Hi Femmy
All this sciatica nerve pain is really new to me. But I can tell you the last 3 months have been HELL for me! It started in January of this year and got worse after a stint to the chiro and Physical therapy sessions. I am in contact with Cleveland laser institute and now I am seeing a physiologist and he started me on Gabapentin 300 mg. I am being weaned on them . it's only been 1 week. I have a herniated disc along with stenosis... the pain is in both legs in the hamstrings and it's un Godly painful....to the point of not being able to walk! I also have neuropathy in my feet which the doctor seems to think it also is coming from the back. the pain in the feet is getting a little better but the sciatica is not really getting better....is it too soon.. should I give this Gabapentin more time? I can tell you I feel very high when I take this. Thank you so much for your feed back. Claire
You're very welcome. Feel free to keep us updated.
Wishing you more days with less pain.
femmy :)
Thankyou for ur quick reply I'm now waiting for my doctor to refair me to the hospital x
Hi and welcome to the back pain community!
I also deal with severe sciatica on a daily basis. It is important to understand that sciatica is not a diagnosis but rather is a symptom that can be caused by different things such as SI joint dysfunction and/or spinal nerve root impingement. My sciatica is caused by a ruptured disc at L4-5 and a bulging disc at L5-S1. Both discs are pushing up against the nerve roots severely and the impingement is worse on the right side such that I get shooting pain down through my right buttock and down my right leg to my ankle. Somes times it feels like someone stabbed me in my upper right thigh so I do know what you are talking about. I sometimes get sciatica on the left side as well but not as often.
I recommend having your physician schedule an MRI of your lumbar spine. X-rays and CAT scans have really poor resolution and usually do not show all the damage that is present. In fact, my most recent X-ray didn't show anything wrong with my spine other than mild scoliosis but I knew from past MRI results that I have significant issues going on. My new doctor agreed to do another lumbar MRI and let's just say the results showed everything I told him about and also showed a lot more new damage.
My doctors have told me I need a two level lumbar fusion from L4 to S1; however, fusions are more successful at stabilizing the spine. Pain relief is considered a "bonus". Additionally, fusion surgeries apply pressure on the remaining discs such that over time, they will begin to bulge. Instead of a fusion surgery, I am considering a discectomy first. A discectomy is where they make a relatively small incision and remove some of the disc material off of the nerve roots. The results typically last for about 10 years.
Understand that opioid medications do not do much for sciatica as sciatica is nerve pain. Nerve pain is very hard to treat. I am on the Fentanyl patch and I STILL deal with a lot of sciatica. I also take Gabapentin (brand name is Neurontin) and it does help with the sciatica a lot more than the Fentanyl. Gabapentin is an anti-convulsant prescribed off label. I also take Fentanyl for extreme low back pain and myofascial pain syndrome. I am NOT recommending Fentanyl for you as it would be way too strong. I would try Gabapentin or Lyrica first to see if it helps. If you have SEVERE low back pain or another type of severe pain, then starting a low dose of an opioid medication can help with this type of pain. But I wouldn't jump to taking opioids just for sciatica as they don't work well for this type of pain.
Hope this helps. Let us know if you have more questions. Feel free to go to my profile if you want to read more about my ailments and what I do to treat them. Take care.
femmy :)