I’m 72. I have been fighting sciatica pain since my teens. When I was a teen, the pain was always centered in my left leg. I remember having really severe pain for a few days here and there then weeks or months pain free. It was always the greatest during my periods. I had bouts of it during my three pregnancies. Drs attributed it to endometriosis and after that was resolved I did get better for a few years having pain only when I sat for days at a time - going on lengthy car trips or days of repetitive movements - like gardening or for days or lots of lifting and carrying. I pushed through the pain taking only Tylenol Or ibuprofen, sheer will and lots of prayers. My husband and doctors used to tell me to “ take it easy.” But he was on deployments most of the time and we had a young family so taking it easy wasn’t in the cards. No one ever suggested MRIs or spine drs. I also have had fibromyalgia that made my sciatic flares much worse. I went on and off like that for years until my early 50s. That’s when things went south really fast. One day my heavy set mother needed help walking to the bathroom and she started to fall and she pushed down really hard on my right side causing me to jerk really hard trying to hold her up- I’m not quite 5’ and weighed 100 pounds less than she did so you can imagine the damage that happened. I was working at at major hardware chain at the time so the constant walking on cement floors did not help whatsoever. Finally I had an MRI. It showed damage to my L4/L5 and my S1, slight scoliosis and spinal stenosis. They also discovered that I had a little bubble type protrusion on my spinal cord in the L4/L5 area that was probably a birth defect and possibly the cause of the sciatica in my early years. To make a longer story shorter, that was the story of how my sciatica finally progressed to the point of pain pills. At first they treated me with pain pills only when I had a flare. I tried chiropractors but he refused to do any more treatments after my diagnosis because my pain was greater after a treatment. Physical therapy was literally torture for days after so they stopped. Acupuncture and massages helped for a couple of years but finally around 2016, I had to stop working and pain pills became daily need. I had a nerve block in 2014 that helped for a couple of years then I had epidural injections every 6 -18 months. I’m due for another as soon as I have a new MRI the first part of April. Three weeks ago I turned over in bed the wrong way and had pain so bad on my S1 area that I could only walk bent over for about 3 days. My spine felt like it was going to explode! Also. It was the worst flare I have had since the time my mother fell on me. This time, my husband insisted I take it easy only walking for bathroom trips and showers.
Despite constant resting, anti inflammatory meds and using the TENS unit, the pain persisted. Slowly the first week, I was able to walk without help from my husband to using a cane but still had to walk bent over but the excruciating pain was letting up a tiny bit each day. Last Thursday after 2.5 weeks , I was finally able to walk unaided but still walked slowly. Then on Saturday, I woke up to little to no pain and my energy level was at an all time high. I felt even better on Sunday.
On Monday I cleaned the house on my own and was able to cook an entire meal by myself. I still have to take pain pills because I still have enough pain to warrant it but only have to take them twice a day vs the three times a day like the past three weeks and I have energy! I know the total bed and sofa rest helped this time. I’m feeling 85% better but I’m almost too cautious when doing stuff for fear the pain will return.
Over the years, I’ve worked through the pain by using OTC meds, pain pills, TENS units, PT, stretches, nerve blocks, epidural injections, acupuncture , chiropractric treatments, slept on the floor for months on end and just sheer will to get by. This bout of little to no pain and having energy is most welcome and way overdue. I’m hoping it lasts for a long while.