Pain for 5.5 months but determined issue 5 weeks ago
Posted , 7 users are following.
Hi,
I have experienced leg pain for the last 5 and a half months and my doctor was not able to determine the cause. She sent me for x-rays and a variety of tests before referring me to a sports doctor. I had an ultrasound and they said I had Grade 1 muscle strains but I was in constant pain so I talked to my sports doctor about it and she sent me back to my doctor. Meanwhile, I was doing acupuncture and physio and that improved my walking and I wasn't limping as much.
I went for a CT scan and I have a bulging disc on my L5-S1. I'm taking 900 mg gabapenten and 750 naporxen daily but it does not seem to be helping and the last few weeks I feel worse. I went to a walk in clinic yesterday and the doctor told me to increase my dosage.
I'm feeling frustrated and now I'm waiting to be referred to a pain specialist and a surgeon to talk about options. The mornings are the worse and I'm not able to sit or walk for more than a few minutes at a time and lately I have been crying and feeling hopeless.
I'm continuing with physio but stopped acupuncture. Has anyone experienced taking medications that makes the sciatica worse before it gets better?
0 likes, 53 replies
julie90197 8Violet
Posted
Lyria/Pregabalin. Seems to work best for me. It helps with nerve pain
christine83452 julie90197
Posted
Hi, I have to agree the Pregabalin seems to be working for me now that I've got over the initial side- effects. Still in pain but it is more manageable after 5.5 months. Can anyone explain to me why a bulging disc at L5-S1 touching both nerve roots is not a cause of sciatica? I also have arthritis in my spine but apparently that doesn't cause sciatica either.
8Violet christine83452
Posted
CHICO_MARX 8Violet
Posted
1. Drugs and pain shots are not going to solve your problem.
2. Gabapentin can put 20-pounds on you in a month. Huge known side effect.
3. Long-term use of naproxen or any similar drug can have serious stomach side effects.
4. If you have a bulging disk with nerve impingement at L4/L5, get it fixed ASAP and put yourself out of your misery.
5. If you need a laminectomy, fine. Simple, same day procedure, fast relief, no rehab (had one at L4/L5).
6. If you need a fusion, then instead of a TLIF (old-style surgery from behind...had one at L3 through S1), ask your neuro about an LLIF where they go in through your side (had one at L2/L3). TLIF = 10 days in the hospital, 6-month rehab. LLIF = Overnight in the hospital, zero rehab.
Just get it fixed...
8Violet CHICO_MARX
Posted
Thanks for the response. I'm sick of waiting and hope to get to see a specialist sooner than later. I don't find the naproxen helping so I will stop in. I haven't found any side effects with the gabapentin and have been taking it almost a month. I was told not to stop it immediately.
Patient99 8Violet
Posted
Hi Violet
Echoing part of what Chico Marx has to say about prolonged use of Naproxen, I've been on this for about seven or eight years @ 250 per day; it does have severe side effects to your stomach, but it was only when I moved area and therefore GP about 45 months ago that I was prescribed Omeprazole (20 a day) to counter the effects on my stomach - my previous GP hadn't explained the risk, nor prescribed any counter effective medicine against the risks associated with Naproxen
Regarding pregabalin as also mentioned, I was put on a course of this from 1 x 50 per day through to 2 x 300 a day, but I didn't feel any different when using this, so came off it
I also had sciatic problems and had a decompression and discectomy at L4/L5, which left me with PARASTHESIA in my right foot, but this seems to be easing over time (either that or I'm just plain used to it - the surgery was carried out 3 years ago) but I did have (best described as) muscle spasm in both my calves, which meant I could only walk for about 20-30 yards before the calf muscle completely seized up, meaning I'd have to stop for a couple of minutes before continuing to walk for another 20-30 yards, and so it went on; nobody seemed to take any notice of this except my nurse in my local pain clinic - she referred this ailment back to my GP, I was sent for MRI and was found to need angioplasty in both legs - I had this in March this year (two separate occasions) and in my left leg was found to have a complete blockage of about 2-3 inches in the main artery - it was no wonder that I had no pulse in either foot, although despite regular routine tests at my GP, nobody had thought to either tell me that there was no pulse, nor were they inclined to do anything about it until referred by my pain clinic nurse - the right leg also had blockages in the artery but these were less severe - the difference this angioplasty has made to my life is immeasurable, I can now go dancing and consistently take 20-30 THOUSAND steps on those occasions with no ill effects at all - maybe you should find out what your pulse is at your feet/ankles, and if it is low or non-existent, maybe you might also need angioplasty
Hope that helps, and get well soon
8Violet Patient99
Posted
Thank you for responding. In speaking with 2 doctors, they caution me surgery that might not help. But after all this time in pain, I am open and want to consider all options and want to be more assertive to advocate for me health. I have tired of being in pain and not knowing why. I used to go to the gym 5 times a day and get about 15 000 steps and now I don't even reach 5 000 daily so I look forward to the day I'll be active again.
bev52304 8Violet
Posted
Hello Violet, I have the exactly the same as you 😰. Now into month 6 and I'm virtually house bound. I'm now waiting for an appointment with the doctor to ask for a referral to see a spine specialist that I found myself and I'm going to pay private. My MRI showed I had a bulge at L5/S1 and my gp said that probably isn't the cause of my horrendous sciatica. But I ask myself is a gp a specialist? I don't think so . Why can't they just refer us. I even told him that I was getting severely depressed and he just said well yes you will when you are in pain. What the hell! Keep in touch x
8Violet bev52304
Posted
Hi,
I'm sorry to hear of your suffering. I'm not sure what country you are in but I am in Canada and it takes forever to get a referral in and then wait to see a specialist. I wish I could find a private specialist and paid to see that person. I ended up going to emergency twice this week to push it and finally the second time the doctors apologized and agreed that I should have been referred sooner. The GPs have been useless as they just tell me to keep taking more drugs and I don't want to do that. Hang in there and I hope that your doctor will refer you to the specialist and the specialist will be able to provide relief to you. I totally understand about your depression as well.
bev52304 8Violet
Posted
I'm in the UK and it's the same here. The doctors just give you some exercises to do and increasingly stronger pain killers that don't work. But I can get a referral as long as I pay 😡Got to try anything. This is going to be expensive but I have no quality of life so hey ho. Keep in touch x
8Violet bev52304
Posted
When is your doctor's appointment? I agree no matter the cost it's better than not being able to live your life. I hope it all works out for you soon. Did you also ask your doctor about injections? My doctor told me that injections would not work for my bulging disc. I wasn't sure if that's the case or not or if that's what she thinks.
bev52304 8Violet
Posted
Well here's the thing. I can't get an appointment at the moment because their on line appointment system isn't working properly so all they can give me is an appointment in three weeks time! Hoping that the system is up and running again on Monday so I can get one next week. My doctor wouldn't suggest anything like injections but refered me to a pain clinic. The pain clinic just tells you to keep doing the exercises. No one will listen when you say you can't do the exercises due to the pain. At the end of the day if you have a problem with your spine that's affecting your sciatic nerve injections will just treat the symptoms not address the real problem. So I have made up my mind that I want the opinion of a specialist and not a bunch of people that are not qualified to actually cure me.
8Violet bev52304
Posted
Yes, the injections could relieve the pain and temporarily. I have an appointment at the pain clinic next week and don't know what to expect but I don't have high hopes. I have found a private clinic an hour flight away so if that's what I need and can't wait the time they say, I'll pay for surgery.
Alley2020 8Violet
Posted
Same boat here fellow Canadian. Seen so many doctors the last year and everyone wants to give me Gabapentin or celebrex etc.
8Violet Alley2020
Posted
Are you taking any medications now? Have you tried any other treatment?
Alley2020 8Violet
Posted
8Violet Alley2020
Posted
Yeah me too and I don't find the gabapentin or any meds do anything in the last 2 months. IMS or acupuncture might help. I did 10 acupuncture sessions and it got better before my diagnosis and worse now.
Alley2020 8Violet
Posted
8Violet Alley2020
Posted
It's dry needling so similar to acupuncture but they don't leave the needles in. A few times it felt like an electric shock down my leg. Usually the muscle tightens when the needle goes in and then relaxes