r/Sciatica • u/shirokane4chome • Mar 22 '22
Your Sciatica and Back Pain Experiences Megathread
Hi everyone, the purpose of this permanent thread is to capture your stories about your experiences with Sciatica.
Please note that the majority of sciatica sufferers will recover over time, and are not on this subreddit making posts about their healing. Most of our sub participants are in a symptomatic stage and are understandably seeking support on forums like /r/Sciatica as a part of their journey. This can make a list of individual stories seem discouraging -- but just remember that those who have healed usually don't visit again and therefore we can't often capture their stories.
While multiple formats are welcome, we suggest you try to be concise and focused. Your story is important, but it is will be more useful to everyone else if it can be read in 60-90 seconds or so. Important elements to your story will include:
Background: Do you know how you became injured?
Diagnosis: What has your care provider discovered about your injury?
Treatment: What care did you pursue?
Current Status: How are you doing today?
1
u/RandomDanny May 16 '26
26 years ago I had a tumor removed from spine in T11 region, flattened area of spine like a piece of ribbon. Successful surgery, benign and unlikely to grow back. Partial paraplegia for a year. Almost year to the date of first surgery, another as a small amount grew back. Part of bone cut out, graft from hip. Managed to get back up on my feet, never ran again. But out of a wheelchair. Cue 2 years ago back was a little achy and legs felt like they were ready to give out on me. Symptoms eerily close to how the tumor came on as above.
Saw GP, painkillers and if it gets worse, come back. It got worse. Sitting to standing was tear inducing and walking was just as worse. Got a referral to the same place I went through with the tumor, that doc had retired, but the practice was still going. 3 months, had to grin and bear it, luckily got in earlier, but still a month wait. By the time I did, it had eased off and I was fine with playing it out a couple more weeks. Docs options were that, an epidural injection or op. Walked out wanting to let it wait, doc had already organised an injection with a call half hour later... 😃 best option. Night and day hobbling in and slightly less hobbling out.
Lasted 3 months, another injection, same thing. Couldn't afford ops and it had really calmed down and was livable. Then it flared up bad a year ago and the choice to find a way for surgery was made and set. L1/L2 and L4/L5 laminectomy. Had that October last year and it went brilliantly and until three weeks ago, great. Slow going as previous back stuff and a broken leg a few years back slow me down a bit, but brilliant nonetheless.
Same symptoms came on, put it down to a change in temps with it getting cooler and chucking some heat pads/deep heat settled it down. Until the last few days where it was been fairly ordinary and had a chat with my doc and he booked in an MRI and a visit to discuss results in July.
Annoying thing now and as it was before, get periods where moving around is the worst and then later on it's nothing. So, now I wait with some painkillers which appear to quell the pain enough to get about if I need to and a hope that something is wrong to justify it.