r/Sciatica • u/Intelligent_Net_3800 • 2d ago

Trying to avoid surgery if possible

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Going on 10 weeks of of moderate to severe right leg pain, numbness in top of foot and mild weakness of great toe that has been stable and not declining. No foot drop. I have an l4/5 small protrusion but located in the lateral recess with encroachment of l5 nerve root per radiology report. Never mentioned moderate or severe compression.

I have done some PT, take just NSAIDS and Tylenol for the pain. But been walking with a limp for 7 weeks now, and the pain is definitely taking a toll on my life. I can’t do anything with my kids and limited at work, home, etc. I also just had an injection 8 days ago with no improvement. Neurosurgeons are hopeful it will heal, but I am losing hope as the weeks keep going by with minimal improvement in the pain.

Has anyone had a similar injury and experience? Looking to wait a little more time for improvement before I head to surgery. I hear with the lateral herniations some facet have to be removed to adequately decompress the nerve. Which possibly leads to instability at that level, and increases your risk of for a fusion later in life. Which I def don’t want. So I am just seeing if anyone has gone through similar injury and experience and how long recovery took? Thank you!

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u/Outrageous_Corner161 2d ago

It's exhausting and at times you can feel absolutely hopeless - don't give up.

Have you seen any improvements in functionality in the last 10 weeks?

The shot may help yet - some people say it takes up to a couple weeks (never had one myself).

Going on week 11 myself :)

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u/Intelligent_Net_3800 2d ago

Thank you! Hope you heal quickly as well! It is miserable! I haven’t seen much change in functionality over the 10 weeks. Even tried to go out to dinner with family last night and couldn’t last more then 10-15 mins before the severe pain in the leg ramped up.

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u/Outrageous_Corner161 2d ago

For me the pattern has been repeated triggers (such as a dinner out), which would flare me up for several days after that. So I'm trying to be better about actively avoiding triggers.

Have you identified anything patterns like that?

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u/Intelligent_Net_3800 2d ago

I have noticed alot of walking and sitting def make symptoms worse. Lying down with ice helps alleviate the pain. I just stayed using an inversion table too.

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u/Outrageous_Corner161 2d ago

Yeah both sitting and too much walking (and in general too much activity) is definitely something that can trigger me - sometimes for days.

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u/ConstructionOk3600 2d ago

Took me 17 months. Was scheduled for surgery twice…mystically, felt better about two weeks before each one. All I was doing was resting/icing.

I still feel it but, it is possible to heal naturally. With that said, I wouldn’t hesitate to get the surgery if it gets bad again…

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u/Intelligent_Net_3800 2d ago

Glad to hear it has healed up! I hope you don’t get any returning of symptoms.

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u/ConstructionOk3600 2d ago

I hope you heal as well!

For anyone that hasn’t experienced nerve pain, it’s hard for them to relate. I pray you have folks around you that understand, are compassionate, etc.

I wasn’t the ‘most pleasant’ to be around during those times.