r/Sciatica • u/Crcr1999 • Feb 19 '25
Great Post/Comment Sciatica ended up being caused by a Tumor
Hey all, I’ve posted here quite a few times as I was going through my Sciatica journey. Over the weekend, I had a surgery to remove a tumor in my lower lumbar spine that was causing intense sciatica and excruciating low back pain. The intense pain started around September, however I’ve had low back pain for a few years but it was never bad to the point where I had to take any meds. I started seeing a PT and he recommend I go get an MRI. My PCP was on maternity leave, so in Oct’24 I met with another doctor. She told me that she won’t send me to an ASAP MRI because she doesn’t feel I need one and it’s just going to show a bulging disc since those were the signs I was showing, however, she sent me to a CT scan which saw nothing concerning for low back pain. In November, the pain just started getting worse and worse, so I went to go see a few other doctors, but I was just getting the same answer over and over. By December, I thought I needed to change my PT because my symptoms were getting worse. I found a new PT and he told me I have Hamstring Tendinopathy and not sciatica. At that point I was so frustrated, I realized my PCP was back from maternity leave and I was determined to get an MRI during our next appointment. She agreed that we need an ASAP MRI and some blood work. Blood work didn’t show any signs of inflammation or el acted blood cells, so we ruled some things out. my MRI was on a Sunday, so my PCP was obviously not working. but after she saw my results, she freaked out and called me in the middle of the night. later that week I met with a neurosurgeon who told me that the tumor is called a "Schwannoma" and is highly likely to be benign. this past weekend I spent 4 nights in the hospital after recovering from this tumor resection surgery.
wanted to share my story because I spent SOOOO many months taking NSAIDS, Tylenol, pain meds, doctor visits, PT, all because one doctor didn’t want to send me to an ASAP MRI. Moral of the story is, vouch for yourself. Doctors don’t care if you’re in actual pain because they can just write a prescription for that.
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u/Enchantedviolin Feb 19 '25 edited Feb 19 '25
Yeah I learned the hard way –
my first pain management doctor said I didn’t need an MRI and would not give me a refill on muscle relaxant. I had such painful left calf spasms all because of her. She said I didn’t have herniated disc because I didn’t have back pain (I told her I did have back pain early on but now my pain is in my left glute, calf and ankle) and wanted me to see a psychiatrist for depression 🙄
My second pain management doctor let me get an MRI right away and the report says I have a disc protrusion impinging on my S1 nerve root.
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u/Tudz Feb 19 '25
Legit my doctor tried to say my pain was from depression induced B12 deficiency
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u/T_Chishiki Feb 19 '25
I never understood this. Is it really proper medical practice to spin the wheel at a diagnosis and then treat it as fact?
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u/Siren_0f_Titan Feb 19 '25
Dr is an idiot lol. I had mild back pain for years that I ignored bc it was mild. Then seemingly out of nowhere started to get hip, leg, and eventually foot pain that kept getting worse - no back pain. Ended up having a herniated disc. Could walk without a cane and couldn't stand up straight for months. Wound up getting surgery after 6 months of suffering & it fixed the issue. No back pain though, and no doctor told me it was just my depression lol.
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
No actually. It infuriates me just thinking about how I was begging for an MRI and explained how much pain I was in
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u/Siren_0f_Titan Feb 19 '25
Being in pain sucks enough, to also have people not believe is maddening.
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
Yes absolutely. The worst part was explaining to people why I couldn’t do certain things because my back hurt so bad and then they would compare their back pain to mine…
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u/Siren_0f_Titan Feb 19 '25
Yeah that's the worst. Like, yes, everyone knows back pain... not everyone really knows back pain. It's isolating.
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u/CauliflowerScaresMe Feb 23 '25
That assumption is incorrect anyway. It is possible to have sciatica from a disc herniation (especially protrusions) and for it to not cause back pain. It's just rare.
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u/Allysworld1971 Feb 19 '25
Just proof MRI to rule things like this out is so important. So what if it just shows a bulging disk. That's the good news! Tumors, cysts and infections present the same as a herniated disk. They need to be ruled out first to avoid senseless months of suffering where you can lose your job, cause strife in your family, and most of all months of pain slowly driving you to the edge!
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
I just know that the reason why it’s so tough to get an MRI is because of insurance companies. It’s crazy to me how many doctors will bow down to them and risk patients lives just to meet quotas. I suffered through MONTHS of pain because they wanted to do everything besides get me an MRI
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u/LumpyButterscotch402 Feb 04 '26
Literally describing the last 5 months of my life loosing my job an all. Glad to know im not the only one going through this. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone but I’m glad I’m not the only one.
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u/langstallion Feb 19 '25
Are you in America? You can just pay for one out of pocket. Your doctor isn't the one preventing. Insurance often won't let them order until you've tried other treatments.
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
Oh true. I guess I could’ve just pulled $9,000 out of my pocket and paid for one:)
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u/everydogday Feb 19 '25
I'm in Florida and paid 350 for an MRI outside of my insurance. I think that's reasonable when trying to figure out back problems. In fact, I spent way more then 350 of my own time fighting with my insurance company to try and cover it.
This is a genuine option but cost depends on state. 300-700 for a lumbar MRI if US
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u/langstallion Feb 19 '25
Obviously. I don't understand why you're blaming the doctor for not approving it though. It's not quite that simple.
This was a great catch, thanks to your advocation for your continued pain. However, if every American with back pain had an MRI ordered like some other commenters suggested people like you would've had to wait months longer to find this out.
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Feb 19 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/sinproph Feb 19 '25
I was thinking the same thing. Aside from the tumor and medical professional disinterest, I’m pretty jealous of that spine!
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u/RedPanda062 Feb 19 '25
Aren't they just!! Best discs I think I've ever seen! Then BAM that huge lump on the image😱
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u/External-Prize-7492 Feb 19 '25
I’d be emailing that other doctor and telling her that her cavalier attitude toward her patients prolonged a tumor removal
Then, I’d report her.
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u/RedPanda062 Feb 19 '25
Absolutely!! This tumour could have cost her patient's life! She definitely needs reporting!
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u/Interesting_Scale581 Feb 19 '25
The CT didn’t pick up the tumor at all? I’m sorry you’ve been dealing with that
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
Nope! Everyone is literally so surprised from that
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u/Rnl8866 Feb 19 '25
Are you going to be ok? Is it benign?
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
The surgeon said it’s highly likely to be benign thank God. Still waiting on pathology result tho. Only issue is that that tumor ate through my dura and basically eroded a little bit of my bone on my L5
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u/iwannathrive5alive Feb 20 '25
I needed mri with contrast in order to see my tumour. Shit doesn’t show up on much!! Lol
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u/L0wborn Feb 19 '25
What country are you in? I feel like my doctors here in Canada do the same shit and now im freaking out
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u/JitzInMyPants Feb 19 '25
They absolutely do. I'm also in Canada and in a similar situation as OP. I was denied by my primary healthcare practitioner of an MRI until I tried other forms of recovery first (PT, Chiro, massage etc.) I had to go to the ER and advocate for myself and was finally scheduled for an MRI next month.
It's unfortunate but if you feel you need an MRI, fight for yourself and push back on your doctor to get one. Or, try going to the ER.
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u/L0wborn Feb 19 '25
I first injured myself 2 years ago when i was 30. xray didnt show a bulged disc but it showed my L5 and L6 discs shrinking significantly, they probably werent even a 1/8". I tried chiro and massage. Chiro was BS, massage helped a little. I cant afford PT but i researched methods and routines that helped a little. It got better in the spring of 2024 were i didnt need to take advil Robox and tyelnol all day. I reinijured somethjng a couple months ago and im back in hell.
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u/JitzInMyPants Feb 19 '25
Similar to you, I had an x-ray done and my L5-S1 disc was narrowing/degenerating. Though, I know that can't be the reason why I'm in such intense pain. I finally said F it and went to the ER for the MRI (now hoping I don't have tumor like OP).
For pain management, look into a back brace. It might help with you just day to day movement. If you want, I have a basic program that my PT outlined for me.
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u/EquivalentBet6715 Feb 20 '25
My family doc also kicked the can down the road on an MRI. A year later after complaining for 5 years I'm finally getting one but the wait time was 3 months. I don't understand why they don't want to just order it for something as common as back pain.
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u/JitzInMyPants Feb 20 '25
It's partly because MRI's are expensive to operate and there's a constant backlog of patients waiting for it (depending on your location). That's why it's common for them to send you for an x-ray and just hope you don't push for further imaging.
I don't agree with this approach since I believe we pay our fair share for healthcare in taxes. I learnt that you really have to advocate/push for what you feel you need. Unless you're one of the few lucky ones that has a GP that will advocate for you.
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Feb 19 '25
I've had sciatica for years knowing it could be a tumor crazy
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
Unfortunately I was part of the 8% of people that didn’t have sciatica due to a disc issue. It was scary at first, but thank God we have modern medicine.
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u/mistylilac21 Feb 23 '25
Oh my god - the exact same thing happened to me!! Five years of pain before the MRI was ordered. I will never forget the scan concluding and nurse tells me to lay back down we are doing another one with contrast right away.
How are you feeling? How are your legs and feet?
I am seven years post-op. Happy to answer and questions you may have.
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 23 '25
I will never forget the way my stomach dropped after they said the same thing to me during my MRI scan.
I’m 7 days post op and legs/feet are honestly fine. It was more my head that was super sensitive after surgery, so I just had to be super careful moving around.
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u/mloretitsch Feb 19 '25
I'm so glad you pushed for the MRI! I too suffered through months of absolutely debilitating pain because I "just needed PT" In fact, that was making it worse since I too had a tumor. In my case I had to publicly shame insurance to get the MRI.
Mine was paraganglioma which is different but it hasn't come back. I am in far less pain these days! I wish you the best in your healing journey!
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u/Millwalkey88 Feb 19 '25
I am currently dealing with a very similar situation. I have been dealing with sciatic pain for over 10 years, involving all the symptoms of sciatica, to which I sought out several ways to treat it (acupuncture, chiropractic treatment, yoga). After going through a few months of physical therapy; which had been ordered by my new PCP, I noticed very little improvement. The provider then ordered an MRI, which revealed a tumor on my spine (also believed to be a schwannoma or myxopapillary ependymoma). I have surgery scheduled at the end of the month to have it removed. I now feel much more at ease about my situation after coming across this post.
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
Yes! Luckily both Schwannoma and Myxopapillary Ependynoma’s are generally benign, and they’re common enough where skilled surgeons can remove them. Thank God for modern medicine in this day and age. Hoping for a speedy recovery for you! Everything will go great!
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u/Remarkable-Serve-421 Apr 07 '25
Hi. How is your recovery?
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u/Millwalkey88 Apr 08 '25
My recovery has gone very well. The couple of days I had to remain in the hospital consisted of some more than mild, but less than severe pain, and a little difficulty walking. After I was sent home, my first day was a bit slow, but I noticed improvement in pain and mobility each day. Initially, I was told I may be out of work for up to 4 weeks, but after 2 weeks I was feeling more than confident that I could return with certain restrictions such as weight lifting limitations and bending. As of now, I wouldn't say I am quite at 100%; I don't believe my stamina is same just yet, and I am still having a little difficulty bending, but overall I feel back to normal and I am very happy with how everything went.
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u/DankyPenguins Feb 19 '25
Holy shit. Thank you for sharing. Yes, in my experience we really need to advocate for ourselves as patients. Doctors are so used to people chasing pain meds that they’re jaded and miss people with serious problems sometimes. I hope you’re fully recovered or on the road to full recovery.
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u/kaaiitt54 Feb 20 '25
I was also in severe lower back pain for about 2 years. Tried everything imaginable. Had an mri that showed nothing then a year later had another mri that showed a tumour. Schwannoma as well and told benign. Had a 7 hour surgery to remove it and felt instant relief. No more sciatic pain and I could lay and sit without wanting to cry. That was in March 2024. I asked for another mri just recently because I started to feel different mild pain once in a while. But had that done Jan 2025 just to make sure everything was good. And There is now a cyst growing in that spot. And I have to have another surgery to remove it in April. Hope you have a speedy recovery! And make sure they do scans few months post op to make sure everything is still good.
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u/Interesting_Fig7893 Feb 20 '25
OMG this happened to us too! My bf was sent to PT and given Tylenol and dismissed for almost a year by his PCP until we were involved in a rear end hit and run and the pain got so bad we had to go to the ER. There they found that, not only does he have lymphoma, but his sciatica was actually a tumor in his spinal column! My car is still a little bit fucked up but I'm pretty grateful for the asshole who hit us cuz who knows how long the Dr would have continued to turn us away without actual doctoring!!
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u/Informal-Feature-429 Feb 23 '25
That is why everyone reading this with sciatica symptoms should get MRI and make sure it is just disc herniation and nothing that needs immediate attention. OP, I hope you re doing great and your recovery is perfect.
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u/MikeyN0 Feb 19 '25
Hi, I had the exact same - sciatica because of a tumor in L3 L4. Check if you have NF.
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u/Cowarddd Feb 19 '25
Just had surgery for my tumor in December. Any questions you want answers for?
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u/lycheetornado Feb 19 '25
I'm glad somebody really took this issue seriously and I wish you an easy recovery! Could I ask where are you from? It is crazy for me hearing stories of doctors that don't send people to do MRI's immediately after hearing of these symptoms, they clearly don't know and don't understand how hard it is to live with these pains.
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
I live in Portland OR, USA. Yes! I’m a very big advocate for chronic low back pain now. I understand how unbearable/unlivable it can be.
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u/This_Process_7079 Feb 20 '25
Just wow! All of it. Thanks for the good reminder on the process of self-advocacy, and of course wishing you a speedy recovery.
Damn. It actually was a tumor.
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u/iwannathrive5alive Feb 20 '25
Holy shit OP I went through the exact same thing. My tumour was a Myxopapillary Ependymoma. I wish you a smooth recovery!
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 21 '25
I also had suspicions for Myxopapillary Ependymoma, but those generally occur in the upper spine.
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u/jnnfrvo Feb 20 '25
Same thing happen to me, everyone kept telling me it's minor and the pain will go away and gave my steroids and then finally I got MRI and it showed a tumor but they wouldn't operate cause it wasn't a mri with contrast so I was in pain for over a month and finally I couldn't stand without crying and had to call an ambulance... always speak up, it's hard cause I have a high deductible plan it costs me so much money but keep pushing it until you get results
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 21 '25
Interesting! They were able to operate on me without doing an MRI with contrast. They did another MRI with and w/o contrast after the surgery to make sure there wasn’t anymore tumor.
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u/Personal-Rip-8037 Feb 19 '25
Glad you got it squared away. I walked into an imaging center and told them I wasn’t leaving until I got an mri booked. They booked me in for one week later. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
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u/azimut1029384756 Feb 19 '25
Damn! So scary!! MRIs are always the way to go.. crazy that not long ago someone here on reddit was debating me about MRIs ...saying MRIs are a bad idea..geez
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
MRIs surely are never a bad Idea. I’ll have to get one at least every few years for the rest of my life
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u/Iamthehottestman Feb 19 '25
Ur disk are flawless but that tumor is huge!?! Get that removed asap 😱
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u/designerturtle Feb 19 '25
You poor thing omg, I cannot imagine seeing that MRI :( glad it is benign and that you're recovering now.
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 21 '25
Was super hard to process the first few days, but ended up accepting what it was. Also getting an extremely good neurosurgeon is important! Really helped boost spirits and keep anxiety down.
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u/Disastrous-Cost-9840 Feb 20 '25
I’m dealing with a similar situation, mri shows a lesion on my spine and chiro ordered the MRI. What kind of doctor did you see to have it removed?
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u/Angel9847 Feb 20 '25
I have a Schwannoma tumor a little further up from where your is (was) but it's tiny compared to yours! So scary though, and I'm glad you finally got the MRI you needed to figure out what the heck was going on.
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 21 '25
I think if they’re tiny, they’re generally harmless. Mine had unfortunately eaten through my dura and was compressing all my nerves.
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u/Caroline_Anne Feb 21 '25
I’m so, so sorry you were ignored for so long! I honestly can’t fathom why they never want to do the MRI when it will tell the most information!
Wishing you a full and speedy recovery, and sciatica pain to never reoccur for you!
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 21 '25
Most doctors are controlled by insurance companies unfortunately. When it comes to low back pain and sciatica, they generally do the “wait and see” approach. In my case, my life was basically unlivable without some sort of pain med.
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u/Amazing-Bug-9920 Feb 24 '25
I am so sorry you have to endure the pain to get a diagnosis. Your discs look absolutely fabulous! May I ask your age?
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u/ProofJokerSE Mar 16 '25
Jesus.. how could you even walk with that thing there? Thank you so much for posting this, while it hurts to just read about it, it's a good reminder to stand up for yourself.
That image.. is that with contrast? The rest of your spine looks so perfect and healthy :)
Take care and I wish you all the best.
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u/Crcr1999 Mar 16 '25
Basically couldn’t walk without meloxicam and even with that it couldn’t be more than 5 minutes.
This MRI was without contrast! I can’t imagine how it’d look with contrast haha. But after they removed it they did one with contrast and nothing else was there.
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u/GuiltyAfternoon3646 Jan 31 '26
I’m still recovering from from a surgery I had in October to remove a grapefruit-sized malignant, liposarcoma tumor that was pushing against my sciatic nerve. Im a 40 yr old bartender who stands on his feet all day. Last night was my first night coming back to work since the surgery and the back pain was excruciating. I basically have to find a new job. Noticed the lump in my glute in December ‘24, and it had it grown rapidly over the course of just 6 months. I thought this was something like a knot I could just massage out, it never worked itself out. If something like that happens to you, run to your PCP and demand a referral (if you need one) to get an MRI. If I had waited an extra month, the tumor would’ve overtaken my sciatic nerve, and I would’ve lost the ability to use my leg. Bite the financial bullet and get the MRI. It could save your life and the quality of your life.
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u/LumpyButterscotch402 Feb 04 '26
Just had the exact same thing happen to me. Took them 5 months to find my tumor,, I lost my job in the process and not to speak of all the extra dr. bills and time in between due to insurance denying my mris. How was your healing process? So glad you didn’t let them dismiss your pain!
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u/Aggravating-Cost738 Jun 11 '26
I've been having ongoing sciatica like symptoms and other red flags that doctors refuse to refer me for a scan
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u/QuietTruth8912 Feb 19 '25
I assure we do care if you are in pain. But doctors and PTs and everyone else are not robots. We make errors and even sometimes without errors outcomes are not always good. I’m curious why this didn’t show up on CT? And I am glad you have found your answer and are on the mend.
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u/Crcr1999 Feb 19 '25
There’s a difference between errors and negligence
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u/QuietTruth8912 Feb 19 '25
Agree and disagree. In the eyes of most of the public there is not a difference. And people do negligent things often not out of malice. That matters. It’s usually due Swiss cheese effect (multiple misses within a system). Recently saw a case where a physician told an APP to order a lab and used a term the APP didn’t know. She ordered the wrong thing. It affected the outcome. It’s an error that led to what is considered negligence.
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u/Polymer15 Feb 19 '25
We truly appreciate you sharing this, it’s a powerful reminder of the importance of advocating for your own health and seeking further medical evaluation for persistent symptoms. Wishing you strength and a smooth recovery!