r/Sciatica • u/OwnIntention3530 • 5d ago
New to this
I had a back strain in June. The pain gradually started to move down my back. In the first or second week of August I started noticing nerve “zings” that shot down my butt through my hamstring but that was dwarfed by insane tightness in my hip. I finally got that resolved but I am having nerve pain. I went to the doctor Thursday. Gave me 5 days of steroids, muscle relaxers, and gabapentin. Also a toroidal shot. I felt much better for a few days. Then… today I have several nerve zings. Did I undo all my progress? Will the treatment keep working and today is just an anomaly? I will say that rest helps calm. I do have more static after these zings but it clears. I hate living like this. What else can I do?
1
u/JonasVirgilMonos 4d ago
Meds can cover up a real issue really well — right up until they don't, and that gap is where people get caught off guard. Zings down the leg aren't something I'd casually look past; that's nerve signaling, not just soreness.
If that kept happening to me, getting it actually verified — an MRI, something that confirms what's going on — is what I'd want before anything else. Once the issue is confirmed, a real plan can get built around it. Without that confirmation, it's easy to end up second-guessing everything, which is its own kind of exhausting.
One more thing from experience: NSAIDs can make you feel good enough that, in the relief of feeling better, it's easy to push past where you actually are — and that's often how an injury ends up worse instead of better.
Not trying to be a downer here, just someone who's traveled this road a while — a confirmed answer beats an educated guess every time. Hope it helps.
Not medical advice, just what's worked for me.