For the past couple of days, I’ve had a dull, but noticeable pain in the lower part of my butt, going down the back of my thigh about 2/3s of the way.
The only sciatica sufferers were the ones that gimped around in major pain, sometimes unable to walk at all. Does it come on slow like I’m describing or is it WAM BAM? I’ve never had this before, and I’m kind of worried that this might turn into a full-blown issue.
Anyone?
I should have said, “the only suffers I’ve ever known…”
I had pretty severe sciatica after herniating a disk many years ago, and it ain’t no fun a’tall. You can trace the damn nerve all way down to the toe just by the pain. Sounds as though that’s what you’ve got, all right.
The onset of this was pretty soon after the injury, but from what I’ve heard, there are a number of things that can cause it, and some may come on more slowly, I don’t know.
I also had a terrible case of shingles, which can easily be mistaken for sciatica if in the lower body. This can be horribly painful, but there is now a medication, that if taken within a day or two of the outset, can be very effective in alleviating the pain. In almost all cases of shingles, there will be a lesion like a pimple on your back or butt.
IANAMD, but in any case, I’d strongly suggest you see a doctor ASAP to check on the singles possibility. Also whenever a nerve is involved, it would be wise to check it out pronto. As in my experience, you’d be lucky to get an appointment with your doc in less than a week, you might consider going to the ER to have this checked out if it does not get better very quickly.
Good luck.
I have had sciatica for 30 years. In my case it was brought on by a herniated disc during a motorcycle accident.
One of the symptoms that most indicates a sciatic nerve involvement is going to be numbness or tingling in the affected leg. It’s a little hard to tell sometimes if something is numb on your own. When you go to a physician she will probably poke you with a sharp object to find out if there are any areas of diminished sensation.
If you sneeze and it feels like a red-hot poker just ran down your leg it probably is sciatica. In my reading on the subject I have learned that it can come on slowly as well as suddenly.
There are a lot of treatment options available, so don’t let anyone rush you into anything rash, and good luck with it.
Either there’s degrees of sciatica or you can have pain in the sciatic nerve without having a diagnosis of sciatica. I had such pain some years back, as a complication of scoliosis, and it was helped by an exercise program that functioned on strengthening my trunk muscles. The symptoms you describe sound like what I was experiencing, but you need to go to a doctor to be sure.
Thanks for your responses. It isn’t a constant pain at this point, nor is it severe. If it gets any worse, I’ll be sure to see a doctor. But at this point, it’s just something I’m noticing, but not in serioius pain over. I’m just wondering if it can come on as a minor discomfort at first or if it goes “balls to the wall” right away.
Geeeeez…I hope this doesn’t turn out to be “the big one.”
Take your wallet out of your hip pocket. That can cause pressure on the Sciatic nerve, causing pain.
…and, of course, you’re probably going to need it to get the thing diagnosed and treated. 
Cheech, I forgot, in my long blathering post, to mention that you might want to go online and check out some med websites. Some good ones are the Mayo Clinic, MedicineNet.com or Medline.com
Also, should it get worse, you might want to see a chiropractor. My disc problem never got any effective help from the MDs, so finally gave up and tried chiropractic, and they have been able to control the pain.
Cheech, I forgot, in my long blathering post, to mention that you might want to go online and check out some med websites. Some good ones are the Mayo Clinic, MedicineNet.com or Medline.com
Also, should it get worse, you might want to see a chiropractor. My disc problem never got any effective help from the MDs, so finally gave up and tried chiropractic, and they have been able to control the pain.
It can be caused by a pinched nerve in or coming out of the lower spine and can run all the way to the toes. Pinched nerves are usually instantaneous. :eek:
Suffer (feel pain or be in distress) is what a sufferer (one who suffers) does. N.C.
Oh, just to say…any urinary or bowel symptoms (anything from being unable to go when you want to, all the way up to incontinence), when combined with back pain, altered sensation in the lower limbs or sciatica type symptoms requires an IMMEDIATE visit to the hospital. Do not pass go, do not collect $300, just get there ASAP.
Google “Cauda Equina Syndrome” to see why.
I’m a woman, so usually the only thing in my pocket is my butt.
And sometimes sciatica can be caused by muscle inflmmation (psoas, generally) deep in the hip which can rub on the nerve and irritate it. The nerve literally runs through a hole formed by the muscles: swell the muscle, and the hole gets too tight. That one can creep up on you. Chiropractic and yoga seem to work best for me.
Sciatica comes from an insult to the nerves involved – in my case, trying to play the hero while helping a friend move, followed by a couple of very long car trips. Started out feeling like a torn muscle in the leg and then got progressively worse as it worked its way down the leg. The worst part (aside from the intense pain) was not knowing what the hell was going on.
So…did you do anything to maybe aggravate the back? Lifting something heavy? Lots of sitting?
The prognosis can actually be pretty good if it’s due to a non-persistant injury (a particular incident as opposed to a herniated disk or something like that). It bugged me for a couple of months, had a couple of flare-ups over the next couple of years, and that was pretty much it.
Mine started out as what I thought was a stiff back and a pulled hamstring. Before it was over, I had the whole “trace it right to the toe” thing going on.
I’m beginning to think it’s the sitting. I have a desk job and I’ve been at a desk for 30-odd years.
It’s not even bothering me right now. I hope it doesn’t return. I really don’t want to go down that path. Everyone I know who’s had it looked positively miserable.
Some of the warning signs include screaming, weeping, squirming, and begging for sweet sweet death.