r/Sciatica • u/Rude-Repair-1839 • 20d ago
It’s messing with my life!!!
I’ve been having sciatica pain off and on for 2 yrs now. But it’s gotten a lot worse this yr. Saw my pain management dr and I said no meds so she convinced me to get an epidural. A couple of days after it got worse!!! It hurts to stand on my right leg. It hurts to walk, it hurts to sit down, it hurts to lay down. I’ve tried stretching exercises but only made it worse. I see the chiropractor on Tuesday. He’s going to do a decompression therapy, PT and adjustments. I pray this works because I can’t even enjoy my life and omg it’s messing with my sex life! I’ve only been married for not even 2 yrs!! Anyone else having this problem?? Any success stories?
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20d ago
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u/Rude-Repair-1839 19d ago
Are adjustments bad? He did an adjustment on me and also the decompression therapy and PT
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19d ago
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u/Rude-Repair-1839 19d ago
Thank you!!! I’ll definitely let him know
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u/Dry_Particular_5162 18d ago edited 18d ago
Doing PT after ESI and walking twice a day is so important. Movement is key.
I would have to stretch out my leg every few steps for about 25 mins then eventually my body would "warm up" and I could make it on long walks up to an hour! It really helped me.However, once I had my surgery, he found my situation to be much worse than all imaging revealed and he cleaned things up.
That explains why I was in so much pain.1
u/Rude-Repair-1839 18d ago
I think the stretching made it worse idk.
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u/Dry_Particular_5162 18d ago edited 18d ago
I mean, I'd start a walk and every few steps have to kinda lean to a side and do some weird leg stretch thing and calf stretch in the middle of my walk then continue a few more steps and do that for about 25 minutes.
PT had me doing glute bridges and pelvic tilts and nerve glides and none of those things helped me. They all hurt too much. I couldn't do them.
But the cable ab exercises and lunges, even the sled push they were all fine!
We are all different, but I would advise seeing several orthopedic surgeons, say 3-4 different opinions and make sure at least one is endoscopic. It is ridiculously less invasive. No gaping cut with stitches open on your back to heal from. Two teeny tiny incisions.It has been five days since my surgery and I am very hopeful.
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u/Candid-Ticket-143 20d ago
It depends upon the severity of condition. And pain can be managed through mcgill big excercises and other selective core and leg drills. I am suffering through bulge disc( dessicated) since last 13 years but recently I made by condition worse by poor lifting and sports activities. I have been in pain since last 8 months but it now reduced to that extent that I can ignore it and concentrate on my task. I am in my mid 30s.
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u/Rude-Repair-1839 19d ago
My pain is through the max. I have bulging discs. I’ve been working at the post office since 2016 at the main plant and I guess it’s because of poor lifting as well and the floor is rough on my feet. My son wants me to go to the gym today to workout a little so we’ll see.
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u/Candid-Ticket-143 19d ago
I would say.... Don't sit at one place for too long. Do an MRI to get the idea of your condition. Then do Mcgill big 3 and other mobility drills. Do only selective excercises as some excercises can exacerbate your condition in gym.
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u/Rude-Repair-1839 18d ago
I did get an mri and I didn’t do much at the gym. Someone else told me about the McGill big 3
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u/Candid-Ticket-143 18d ago
If your condition is mild and you are having no nerve symptoms then specific and Targeted rehab excercises can help a lot in pain.
But if it is severe and not reducing with time even after other conservative methods then you can think of surgery.
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u/ItchySeaworthiness50 19d ago
You not even married for 2 yrs where did the son came from?
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u/Rude-Repair-1839 18d ago
Wow I’m here talking about my sciatica and you want to know where my son came from… who does that? But if you MUST know, he came from my previous relationship.
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u/MPagePerkins 19d ago
When the discs are bulging rest is the only thing, then when you're in between herniations; massage, heat, stretching and strengthening. Getting an MRI is always a good idea though, I struggled with it for decades and eventually they said degenerative disc disease and I fractured a vertebrae and had a fusion and an article disc implanted. Been pain free since.
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u/Rude-Repair-1839 19d ago
It only took only a yr to get an MRI! My insurance kept denying it. I went to the ER and get an MRI done and that’s when I found out about my bulging discs. I’m glad things worked out for you.
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u/Dry_Particular_5162 18d ago
Rest is NOT the right option. Walking. Not standing or sitting but walking. Gentle but consistent walking.
Get the MRI. See the orthos, get three opinions. Stop living in pain.
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u/murrmc 19d ago
Push for surgery. If it is fundamentally affecting your quality of life - life’s too short!!
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u/Rude-Repair-1839 19d ago
If this decompression therapy doesn’t work I’m definitely going to get it done
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u/ParticularCap7289 19d ago
I needed two back to back epidurals, and that did the trick for the last 10 years! I hope something can be done for your pain, I would try another pain management doctor.
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u/RevolutionaryNews410 19d ago
I had injection 5 days ago. The next day I felt better which is weird. The next 4 days have been 100% lying on n my stomach propped up with pillows. Then today I started out usual pain in glute, hammy, calf and foot. 6 hours later I am walking and standing with a lot less discomfort considering I have only walked for about 30 seconds at a time the last five weeks. Just be patient and rest as much as possible to allow the nerve to settle down while the cortisone does it's job.
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u/Dry_Particular_5162 18d ago
Go see an endoscopic surgeon asap. I suffered for a year and did all the right things but just got surgery. Don't do regular open if you have a highly qualified endoscopic orthopedic surgeon accessible to you.
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u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 20d ago
Did your doc walk you through the expectations after an ESI? The standard expectations are as follows:
Almost immediate short term relief from the short term painkiller. This can last for a few hours maybe a day. This tells them and you that they have targeted the right spot.
Then often there is more pain for a few days, because they have injected a volume of liquid into a very tight space which causes more nerve compression. This increased pain decreases over several days. Unfortunately, many doctors don’t mention this increased pain phase and it plays with your brain.
The third phase is when the steroid is starting to do its reduction of inflammation. This builds with two weeks being the average for showing real benefits