What NOT to do with PIO...

matt'sbride

I can't sit flat on my butt. I can't touch the left side of my butt/hip. The heating pad doesn't help. I'm in a lot of pain from my lower back/hip all the way down to my calf. Even when I'm not moving, there I can feel it from my butt to my calf.  

That's because I think we may have hit my Sciatic Nerve when doing a PIO shot! I'm not a doctor, nor do I claim to know anything about muscles or nerves in the body. But I know a friend who did something to her Sciatic Nerve and this is exactly the pain she described...so, of course, I googled it. The Sciatic Nerve runs almost exactly where Mh and I have been doing the shot.

Any Drs or RNs on here...or does anyone else know of anything else that could be going on here? I'm really in a lot of pain. Not the kind that would send me to the ER though, as it may just be muscular. We've been rotating sides for the PIO and my right side doesn't feel like this at all, it has the appropriate amt of soreness.

WTF? Your thoughts or suggestions?

aebaby

Oh my gosh.....I bet you did hit that nerve.  No real advice but just wanted to say I'm sorry you're in so much pain....maybe a heating pad would work?

matt'sbride

Actually, we just read up on Sciatic Nerve injuries online and apparently the heating pad does more damage than good (in terms of pain). So, in case you're ever in this situation and, I really hope you aren't, sit on an ice pack instead. I'm doing it now and it already feels a little more tolerable.

Thank you for your well-wishes!

jlcrane78

It's very easy to hit the sciatic nerve when doing IM shots.  I hope the pain eases up for you, Jen.  Hopefully it will be a funny story to tell your little one when they get older. 

vanessagorc

I have sciatica, and it is VERY painful when it flares up.

All u can do it weight it out.  Which side is hurting?  It is usually something that hurts more when u sit, than stand...

When mine is very bad...i have to wedge a hard object under my butt check when i sit.  That relieves a lot of the pressure.

Did the nurse draw circles on ur butt?  Im thinking u need to inject wider (like closer to ur hip and farther from ur spine).

MBfromBMC

No advice here, but I hope the pain goes away soon.  Butt/hip pain is the worst!

lmc5004

Im an RN and it sounds like you hit your sciatic to me, OUCH! Did it hurt when you did the injection because it should have probably felt like a lightening bolt when you hit it. Also- dont use heat, that can make it more painful many times. I would say to try ice or just staying off of it as much as possible. 

Im sorry, thats awful! 

GenRN45

I'm an RN too, and I actually doubt you actually HIT the nerve with the needle, because your husband would hVe had to pull you off the ceiling when it happened. I'm sure that you have a lot of irritation in the muscle and the swelling is causing pressure on the nerve. You should be using ice, not heat. Put the ice pack in the spot where your thigh meets your butt. The sciatic notch is under there, and if you can numb the nerve at the notch you should be able to help Some of the pain in your leg.

take it easy. I hope you feel better soon.

baze2

Yep RN here too..I agree  with GenRN..Ice not heat. 

Also when giving the injections...imagine your but cheek  with + sign on it. Inject in the upper outer quarter. 

Always inject further to the hip than the spine with in the upper outer quarter.

 

 

 HTH

 

matt'sbride

vanessagorc:

I have sciatica, and it is VERY painful when it flares up.

All u can do it weight it out.  Which side is hurting?  It is usually something that hurts more when u sit, than stand...

When mine is very bad...i have to wedge a hard object under my butt check when i sit.  That relieves a lot of the pressure.

Did the nurse draw circles on ur butt?  Im thinking u need to inject wider (like closer to ur hip and farther from ur spine).

Thanks for your response. My left side is the one that hurts. We never had this problem last time, so we didn't ask the nurse to draw any lines or anything. We'll definitely be injecting in a wide spot tonight! What kind of object do you sit on?

GenRN45

baze2:

Yep RN here too..I agree  with GenRN..Ice not heat. 

Also when giving the injections...imagine your but cheek  with + sign on it. Inject in the upper outer quarter. 

Always inject further to the hip than the spine with in the upper outer quarter.

 

 

 HTH

 

This

matt'sbride

lmc5004:

Im an RN and it sounds like you hit your sciatic to me, OUCH! Did it hurt when you did the injection because it should have probably felt like a lightening bolt when you hit it. Also- dont use heat, that can make it more painful many times. I would say to try ice or just staying off of it as much as possible. 

Im sorry, thats awful! 

Thanks for your input! I'm sitting on an ice pack as we type. Yeah, last night there was definitely pain when he injected the shot. I thought it was just because we iced for a few less min than usual. But I guess it was actually because of the nerve. Ugh. I'll be taking your advice!

vanessagorc

matt'sbride:

vanessagorc:

I have sciatica, and it is VERY painful when it flares up.

All u can do it weight it out.  Which side is hurting?  It is usually something that hurts more when u sit, than stand...

When mine is very bad...i have to wedge a hard object under my butt check when i sit.  That relieves a lot of the pressure.

Did the nurse draw circles on ur butt?  Im thinking u need to inject wider (like closer to ur hip and farther from ur spine).

Thanks for your response. My left side is the one that hurts. We never had this problem last time, so we didn't ask the nurse to draw any lines or anything. We'll definitely be injecting in a wide spot tonight! What kind of object do you sit on?

I wedge a hard ball under the butt cheek.  A tennis ball would be good, or one of those alumumin water bottles (when i cant find the ball