Pregnancy Forum - Sciatica and pregnancy

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Q: Sciatica and pregnancy

asked by: _tanya_ on May 16th, 2008

Experienced User

Does anyone here have sciatica? Or had it before pregnancy?

I was diagnosed with it about 5 years ago. Some weeks I don't notice it at all and other times it's completely unbearable. (For people that don't know what it is, it's pretty much pressure on your sciatic nerve in your lower back that shoots pain into your leg/hip/butt and often causes your leg to collapse). Before I got pregnant I would often wake up in the morning with pain so excrutiating in my left leg that I could hardly breathe.

Now I figured if it was going to be a problem during pregnancy it wouldn't start till later but how wrong I was. Apparently since the uterus is still sitting so low in the first trimester it can actually cause MORE pain. Which makes sense I guess since there was nothing pushing against the nerve before and now theres something the size of a small melon grinding on my nerve.

Anyways i'm not sure what the point of this was except to find out if anyone is suffering with this as much as I do some days?

Replies(16)

care_free

replied on May 16th, 2008

Experienced User

I can sympathize with you. It's very annoying. Mine comes and goes. Some days worse than others. Some days I can't lay down, roll over, or get up because it hurts soooo bad! Then I'll be walking and that pain will shoot down my leg, making it go weak and I have to grab onto something or risk falling. I just enjoy the times it's not bothering me, cause when it is, I'm miserable! Good luck with rest of your pregnancy!

Mabel

replied on May 16th, 2008

Moderator

I had it from the time I was about 9 weeks pregnant. It made my life so unbearable, I could hardly move. My doctor sent me to get physical therapy and I swear, the PT lady did not understand the condition. She had me doing exercises that were aggravating it. I'd leave there in tears and not be able to walk for 2 days.

If I had it now, I'd seek chiropractic therapy and indulge in massages.

Good luck.

Don't use stairs if you can avoid them, do. They aggravate sciatica.

krystineM

replied on May 16th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

do you get this during pregnancy?
or is it just like a health factor thats not caused from pregnancy.

Is it just those pains you get in your legs and lower back? I get that sometimes but sometimes i think its just from sitting for too long or i have to stretch it out.

Mabel

replied on May 16th, 2008

Moderator

Yours does sound like it is caused from sitting. If it gets better from stretching out, it is not sciatica.

Not all pregnant women get it. Not very many get it terribly severe. A little pain is common during pregnancy. People can get sciatica whether or not they are pregnant. It is a nerve in your lower back, near your tail bone. It can cause pain shooting down your leg.

Hey, Krystine, whatever happened with your pregnancy project at school?

krystineM

replied on May 16th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Hm, i'll have to read up on it a little more, i looked it up a little while ago but didnt read much about it, just thats its an uncomfortable pain that shoots from our back down to your legs.

Its on hold for a little right now.
Since i was sick im a little behind right now. I have to think of survey questions -25 questions to be exact. Then i have to give them out for people to do. I just have to think up some questions.

Mabel

replied on May 16th, 2008

Moderator

krystineM wrote:

Hm, i'll have to read up on it a little more, i looked it up a little while ago but didnt read much about it, just thats its an uncomfortable pain that shoots from our back down to your legs.

That is exactly what it is. Pain. From the sciatic nerve. If you don't have it, you don't need to be concerned about it. Chances are, you won't get it.

krystineM

replied on May 16th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

that sounds awful though

Marianne0558

replied on May 16th, 2008

Supporter

I had sciatica, but I think it was caused more from a previous car accident, then worsened by pregnancy.
During the car accident, one of my hips were pushed more forward than the other. When the sciatica came, it was almost unbearable!
I could absolutely not sit or lay on the floor at all or I wouldn't be able to get up because the pain was so bad.

As Ingi stated, I DID go to a chiropractor. It helped so much. They tried to manipulate my hip back into place but she said the bigger the baby becomes, the more pain I would experience (not only does the uterus push on the sciatic nerve, but the baby will also).

There's not much you can do about it besides going to the chiropractor. Plus, you get a massage afterwards! Very Happy

Mabel

replied on May 16th, 2008

Moderator

Marianne0558 wrote:

You know... that is interesting... because I was in an accident and have a terrible hip from it. Hmm.

Marianne0558

replied on May 16th, 2008

Supporter

Ingi wrote:

You know... that is interesting... because I was in an accident and have a terrible hip from it. Hmm.

I bet a lot of people with sciatica were in car accidents.
I had severe whiplash... it forced my left hip forward and the other one back because of the way I was positioned. I hear people who see an accident coming brace themselves, making their injuries worse sometimes. Confused

Mabel

replied on May 16th, 2008

Moderator

I was flung 45 feet off the back of a motorcycle that slammed into a car. We were going about 50 mph. I don't remember anything. I was comatose for a few days. My hip has always bothered me since then though, even though it was my knee that was broken.

Bridget

replied on May 16th, 2008

Especially eHealthy

Marianne0558 wrote:

When the sciatica came, it was almost unbearable!
I could absolutely not sit or lay on the floor at all or I wouldn't be able to get up because the pain was so bad.

this is me right now, but i'm not pregnant. i'm going on 5 weeks with unbearable pain. sometimes the pain hits me so bad i get a feeling like i'm going to throw up. if i feel semi-good and get on the floor with my son i end up having to drag myself to a piece of furniture to pull up on. one day i foolishly tried to lay on my stomach on the floor with him. i spent the next 5 minutes frozen in pain and couldn't move at all to relieve it. i have to manhandle my 7 week old to get her in and out of her bassinet or swing. i can barely do anything. yesterday i felt good, i thought i'd had a miraculous recovery! i cleaned, i played, i danced... and today i am paying the price.

i don't have insurance right now and i can't afford a visit to the chiropractor so i'm just waiting it out and hoping it clears up eventually.

Marianne0558

replied on May 16th, 2008

Supporter

Bridget wrote:

Marianne0558 wrote:

When the sciatica came, it was almost unbearable!
I could absolutely not sit or lay on the floor at all or I wouldn't be able to get up because the pain was so bad.

Mine was even worse after delivery!
So sorry to hear you don't have insurance to figure out what can be done for you. Have you considered going to a free clinic? They can at least get an xray for you to maybe tell you what the exact problem is. They can probably also prescribe some pain medicine.

Mabel

replied on May 16th, 2008

Moderator

Bridget wrote:

(((BRIDGET))))

tinkinpink84

replied on May 16th, 2008

Especially eHealthy

sciatic pain sucks! I got it when i was pregnant with Joseph my first i dont remember when in that pregnancy it started but i figured it would go away after he was born but boy was i wrong. It got worse during the 2nd pregnancy! And still now it aggravates me sometimes. It hurts to sit on the floor or lay on the floor with mykids like ven laying on my stomach and well when i decided to paint my entire living room and stuff well that was just the worst idea! I heard though that pain killers wont help it though? But everyone ive known has recommended a chiropractor.

_tanya_

replied on May 17th, 2008

Experienced User

Wow i'm surprised so many people have suffered with it.

Ingi- I know accidents are one of the most common causes for the onset of sciatica. I know when I got into an accident it was my hip that was injured and eventually the pain that appeared to be in my hip joint spread into my back/leg/and butt.

The funny thing is that some days it's absolutely perfect (or so I think) then I go to run to the printer at work or run around doing something else and I suddenly feel like i'm going to keel over.

I never thought of a chriopractor, i've always been kind of wary of them but if they've worked for some people maybe i'll give it a go. I tried a shiatsu massage therapist and i swear to god she made the pain far more horrible then it should have been

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