Does anyone have these symptoms

Yup.  Really bad sciatica five years ago...nothing helped.  Neurosurgeon did an MRI which was not super conclusive but gave him an idea.  Laminectomy L4/L5...found a bone spur "crushing" (his word) my sciatic nerve root.  Got rid of the spur and shaved back a calcified disk.  Better in 24 hours.  Totally fine a week later after the inflammation subsided.  No rehab.  Easy peasy...

Then severe sciatica 5 weeks after a TKR last year.  Locked SI joints.  Took a chiropractor a few weeks to get that straightened out.

Then at 8 months post-op (last fall), I developed severe sciatica from my back through hips and buttocks, and down my legs...BOTH legs.  Extreme weakness and throbbing quads.  Walking hunched over to avoid the pain.  Got an MRI.  Results...

Severe bilateral stenosis L2 through L4 with other nerve root impingement issues from L1 through S1.  Tough when I'm already fused from L3 through S1.  The quad pain was caused by bending over while walking which took the stress off the back and put it all on my already-weakened quads.  Pain doc did an injection at L2/L3 which has eased the pain a lot but not totally.  It was done so that the neurosurgen knows where to concentrate his efforts during spine surgery next month.

When you have sciatica on one side, see a chiro...both sides simultaneously, get an MRI and see a spine surgeon.

Hi mimm, first things first, I am sorry you are dealing with this pain. I myself went through the exact pain, and it was and still is literally thee worst pain I have ever dealt with in my life.

Unfortunately a xray will not show a major herniation. I had several xrays, wasn't able to walk, had to sleep for an hour at a time in the prayer position on my knees on the floor for 4 months, was a extremely depressed. No orthorpedic or chiro would take me serious so.....I took things into my own hands. I went to my regular family doctor and I cried, literally cried. I told her I had no sleep, was depressed, was going INSANE, and what do you know, she immediately ordered a MRI. The MRI found a large herniated disc.

I was convinced I would never walk again. For real. She prescribed me Vicoden for pain, a large dose of an anti-inflammatory (Naproxen) and a muscle relaxer. I kid you not, I took 3 muscle relaxers (non narcotic, very small) one Naproxen and 1 Vicoden and was relaxed enough that I fell asleep IN MY BED laying flat on my belly for the first time in 4 solid months and I slept like a bear for 14 hours, woke up and had almost no pain.

It was like.....magic. Unbelievable. 4 months of depression, going insane, no sleep....and that's all it took. Now I may have gotten lucky because I was scheduled for surgery that following Monday and was able to cancel it. To this day I still have pain, HOWEVER, it's nothing at all compared to that pain. It's 110 percent manageable and I'm okay.

You will be too. I know it's hard. Hard is an understatement, but you will get better!

Hi, I've been suffering from a compressed Sciatic nerve almost a year and have had the opinion of four specialists , and a few physiotherapists and done every modern exam that exists. I don't want to operate , as many people continue with the same pain after or get worse, a few are completely cured. The more you research the more you find that spine operations are complicated and it probably depends on who's operating. Well, x-rays don't show the details of nerve pain.Normally the first exam would be an MRI Scan.  You appear to have nerve compression. Sciatica is a generic term and the Sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It runs the length of the spine and down both legs. You need to consulta an Orthopedist, or a Neurologist.. Then I did an Electroneuromiograph. (They stick long needles in the muscles, it hurts like anything!) X-Rays are normally last.  It sounds as though the nerve is being compressed somewhere , and about 87% of cases can be solved by the correct physiotherapy + Pilates, Yoga or spine decompressing exercises, there are lots on Youtube.Look up "Exercises for Sciatica" You need to be careful not to make it worse. The medications that are prescribed are normally very bad for the liver and kidenys and don't cure anything. They are considered temporary relief so that you can exercise. Hot water bottle on back, ice packs, might help a bit. Mustn't spend too much time sitting.  The less you move, the worse it gets. Eventually the last resort is an operation. It's important to have a specialists opinion. Celebrex , Ibuprofen, Gabapentin, Lyrica, Arcoxia are common medications prescribed for this. Anagesics don't work as the pain is nerve pain. Massage , Deep Tissue massage also helps greatly, I've found. Expensive. I'm in Brazil. We have National Health, but I'm treating privately, I was in both the Uk. and the USA. last year and saw nothing different in the ways of treating, they seem to prescribe more Codeine in the uS than the Uk. The latest discovery is ozone gas injections or filtrations into the damaged discs, (for herniated discs) , costs a fortune and is done in a hospital with the helpof video to inject into the damaged discs , , May have to be done a few times to heal the squashed disc. Costs a bomb. So, that's my ten cents worth, hope it helped a bit, you'll get a lot of answers . 

Hi mimm14,

Sorry to hear you are going through this. I have sciatic pain but nothing even close to you. First, whoever ordered an x-ray should have known they were wasting your money. What you really need is an MRI. The MRI will show you what is pinching the sciatic nerve, i.e. - has a disc herniated on it, has a piece of disc broke off and is cruching it (that's what happened to me), do you have a narrowing of the the spot where the nerve passes through the bone of the vertebrae.

I would recommend getting in to see a spinal specialist, whether it be a neurologist or my personal go to a orthopedic surgeon who really only deals with the spine. Do your research.

Now to address your immediate issue... the pain. You may not know but narcotics will do nothing to kill this pain. They may loop you out and make you tired and sleep but they will do nothing for the pain. You need something that works in the brain, you need Gabbapentin. This stuff was a God-send to me during the two weeks I needed to wait to get the piece of fragment unlodged from my sciatic nerve. It allowed me to function. Now it is not without it's list of side effects. The biggest for me was sleepiness but the trick is easing into it. First I did 100mg 3 times a day, then worked up to 300mg three times a day and that did the trick. I talked to a nurse and she said while you may think that's a lot it is actually on the low side for Gabba.

I really hope this info helps. PLEASE KNOW that Gabba WILL NOT HEAL THE PROBLEM it truly is a bandaid to allow you to cope/function.

Get to the doc, get an MRI and then see if phys therapy (conservative first approach) is in order or surgery is needed. If you do need phys therapy I recommend looking into the McKenzie method developed by Robin McKenzie.

My story sounded exactly like yours. I had unbearable pain. Spent my whole life laying (months) on my stomach (the only position I could even tolerate - still with horrible pain) Only slept an hour at a time. I prayed that I would die.

Physical therapy, Chiropractic, massages, STRONG meds, tried to walk as much as possible (which got more painful by the week until I couldn't walk at all), steroid injections... I just kept getting worse.

My husband had to CARRY me everywhere. We finally went to the emergency room and didn't leave until they admitted me, had surgery (L4/L5 Microdiscectomy) two days later.

ZERO PAIN since. That was 5 weeks ago.

Its unbearable cant sleep at night.also my left leg has pulled inwards tight towards right at knee level I also struggle to put leg straight ,does anyone else have this symptom ..yet all the pain on my right side ,

Cant sit for long as my muscles go tight into a spasm ,can no longer walk.,. Cant lay down for long.no chance of laying down on right.side ,.no sleep cant go.out ,no life

So depressed want the nightmare over feel so alone.

Cant wait for scan living of pain killers ...