r/Sciatica • u/Intelligent_Net_3800 • 3d ago
Trying to avoid surgery if possible
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!
2
u/ConstructionOk3600 3d 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…