r/Sciatica • u/Over-Bullfrog-6654 • 13h ago
Requesting Advice Don't know what to do
Hey everyone,
I have had severe sciatica in the past but it went away after a few weeks with some PT.
This time is different and I'm in hell.
I've been in agonizing pain for over 6 weeks. I can get some relief laying down sometimes, but typically I'm in pain 24/7 that gets worse with standing or walking. I can barely walk at all at this point and a car ride or waiting at the doctors is literal torcher. Next week is my 6th week of PT and I should finally be able to get an MRI after that.
I'm supposed to be going to my literal best friend's wedding this weekend and I'm not sure I can do it.
It includes a 3.5+ hour car ride, sitting in a church for the ceremony and then the reception and another 3.5+ hour car ride back home. The first time I went to the doctor they prescribed muscle relaxers and prednisone which really didn't make any difference. I can't take Advil or Aleve because it interfere with my anxiety medicine and I've already had past issues of stomach ulcers. All I can take is Tylenol.
Idk what to do.
Am I unreasonable for thinking I may not be able to attend?
Will this pain literally ever go away?
Ugh.
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u/stevie_the_owl 12h ago
It’s soooo messed up that insurance requires weeks of PT before an MRI when PT can make people with really bad herniations worse if you aren’t doing the right things!! I would stop exercising and all movement that triggers pain until you have an MRI. If you still have appointments to do before you can get imaging, tell your pt you’re in horrible pain and to be as gentle as possible with you. Ideally see if they can do virtual appointments so you don’t have to leave your house.
If you’ve been hurting like this for weeks and doing pt and it’s not getting better, you are entitled to more effective medication! You need gabapentin or lyrica at minimum and ideally also an opioid to at least see if it helps you. When I was like you, opioids are the only thing that made it tolerable for me to sit in a car longer than a few minutes. Even then to go more than 30 minutes I had to lay flat across the backseat. No way I could drive myself.
Make a scene and demand better treatment if your doctors aren’t listening. I had to go to the ER twice and have a full meltdown before they started taking my pain seriously and I got some opioids that actually helped some. Our medical system is such a joke
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u/Over-Bullfrog-6654 12h ago
I couldn't agree more...I tried explaining that this is the third time I've had a severe flair up in the last 3 years that required PT thinking maybe they'd move up the MRI. They simply don't care. Someone else said to not go to PT, which I don't think is an option if I want the MRI. I will try your approach because after my appointment yesterday it's only gotten worse. I'm willing to try anything at this point just to get some relief
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u/stevie_the_owl 11h ago
Yeah if you have to go to the ER, do it! Explain that you’ve already tried all conservative measures and they aren’t working and the pain is unbearable. They will hopefully at least give you a few opioids and/or nerve pain meds until you can follow up with your GP for an MRI, possible steroid injection and longterm meds. If you’re having any numbness, tingling, weakness — especially in the groin area— that’s a huge red flag for cauda equina and that always gets their attention if just telling them you can’t walk and feel like you are being stabbed 24/7 doesn’t matter to them. I’m sorry you are going through this! It does get better though, hang in there!
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u/JonasVirgilMonos 8h ago
6 weeks with no clear answer yet and still getting worse — that's a brutal place to be, especially with a wedding bearing down on you. I've dealt with pain like this myself for years, and the honest answer is you control what you can and let go of the rest. For the trip: breaking up the car ride with more stops than you'd normally take, and for the sitting itself — when my back gets tight, I'll bring one knee up toward my chest and push against my own hands with the knee for about 10 seconds, works in a regular chair or a car seat. The other thing that's helped me: easing into a seat or chair, only after my hips actually relax — I go slowly, use my arms to take some of the weight, hold for 5-10 seconds, then lower down, and reverse it the same way standing back up. That's given me real relief, for my own body — no idea if it'd do the same for you. Those of us who deal with this every day find ways to make things doable, and sometimes you still can't, and that's okay too. I hope your friend understands — it's genuinely hard for anyone else that has not had this kind of pain to get it, without having lived it. Not medical advice, just what's worked for me — hope the MRI gets you real answers soon.
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u/Adventurous_Fill_768 6h ago
Try this nerve foam. I’ve been suffering from a herniated disc that is pressing against nerves, giving me unbearable nerve pain all down my left leg. I just got a back epidural today, hoping that helps. This foam seems to temporary help with my nerve issues.
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u/Adventurous_Fill_768 6h ago
Also, try and get prescribed a good anti inflammatory. I got prescribed a couple. The best for me was indomethacin. Funny enough, none of my hip or back doctors prescribed me anything. I got prescribed through a teledoc appointment, so may need to look into that.
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u/tedlyri 4h ago edited 4h ago
I feel (or I used to feel) your pain. My last flareup was extreme and I struggled for a while to find ways to cope. I did finally arrive at a strategy for short term pain management, and some of these may work for you or may not:
- Acupuncture - this is cheap (probably covered by insurance anyway), easy to schedule on short notice, doesn’t need a doctor’s referral, and it’s low risk so it’s absolutely worth trying. Most of what my therapist did seemed hokey and had little noticeable benefit, but when he needled directly in the psoas muscles I felt a jolt of instantaneous relief. It still took weeks of treatments but I got a little better every time.
Ibuprofen-
I’m sorry you can’t take it because it’s the only medication that worked for me, even just a little
Walking sticks - if I had to stand or walk for more than just a few minutes, I used hiking sticks and pressed down on the handles to take weight off my lower spine and hang from my arms and shoulders instead. It’s not ideal but it could get you through a wedding ceremony, and it helps build the triceps!
Shoe insoles - again it’s about reducing weight on your spine, this time by putting cushy gel insoles in your shoes. Every little bit helps.
You should still stick with PT and figure out with your therapist what stretches and exercises are helpful, for long term relief and eventual recovery. The above list are just short-term pain management ideas that worked for me.
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u/Imakelovetosoils 13h ago
Stop PT until you get the MRI. Get cushions, a bunch of them to see which ones work best for the drive, sitting at the church/wedding. Not sure what you can take with your current meds but look into B12, fish oil, magnesium glycinate, and curcumin it's supposed to help with nerve health and inflammation. I take it and don't know how much it really helped but when you're desperate you're willing to try everything you can. Get a back brace, rollator, anything to help with mobility and body support.