Maybe some of you remember my post asking about the sciatic nerve back in March. Well here it is 8 months later and now the pain is back but this time it isnt in my Right leg... its radiating down my left leg into the knee and HURTS LIKE A MOTHERF*&%ER!!

What the hell causes it, is it the way I lift? Walk? Drive? Take a dump? WHAT???? I DONT want to go through this again!!

You probably have a bulging or ruptured disc in the lower area of your back.  PLEASE don't mess around with general practitioners (family doctors) with this problem.  Demand to be referred to a neurosurgeon...they are the only MDs truly qualified to diagnose and treat this problem.  Trust me, this is the voice of experience talking.  When I was in high school I went from GP to GP for 2 years while 3 tumors grew INSIDE my spinal cord (intradural ependymomas..the pain was intense).  They told me I had a pulled muscle, arthritis, sciatica, torn ligaments, cracked vertebrae, strained tendons...whatever bullshit they could dream up.  They got me physically dependant on painkillers and psychologically dependant on muscle relaxers and ruined my stomach with Motrin.  Thank God (and I do mean that)finally  my Mom took me to a neurosurgeon, he correctly diagnosed the cancer, surgically removed what he could and zapped my whole CNS with radiation for a month.  Voila...NO MORE PAIN!

I wish you the best of luck.

Paul (AR15.com's Self Appointed Staff Pharmacist)

Every case is different.  There are many causes of the pain you have.  I was experiencing the same problem.  I went to my family doctor who was smart enough to refer me to a specialist.  After a MRI, turns out I had a ruptured disk in my lower back.  The fragments were swelling and putting pressure on the nerve that goes down my leg.  The doctor basically injected a  steroid directly next to the ruptured disk which caused the swelling to dramatically reduce.  My body was then able to repair the damage.  It took over a year, but now my back is as good as it ever was.  I was warned to go this route by many people and avoid surgery if at all possible.  I'm very glad I didn't have my back cut into.

USPC40 (Not a pharmacist, but a pharmacy tech [:D])


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I'd get it quite a bit when I was playing tennis a alot.  Sucks.  Mainly caused by muscles wrapping around and tensing on the nerve.  Lay on your back face up and let the hurting leg hang over your good one to stretch it out.  Other than that steal muscle relaxants from the wife, thats what worked for me.  Take ibuprofen if you can't come across any relaxants.  A good hot bath won't hurt either.  Stretch, relax, pain killers, the only real cocktail for relief.  Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I have it. Ya want mine? I hate it.
AB

I had the same problem. Found out it was a bulging dick, I mean disk. Really, I went to a chiropractor 2/3 times, no more, took plenty of inflammatories and started stretching and exercising (walking, medium weights, shooting a few hoops, etc.) and after a month and ever since no more back pain. Remember to strengthen your lower back somehow with some sort of exercise.

I did all the stuff, bone cracker, therapy, drugs,etc. The ONLY thing that relieved the pain was accupunture.(and, no it doesn't hurt)And neither does my back!
AB

You need to see either an orthopedic specialist or a neurologist. Causes of sciatica vary greatly. Could be a nerve problem caused by a disc in the back or something as simple as an over stressed muscle not able to do it's job - a problem very common. I had it, and yes it can be very painful and dibilitating. I was lucky in that mine was caused by a muscle problem. Was sent to a physical therapist. After two sessions the pain was gone. I now do the excerises for it on a regular basis and the symptoms and pain have never returned.

It helps that my sister has her own PT clinic and every year when I visit her in CO she makes me demonstrate all the various exercises I'm supposed to be doing ( I do them for an assortment of lifetime injuries ). If I can't do them properly then she nows I've been slacking and gets on my case big time.

An additional thought. You don't keep your wallet in your back pocket all the time do you? Because that puts pressure on the sciatic nerve and can aggravate things.

I've been dealing with lower back pain from my sciatic for the last 5yrs & it suxks!

I've been to a couple chiropractors I've been contemplating accupuncture.

albob, the accupuncture works good?
      How often do you get "treatments" ??

Have had the same problem.

first time I removed the wallet from my right hip pocket, transfered to the left. A couple of weeks later the pain did also.

The next round was a bulging disc in my back. Not something to play with or let go. See a specialist.... fullclip

lay with your back flat on the ground, prop your feet up on the sofa.your ace must be kissing the sofa in order for this to work.

this technique relieves all that pressure off your back.Whenever my back acts up(2 surgeries, 8 pedicale screws,6" titanium bridging, and 4 BAK cages) helps me tremedously.

back problems are nothing to ignore.if your back is mechanically unstable,you will suffer for the rest of your life! back surgery is not to alleviate back pain.it is to stabilize that region of your spine.

going to a accupuncturist or chiro is like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.if your disc is herniated, no amount of accupuncture or spinal manipulation will fix it.

in theory, even if the disc is ruptured and there is no disc material(nucleus pulpus)coming out, the chemical make up of the material can, in theory, casue irritation without it having contact with the actual nerve itself.this can possibly show up as a negative mri.only sure way to dx a ruptured disc is through having a discogram.

I am no Dr., nor do I play one on the internet.

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on a daily basis. (2nd year med student)

I agree with some of the above statements about going directly to a specialist. I would say a neurologist as their entire practice is hunting down nerve injury/pain. Neurosurgeons are a good choice too, but keep in mind their first choice for everything is to cut on it. Runny nose? Cut it off. :) In the end you may need surgery anyway, but sometimes surgeons are a little gung ho about the knife.
tony

What he Said!

When I didn't take care of mine the first time the doc told me: "When it hurts bad enough I'll do the surgery and fix it for you."

Now I know.

I've had 3 surgeries (L5-S1 area) on my back.  Go see the specialty Doc's like others have said.  My opinion, use surgery as your [b]last[/b] result.  Once they cut you open, your back will never be the same.  Therapy may take time, but it's worth it.  Best of luck with the back, I do know how you feel.  

Keep us posted on how you're doing.

As a matter of fact I do. I stopped that, plus I have a rolled up towel behind my back (I drive all day) as a lumbar support. The pain is starting to dissapate, still there but not as bad. Forget it on Sunday I could hardly walk. Today, at least I can walk with MINIMAL wincing.

I know what triggered it. I was working in my warehouse and was lifting a lot of heavy boxes PLUS I pulled three built in refrigerators out by myself (I KNOW I KNOW...STUPID ASS IDEA)

I had hernia surgery 9 years ago... you think I would learn. Plus I would think that having a fat gut on me isnt helping either.

SO... as soon as this passes which it looks like it is (again) I have to start exercising. I did see a Dr. but all I got was muscle relaxers and Motrin 800mg... took the Motrin for a couple of days.

It is the ONLY thing that helped. I started out going every week, for about a month, then it tapered off to every other week. It's funny though he found more problems with my neck than anything else and treated that too at the same time. The last time I went he had a student observing and she kept going "ohh, ohh," I didn't know what was going on (on my stomach) then when they left and I was getting dressed I saw about 4 needles on the table next to me that were at least 8 inches long. [shock] No wonder she was frightened. I didn't feel a thing,btw. I would recomend it to anyone with back, neck problems.
AB