if there has been any change in my spine since we are going on 4 months of chronic pain. If it shows nothing, then we discussed chiropractic work, acupuncture and physical therapy along with medication as needed. I was on gabapentin one pill taken at night but it didn't do anything. Hopefully this round of MRIs will get to the bottom of this issue. I agree, I am too young to be permanently on narcotics nor do I want to be. I have a family to take care of and at 35 I have a few more years left! If the MRI does show that surgery is needed I'm not even going to wait but to schedule it as quickly as possible so I can heal and get on with my life. I don't mind pain medication therapy for short term (less than 2 months) or for break through pain but I hate being on it constantly. I mentioned the pump to my doctor and she said if after we try everything and if nothing works then that's an option to look into for te future.

I don't have any medical advice to offer but I really feel your pain, caring for a newborn (is this your first?) is hard enough as it is already, I cannot imagine having the pain you're in as well as a new baby, I really can't.

The only thing I would suggest, and this is my experience only, is that if you have some depression (because who the he*l wouldn't in your situation), get some help as much as you can for that, it's okay to need meds for depression, as much as that's a stigma in society. Really big hugs to you, it sounds so, so hard. I have nerve pain so I know how truly brutal it is. I have three little ones who aren't newborns and it just about kills me some days.

Koo by all means talk to your dr about him/her putting you on such a low dose of Gabapentin. Many get relief with these nerve pain meds. The narcotics just do not cut it with nerve pain. You can go to Drugs.com & look up Gabapentin to get an idea on how it works.

Yes, depression & chronic pain go hand in hand. A lot of times if we can get the depression under control it helps with the pain.

No, we do understand how you feel about the MRI. If something shows up then you can understand why you are having such difficulty.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Hi Koo,

Just to let you know that I am going though exactly the same as you so know how you feel. I herniated my disc 4 months after having my baby boy, I had a horrendous birth, 30 hour labour, he was back to back and then had an emergency c-section...I think this is when I initially damaged the disc and then the lifting and twisting following the birth finally led to the herniation 4 months later. I am 32 and super fit..well I was ;( I have been living with constant leg pain for 7 months as so reluctant to have surgery due to the possibility that I could come out worse off...I have improved but I am still in pain. If your last MRI was 10 years ago that is way too long!! So much can happen to your discs and facet joints in that time especially with the birth and labour....I really feel for you as I struggle daily with feeling like I cannot fully enjoy motherhood due to this problem...and I so miss exercising. Get the MRI and check out your options and hope that you get some relief soon.

Awww hun I'm very sorry that you are experiencing this at such a joyful time in your life. Congratulations to your family on your bundle of love.

I have three girls and chronic sciatica issues. I had horrible pain after I had my girl's. Weight and pressure on the nerve while carrying a child, coupled with birth can exasperat things.

I too went through all the tests you mentioned. Finally after months of frustration I listened to my great grandmothes old wives tale. It worked for me, I'm not saying it's a cure...... It is not. But, it helped releave me of the excruciating pain. I'll do my best to explain exactly what I did.

I have been involved in high school and college football for 15 years and have used these on the boys who have pulled sciatica with success.

Keep in mind you are 5'11 and I am 4'11so this will make a bit of a difference in how you adjust things.

First off you will need a tennis ball.

Then find a chair with a high seat.

Pillows because you are tall.

Lay on the floor and scoot your behind flat against the chair where your legs would usually be if you were sitting.

Place your legs on the seat of the chair. Then, put pillows under your legs until your behind is slightly off the floor.

Make sure you have a pillow to put under your head.

Now put the tennis ball under the butt cheek where you are experiencing the pain. When you hit the right spot you will know it.

This does hurt at first. Do your best to breath through it and relax.

It is probably best to do this after the baby goes to bed when your husband is home is the best time to do this. You don't have to worry about getting up 50 times and he can help with the pillows. He will probably have to help you up.

I used to spend hours laying in this position when it was bad. And when I had a chance, which was not very often with three girls, three times a day.

Believe it or not, this was the only thing that relieved the pain. In the beginning it was far from comfortable. Be patient please. I would never suggest this to you if I had not done it myself. I have been doing this for over 20 years.

It is not a cure... but provides relief.

Mine sometimes is so bad that a tennis ball is to soft, so I use a lacrosse ball. They are much harder.

I know what it is like to try everything to no avail. I was desperate for help when I tried this.

Blessings and healing thoughts to you

Thanks for the relieve idea. I will try that right now. I'm on pain management now and all they want to do is hop me on meds and then call me a drug seeker because it doesn't work. I'm on 10mg oxycodone 4 times a day, etodolec 2 times a day an lyrica 3 times a day. I feel like an old woman with all these pills and I tell the doctor they don't work and they look at me like I want a higher dose. I say no I want no pills and to have relief. They are mentioning back surgery where they would shave the bone off the nerve. Anyone experience that? Does it work? I don't want to start a long trial of surgery after surgery and pill after pill.

Good morning Koo, now I am getting a better picture since you mentioned a pinched nerve. That explains a lot of the pain. If the PM dr was worth his salt at all he would know that narcotics have little to no effect on nerve pain.

Before agreeing to any type of surgery, I would suggest that you get a consult with a board certified neurosurgeon. Because they are surgeons do not let that scare you off. My son has a pinched nerve, bulging discs & bone spurs in his neck & he was referred to a board certified, fellowship trained neurosurgeon for this problem. Surgery was the very last option with this guy. But, if he did in fact need surgery we wanted a dr that has experience with the nerves during surgery. Orthopedics specialty is the bony structure.

As it turned out my son was referred to a PM dr that was also trained in anesthesiology who did an epidural steroid injection into the area where the problem was. This was done by guided xray to insure the dr injected the correct level. He was also put to sleep to have this procedure done. I am not a dr by any means, this may not even be an option for you, but regardless I suggest seeing a neurosurgeon to see what he says. My own PM dr says neurosurgeon have the best hands & I agree, look at the brain surgeries they do.

Good luck & let us know what you decide.

I have had two steroid injections, going for my third tomorrow. Have an appointment to discuss other options. I just can't go on like this. The shots last a couple of days and then it's back to 0. They want me to go to physical therapy but I barely have time to go to the doctors let alone physical therapy. I have no one to watch my baby as it is, my husband works all the time.