Have any of you experienced a chronic sciatic nerve issue?

I had an "attack" a couple of months ago that lasted for a month or more. It hurts so much it basically renders me worthless to walk anywhere. Even sitting or standing is a exercise in extreme discomfort.

It finally subsided and I had about 6 weeks or more of relatively pain-free existence.

It's back. And I would not wish this on my worst enemy.

Any ideas any of you might have for relief is most appreciated.

I have been icing it, doing stretches, several times a day, etc. I do not like to take too much in the way of Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen but when I do I usually take 600-800mg of Ibuprofen once every other day or so.

Getting old is painful.

I don't have any experience with this, and I hate to say the obvious, but have you been to an orthopedic clinic and discussed options for PT?

I have had plantar fasciitis off and on for maybe four years. It finally got so bad I went to an ortho. They took xrays and confirmed what was going on (I have PF as well as tendonitis in the Achilles tendon, also heel spurs and calcification, yay) and what wasn't going on (no bone problems, no hairline fractures etc.) And then prescribed my 6 weeks of PT.

I've only just started but I'm already feeling better than I have in a long time.

And I've been kicking myself for not going in sooner!

So, yeah, if you haven't already, go get evaluated by a doc.

Hope you feel better soon!!

What she said ...

You need to find out the cause so you can rationally sort out treatment options.

Sciatica can be confused with piriformis. The symptoms for the two are similar. A doctor can tell which one of the two it is. I’m not qualified to give medical advice.

I had one of the two for awhile in 2020. It was pain in the left hip radiating down my left leg. I suspected it was the abduction and adduction hip weight lifting machines that were causing it. I used the two machines at a health club. I just knew that they were causing the sciatica/piriformis (whichever one it was). I did not go to a doctor although I would have if the pain had kept up. I stopped using both the abduction and adduction hip weight machines and the pain went away by itself. It took awhile though, about a few months. The pain didn’t start overnight so it’s not going to go away overnight. So far I’m glad the sciatica/piriformis has not come back to me. And I never went back to using these two machines.

I will make an appointment to see the doc aboutit . It seriously makes me almost completely dependent on Sarah and my daughter that lives with us. Plus the fact that the pain is near constant.

Huge difference if it's an inflammation-caused narrowing of the sciatic nerve channel or a piriformis muscle spasming.

Mark that just sounds awful!! I hope you can get in quick and get some answers -- and some relief!!

I have sciatica that flares up sometimes. What I found is that sitting is the worst thing. While it hurts initially, walking actually provided more relief than anything else. Mine flared up when I had an office job and now that I’m back in the classroom and on my feet most of the day my flare ups are less frequent and less painful. Obviously your experience may be different depending on the cause. I did find sitting on a squash ball right beside my sit bones on the affected side (one of those “you’ll know when you’re in the right spot because it’ll hurt like all get out” stretches) really helped me get some short term relief.

My dad had what he thought was sciatica, and it sounded similar to the kind of pain that I was experiencing, but it was actually something with his spine. He had a procedure to correct it and hasn’t had a problem since.

I don’t have any suggestions but I sure hope you get it sorted out quickly!

I had serious sciatica when I was 30, shortly after giving birth to LL#1. In less than six weeks time, I went from completely fine to having a little twinge in my butt to completely debilitated (walked with a pronounced limp, dragging my left leg; couldn't sleep or sit without incredible pain despite taking several narcotic painkillers that basically made it impossible for me to care for my newborn baby). It took a while to get in with the right doctor and run the tests but it turned out I had a herniated disk that was pushing on the sciatic nerve at L5/S1. I was referred to a surgeon who said that if I did not have surgery, based on the speed of symptom progression, I would soon lose bowel and bladder control. So I had a lumbar microdiskectomy when LL#1 was about 12 weeks old. It was nothing short of a miracle cure. I woke up from the anesthesia and my back was sore from surgery but that awful excruciating pain was just....gone. I went from being completely unable to function back to basically fine almost instantly and I was doing laps in the hospital hallway (walking normally for the first time in months!) within a few hours post surgery. I did have to do some PT to get my muscle strength back and there's still a spot on the outside of my left foot that never recovered sensation and is still numb to this day. But in my case, surgery was an absolute miracle cure and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if I needed it (and I may - my last MRI showed some spinal stenosis closing in on my nerves again - as I age, I'm apparently a ticking time bomb for the sciatica coming back.....)

I have since seen a lot of my friends mess around with PT and stretches and such for years on end and they are basically always in some state of constant pain. I always suggest that they get the MRI and go see a surgeon for a consultation. I think surgery in general is less recommended than it used to be and insurance may insist that you try all the PT stuff first, but I do believe wholeheartedly that there are certain times when surgery is the right answer and I was definitely one of them. But for sure, see a doctor and try the PT first - for one thing, your insurance won't pay for anything else (even the MRI) until you've tried PT. And if it is just piriformis, the PT will fix it and you won't need anything else.

Hope you feel better soon! I know exactly the constant pain you are in - I just remember sobbing because it hurt so bad and nothing, not even the oxycodone stuff the doc gave me, managed to even take the edge off. It's awful. I'm so sorry you are dealing with this.

Thank you all for the sympathy and advice.

Zero sleep last night. It has never hurt this bad. I just can't do anything.

So frustrating and ridiculously painful.

quote:

It has never hurt this bad.

The advice about pain is always "if this is the worst pain you've ever had, go to a doctor or emergency immediately."

Please don't delay, it might be your sciatic, or it might be something more urgent or acute. You might even consider going to urgent care or ER today.

Going to see my doctor in an hour.

Good!

Glad to hear it Mark!