sciatica

I hve already mentioned I have neuropathy and some strange cramping my my left foot but this is a different symptom I want to ask about.
The neuropathy is said to be caused by diabetes and I can believe that cos it was really bad at the time of diabetes diagnosis but as  kid I had really sensitive feet as well, they would cramp up in boots or shoes sometimes, would cause me pain after a running event at school and gradually they got worse over the years. I went to a physio functional test which lasted more then half a day and the threapist spotted a curve in my back, she said it is like scoliosis, between shoulder blades, and one of the wierd pains I get is a pain in my butt on left side that can shoot down my left leg like flash freezing, is a cold electrical feeling, and stunns my leg and foot. Sometime walking it off seems to help it slow down or go away, there are days as well where that same hip might feel like suddenly it wants to pop out a sevier pain that has comeand gone but left me unable to walk for a short time or even a day, is this sciatica symptoms or is it just part of neuropathy as well?
The pain in my hip has shown up as I said in my butt to go down leg, or on side of my hip and even in front of my hip bone, and really feels like a dislocation coming on but cant be because it is there and gone and might not return for weeks or more and I have no idea what brings these pains on, there is no same event that causes it.
Thanks, any replies might help me to understand, Docs just say I dunno.

[opus88]

hi, the symptoms you describe are no doubt sciatica, I have suffered from this for years and my pain is very similar...like an electric shock from the buttocks/hips and down the leg. usually only the one leg is involved.
this usually is caused by a nerve entrapment some where in the lower spine, maybe du to you're scoliosis?  it took an MRI to finally diagnosis what I had and what was causing it.(DDD and bulging disks)...I also have radicupathy from the same entrapment, this causes wide spread nerve pain throughout the thigh and both legs...
I would try and see a neurologist if possible...I had complained of this pain for years to my GP and got the 'I donno' as well. took a specialist and MRI to dx.
good luck

[ggreg]

I agree with Opus advice, a neuro can order a scan of your spine and hips, to see if your pain is coming from the spine, or sciatica, or a hip problem.  I myself have pain between my shoulder blades from a car wreck that broke my back in three places, so I wound up with some wild scoliosis, and my butt hurts too.  But I do not have diabetes.  So also, you could have one of four kinds of type II diabetic neuropathies, specifically proximal neuropathy.  You can do a general online search for that kind.  When you have proximal neuropathy, this is when you get that pain you describe that goes from one side of the buttocks on down the thigh and into the leg, creating several more unusual symptoms like you report.  While making sure blood sugars are straight, this pain can happen anyway.  So, you can ask your diabetes doc about pain relievers, and I have read about diabetic people who get nerve blocks that stop the pain for many months, and also daily herbal evening primrose oil supposedly helps, so you can ask your doc about those items, too.

[Sallysmart]

thanks for your reply, helps me to understand more. I went to my doctor about it and he pushed against my outter leg from hip to knee and asked if what he was doing hurt, I hadnt pushed there my self before so I was surprised that it did hurt, like he was pushing on a  bruised area, dont know what he was looking for there and he didnt really say, just sent me for exrays and they didnt show much so I am lost for what it is. My doctor is good but sometimes I feel a sence of a bad day for him so not sure when he is realy with me on this stuff. I also cant figure out why it can come without a reason and then dissapear for weeks to even months and then return, what triggers sciatica if that is what it is?

[Sallysmart]

ok thanks for that, will look into it and see if that seems to be what is bothering me, having tips like this, maybe I can ask my doctor to look in that direction to see if he cam come up with something.

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question. Although without being able to examine you I can not offer you the specific advice on diagnosis and treatment that you need, but I would try to provide you some relevant information about your health concern.

Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be due to compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve, which may occur due to disc hernia, disc degeneration or spondylolithesis. Additionally, nerve compression in leg or diabetic neuropathy also can cause similar symptoms. I would recommend you to see a neurologist who can evaluate the details of your case and could better determine the insight of your situation. Hope this helps.

[Sallysmart]

thanks for your reply, I have bin to a neurologist and exrays and not much was said, I dont have a lot of luck in finding the full answer to my problems, they have bin enough to make my company fire me even tho we had a medical plan and an accomodation process there and I was right on the ball with visits to my doctor and tried my best to stay a working perso. Some of the other things that came up were tennis elbow and bowel issues that made it really hard to work. I dont give up tho, huibby and I started a small care facility at home where our work can be done in little stints during a whole day and I dont have to go out for eight hours a day and lug around machines anymore. But I still have these cramps and stuff unexplained and just cant seem to get it under control. Pain killers have not done it for me, I have tried several. Will keep pressing along tho and finally one day will get an answer so I can be on the right meds hopefully. Thank you for your help tho.
It is kinda funny that neuropathy is still a silent pain in the medical world even tho it is well known what it is. Most of the doctors I have seen look at me is if to say "but you dont look like you hurt as bad as you say you do", I think they want us to cry on each step so they can believe us, it isnt that way, we learn to live with the dull cramping tingling and burning and the sharp ones can make us yelp, makes me yelp anyway but they are usually at night when a doctor isnt there to hear it
Here's hoping for a medical break through that will cure diabetes and all that causes this hip and foot pain..

[opus88]

sally just keep pursuing you're problems.....unfortunately sometimes it takes years to find someone who will search into the symptoms further.
I too had many xrays done over the years that showed nothing...it really takes an MRI to look deeper and locate the nerve entrapment(if this is the problem?).
good luck

[Sallysmart]

You are right opus 88, we dont have mri's here like in the states so they dont offer it's use very often and that might be my problem, We have one in the hospital that usually has a huge waiting list of maybe 6 months so they dont just put people on that list unless they think they have to and then there is one in a medical arts building that costs out of pocket and a person needs to decide if a cruise would take away the pain too then hahaha. Anyway maybe I will ask my doctor about getting one done and see if I can join that list and maybe find out whats really going on, thanks for pointing that out. I thought the nerve conduction tests and exrays I had done woulda shown what I have but maybe an mri will show more.

[caregiver222]

An x-ray is not very helpful. You need an MRI.  In the states MRI's are given routinely the same day.

[Sallysmart]

I am just starting to realize that, like I said above they dont pass out tickets for mri around here too much cos there is only one in hospital that i covered by medical insurance and one that is a pay out of pocket. Will be asking my doctor about getting one tho.
Your name says caregiver, do you care for people in your home or in a facility?

[Sallysmart]

Ok went back to my doc and he said xrays showed degenerative disks and degenerative left hip. I asked him if it is similar to sciatica and he said it is the sciatic nerve that gives me the pains in my hip, left leg. I asked him what we could do about it and he basically said depends on how bad it is. Right now it hits me here and there so I have lots of days without it but then I have really bad days with it on occassion so gonna have to live with it I guess till it is bad enough to do something serious about it.
Just what I need on top of neuropathy huh,,, oh well, that is life I guess.

[kay290]

You need to request PT and get on a structured exercise program with the quidance of PT. Getting your spine in the best shape possible is the key to warding off the symptoms you are having. You will probably always have something and it may worsen over time and then some people opt for surgery to correct it. Google info on this and educate yourself. I have this too but so far the sciatica pain is short lived but off/on.  

[Sallysmart]

Ok , will look into that, I did years ago for my arm when it was like a tennis elbow kind of thing. I had long strands of muscles running down my arm all the way to my hand and it was totally useless, They sent me for accupuncture first and it seemed time and regular ten minute exercizes three times a day were the key to my healing finally. It is better now but does show permanent damage two years later, can trigger a tingle and small bit of pain, so I keep doing the exersises and try to be careful.

[kay290]

PT has a weight gym which is also crucial to keeping your spine in shape, along with specific back exercises. Good luck.