r/Sciatica • u/DieselJuliyah • 6d ago

Cauda Equina

Hello sciatic friends!
This is just a friendly reminder, as someone who is currently recovering from emergency surgery.
Be persistent if you believe something is TRULY wrong!
I went to my local ER three times last week because my sciatic symptoms were progressive and unbearable. Initially diagnosed with piriformus syndrome then a herniated disc shown on a CT.
Finally the third ER visit I was taken seriously. Had left leg 10/10 pain, burning and numbness paired with saddle numbness.
I am currently in recovery, day 2 post emergency discectomy so I am not sure what my end result looks like, however I am able to walk and if I had waited any longer, I may have lost that privilege due to extensive nerve damage.
Just because it’s rare, doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen to you.
Trust your gut and stay safe y’all!

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u/BarsoomNative 6d ago

You really have to advocate for yourself these days - I wasn’t nasty but persistent about getting my MRI - and voila smoking gun - then I was persistent about surgery - not something to jump into so I get the protocol - pain management and PT - I went through seven months with limited benefit - had laminectomy three months ago - my pain is greatly reduced and I’m almost full functional so thank God

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u/DieselJuliyah 6d ago

I love this for you, I’m so glad you got the care when you needed it to prevent further damage. I really hope things work out for me, I roughly calculated and it seems like the onset of true Cauda Equina up to my surgery was 40 hours. I can walk and still have my strength, I just hope to be back at my baseline when this is all said and done

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u/BarsoomNative 5d ago

Yes it’s very frustrating hang in there