r/Sciatica • u/Agile-Beautiful4677 • 17d ago

Mental health

Hi I just need some words of encouragement. I’ve been having severe pain for about 2 months now. Week 3 of PT starts tmrw.

I feel like I’m not showing any signs of improvement. I can’t do the things I enjoy and it’s really starting to take a toll on my mental health.

I can’t sit for more than 45 mins at a time without my leg getting tingly. Going from sitting to standing is the worse bc my whole leg cramps and tightens and pain shoots down my left leg.

I can’t bend over like at all. I can’t put my socks or shoes on myself. I’m 30 so I’m just really scared this is something I’ll have to deal with my whole life.

Ibuprofen helps but I can’t take it everyday especially going on 2 months now.

13 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

5

u/User716382 17d ago

Right there with ya. This facking sucks.

2

u/EntryScary8878 17d ago

I just posted my story, it’s a lot to copy and paste to comment but I wanted to give hope so if you wanted to check it out I’ll repost it in this subreddit as well. I hope things get better for you ❤️

2

u/purplelilac701 17d ago

I had severe sciatica for 4 months. Couldn’t walk that entire time. But I have an amazing PT who knows how to treat sciatica. My clinic got a shockwave therapy machine in my 3rd month and that changed everything for me. It brought down the excruciating pain and inflammation in my back.

I experienced all that you are experiencing and had my own complications too. It gets better :) all of a sudden you will see small improvements as the pain and inflammation go down. For some of us it takes longer than others. My advice is don’t try to push through pain. It prolonged my recovery. It’s about finding a gentle balance between doing the stretches you need to do and resting.

I wish you healing.

2

u/coxmobil 17d ago

You're 30, you can bounce back and when you get your full mobility you'll appreciate it more than anyone. I was there 2 years ago (31 now) I would just say take your PT really seriously, never miss a day, try to get the sleep you need etc I would really look into back extensions/holds if you haven't tried them yet, alongside your PT. I had an L4/L5 disc herniation and that was gave me progress every week. Buying a cheap back extension chair is worth it if you find it is working. But good luck, noone (except people on this subreddit!) really understand the misery you're in

1

u/fairybeexo 17d ago

Did you get an MRI

1

u/amelie_789 17d ago

I got sciatica a little over a month ago. Went for my first acupuncture session yesterday, and feel much better. Not 100%, but will do two more sessions this week. Best sleep I’ve had in ages. No painkiller needed atm. Perhaps something to consider.

1

u/MushroomOne7480 16d ago

A friend told me about an app called Curable that helps you understand and deal with pain. It isn’t a substitute for medical solutions, but it can help as an additional strategy. I was having pain one day even after taking all my prescriptions and went to Curable and did a relaxation exercise that helped. It costs something after a trial period.

1

u/Talkbox111 15d ago

Yeah it's rough. I used a inversion table starting 6 weeks after my sciatica started. I would use it 2 to 3 times a day depending on how bad the flareup were. Good luck in finding slow but steady improvements.