Think there is a serious problem!

[Shawty32]

The pain started when I became pregnant with my second child. I started to have very bad pains in my legs and would have problems standing, walking, and even putting on clothes. I recently had my third child and the pain is unbearable at times. I thought it was due to my pregnancy but my daughter is four months now and nothing has improved. The pain is in my lower back, hips, and radiates down my left leg (mostly). I even have pain in my rectum when sitting. What is going on? I'm scared to go to the doctor because I don't want to hear any bad news.

[Tuckamore]

Hello Shawty,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am so very sorry to hear about your pain. It sounds very similar to mine. I went years without a diagnosis. I don't want you to experience what I went through.

First let me clarify that I am not an expert of anything. :o)  No one could find the reason behind my pain either until I stumbled on a very astute  Internal Medicine D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy).  She diagnosed me with SIJD ( Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction) which was later confirmed by specific tests for the condition. There are many different terms for sacroiliac joint problems. Most of them refer to the condition that causes SIJ problems or just the preference of the practitioner.

I am not saying you have an SIJ problem....but I hope you consider it as you appear to have the symptoms.

SIJD is one of the most under diagnosed conditions in medicine. It's often missed and/or over-looked and it is difficult to diagnosis. There is a far amount of information on the Internet regard SIJ Pain. Most of it is accurate but some of it is not... so keep that in mind when searching.

SIJD can be a short term condition if caught early and treated properly. If not it can become disabling as mine has become. If often appears in pregnancy. This from a trusted site,  Begin Quote "During pregnancy, hormones are released in the woman's body that allows ligaments to relax. This prepares the body for childbirth. Relaxation of the ligaments holding the SI joints together allows for increased motion in the joints and can lead to increased stresses and abnormal wear. The additional weight and walking pattern (altered gait) associated with pregnancy also places additional stress on the SI joints." End Quote

Actually SIJ problems can appear when you gait is altered for any reason. Pregnancy just happens to be one of the leading causes due to the release of the hormones and added stress on the area.

I hope you'll consider all possibilities. Sciatica is not a diagnosis. It is a symptom and can have several causes including spinal structural issues ... or SIJ problems.

If you have additional questions please feel free to ask. I wish you the best and hope you will keep in touch with us.

Take Care,
~Tuck

[femmy29]

Hi Shawty,

Welcome to the community!

When I was pregnant with my first and only child (I'll explain why a little later) I had severe leg pain as well to the point where I could only walk a few feet before having to sit down because of the pain.  I ended up having to go out on short term disability 6 months before term as I couldn't bear the walking distance required for work.

After I had my son, the pain almost disappeared completely.  But came back  3 months later.  I ended up having a C-section and on top of the epidural they had to do a spinal tap which was the only way to completely numb me for the procedure without putting me completely out or under general anesthesia.  It felt like I was going to go unconcious as the numbing medication in my spine creeped all the way up to the middle part of my head.  I couldn't feel myself breathe but they kept saying breathe as normal.  It was a very scary experience but I believe the spinal tap had some sort of narcotic medication in it that diminshed my pain for months after the C-section.  

After those three months of bliss, the pain came back and kept getting worse and worse.  I went in to the doctor finally and he told me that it sounded like I had sciatica.  They did an MRI and discovered I had a bulging disc that was pressing on the S1 nerve root along with some other issues.  The S1 or sciatic nerve is one of the longest in the body and when irritated, it can cause radiating pain down through the buttocks and down the legs which sounds a lot like what you described in your post.  I now get epidural steroid injections in my low back every three months, which seems to help a lot with diminishing the leg pain.  I am also on 6 different medications to manage the pain.  

There are surgical options too but the success rate of back surgery is only about 60% so if I can manage non-surgically, it is good as I don't want to have surgery at this time but it may get bad enough later in life that I will have to go in under the knife as it is a degenerative disease.  

Degenerative disc disease happens as we age naturally and not everyone gets pain from the disease and some get degenerative disc disease early in life (like myself) with debilitating pain.  This is why he is my only son as I know I couldn't endure the pain from another pregnancy because as the baby grows inside he/she puts pressure on the spine and I wouldn't be able to take any of the meds I take now as to ensure a healthy baby.  So my son is very lucky and a precious jewel so I tell him.  :)

I know you are scared to find out what is going on but that is the only way you will be able to get medical treatments that can ease your pain.  An MRI is the only diagnostic device that can see virtually anything that is going on with your spine and I think it would be very wise to get one done to hopefully get some answers.   You are not alone.  Lower back pain is very common and pregnancy can a lot of times bring it on as the added weight and the CG shift from the baby can add pressure to the spine causing discs to slide out of place and start irritating the nerve roots.  Don't be afraid.  There is a lot of support here in this community from others that have similar if not the same problems with their backs.  And, it is great to share what has worked for them so as to hopefully provide others with some relief through homeopathic therapies and guidance on how to approach the situation medically.  

The best thing you can do is to go see your doctor and tell him/her what is going on and get an MRI done so that the door will open to more treatments options that are typically only given to those with a diagnosis.  I wish you well on this journey.

In the meantime you could try to take an anti-inflammatory. I take Alleve as it seems to work the best for me.  You could take it every 4 to 6 hours as long as the pain persists.  Also, alternating between heat and ice every 2 hours can be very helpful as well.  

I hope you feel better soon and keep in touch!  :)

femmy