Hi ladies. I had a question about those who've experienced pregnancy-induced sciatica. How bad was it? This is my third child (none of which I've had this pain before) and I'm sort of freaking out about how much pain I'm in. I'll be 22 weeks on Friday and have a desk job.
I seriously thought I was in labor on Saturday because how intense it was. I was getting Braxton Hicks early last week and had to work from home on Thursday (because of back). No bleeding, cramping or "anything to be of concern."
How long does it last usually? It's been 4 days that is has been around on and off. And I have a long way to go. Was hoping it would subside sometime. Any advice is much appreciated.
TIA.
Re: Those with sciatica..how bad?
I wanted to kill myself. And then, when I actually was in labor, I had back labor so bad that, again, I wanted to kill myself.
Mine was worst at night, and I was told to put a pillow between my knees, lay on the side that didn't have the sciatic pain, then pull the leg around on the side that did have the pain, as close as I could to my chest, hold it, release and repeat. I think. I can't remember exactly the process. It never really helped much.
I saw a chiropractor and massage therapist often and between the two of them, I was able to manage the pain. I hope you find a solution that works for you.
Talk to your doctor, there are lots of things to help with the pain, from specific exercises to Physical therapy to a belt made to hold your hips together better.
have your Dr figure out what will work best for you.
When I was pregnant with my 2nd child I had really bad sciatica issues, it got to the point where I would all of a sudden just have to drop to my knees because I couldn't take the pain. I ended up using a maternity support belt that seemed to help, my doctor had either recommended at prenatal cradle or a maternity support belt. I got my support belt from Target online. Good Luck!
I hate to say this, but with DD, I developed sciatica at about 15 weeks that only got worse and worse until delivery. Since then, it has been better, but it has never gone away, and I still get bad bouts of it from time to time (so it's been about 2 years of this).
I did have an MRI done and went to a specialist, but they said they couldn't do anything to help aside from surgery, which they only do when it's at a point that a person absolutely cannot function.
Chiropractic made it worse...much worse.
This time around, if it gets bad with this pregnancy, I am going to try acupuncture. But ultimately, you just have to deal with it, I'm afraid.
This is also my 3rd baby and I never had it this bad with the first two. Between my sciatica and my outer hips being so sore, I tell my DH I feel like a wishbone and two people are trying to pull my legs apart!
I am hoping at my next visit that my dr will give me a referral for a pregnancy-friendly chiropractor so I don't have to pay out-of-pocket. Last visit she said to use a support band, do light stretches and when its real bad take a tylenol at the end of the day so I can sleep. I'm not having Braxton Hicks or anything, but the soreness literally feels like my legs will buckle or pop out. I used Tiger Balm oil to sooth the pain a few times but she said its effects are not known, so I can't even use that anymore! Ugh, good luck to you (and all of us).
I've had pain since, but its mainly uncomfortable. Not nearly as painful as the first time it happened.
The pain runs from my right hip to my right knee. Random, but having my husband massage my right butt cheek really felt good. And when I say massage, I mean really get in there. Sleeping with a pillow between my knees helps a lot. Going to check out a body pillow this weekend too.
Sometimes a hot shower loosens things up, and I've heard good things about prenatal massage.
Talk to your doctor. I took Tylenol and that didn't help.