Sciatica anyone?

[justKate]

Oh my goodness.  The pain in my left hip is unreal--even just standing making dinner.  I haven't done anything that could have injured me--I've been "taking it easy" since the bleed a week ago.  It's right in my butt/hip, and definitely nerve pain.  What in the world?  I haven't gained any weight to speak of....

Did I cause it by laying on my left side too much?  Is it too early to be worried about laying on the left?  Ugh, this is bad.

[ASusan]

It's too early to be worrying about lying on the left. So, if switching positions helps, do it!

That said, can you get to a chiropractor, preferably one who uses an activator?

[zuzusplace]

I would think it's early to worry about laying on the left side, that's more about weight from what I understand...and I've never specifically heard it being linked to sciatica. Do you carry your daughter around? That seems to exaggerate it for me (I'm guessing due to the uneven stance we take when carrying them). I personally haven't had trouble yet, but oh boy my sacroiliac joint is doing a number on me *sigh*

[Rasa]

I had sciatica during my last pg.  Ended up getting lots of professional massages trying to deal with the pain (which didn't really help long term but felt nice at the time)--back then I hadn't tried acupuncture yet.  I didn't gain that much weight last time, but I WAS sleeping on a bed that was way too soft (for me).  I've switched beds since and so far, kept the sciatic away.  (I had some sciatic pain even before pg and after pg last time until I switched mattresses and occasionally have problems with it if I'm traveling for a long time and on a mattress that's too soft).  If you can, try acupuncture to relieve the pain (perhaps?) and consider switching to a firmer sleeping surface?

I believe the pregnancy hormone relaxin can be triggering sciatica already, even before your center of gravity changes and also possibly triggers it.

There are some great deep yoga stretches I did to help the pain also. If I remember one correctly, it was from a sitting position (on the floor), lifting the leg with the pain with a slightly bent knee up so the knee is sticking out to the side and you're holding onto your foot with one hand and stabilizing your lower leg with the other--like you're going to try and duck your head under your foot and become a pretzel, but don't do that!--just keep your foot about chest height--and then kind of rolling around into/onto the hip/butt area.  OK, I have no idea if that made any sense and I can't seem to find a good pic online.

Sorry--I know it's such an annoying pain and can get quite bad at times.  Hope you can find some relief soon!

[justKate]

Thanks ladies, I thought I was losing my mind.  I need to see if my insurance will cover chiropractic care.  I might have to try sleeping in another bed.  DH has been complaining about our bed hurting our back, so maybe its time for a new one.

I've been trying not to carry DD more than necessary, but you know how that goes. 

Rasa, I get what you're describing with the yoga stretch.  I'll try that right away.

[Rasa]

Oh yes--I had a lot of lower back pain as well with our old soft mattress!!  They feel soooo comfy but are so hard on the alignment of the body I think.

[vivica2]

i had it with both pregnancies, realy bad, and have it more mildly already. 

the only thing that helps is laying flat on my back on the floor, it KILLS for about 3 minutes, but it slowly starts to go away, and then when the pain is gone, its gone when i get up too. 

i figured out stangng in one position too long it what triggers it. ie: doing dishes, cooking, waiting in line etc....

if i need immediate relief (waiting in line for example) putting my weight on the side that hurts seems to help a little. 

it got so bad at the end of last pregnancy, i was in tears trying to do dishes, and half my day was spend laying on the floor trying to make it stop. went away (mostly) after birth. 

hope its much more mild for you!

[vivica2]

rasa- im totally trying that stretch, thanks!!

[Mom2SammyJoe]

I will try that stretch, too! I have not had this issue in either of my other pregnancies, but now I keep getting a pain through my left butt cheek. I wasn't sure if it was my sciatic because it feels more like a cramp and then fades away. It is the worst after I bend over to buckle DD in the carseat. I had a massage Friday, and she thought it was sciatic pain. She worked it and it felt better, but then we spent the next day picking up walnuts out of the yard, so I undid all the good work. I see my chiro on the 10th with another massage to follow. I am so glad insurance covers! I never really went to a chiropractor until May, and now I can't imagine not going. I am really looking forward to having such good care throughout pregnancy.

[autumngrey]

I was having pains in my hips earlier in the week to the point it was hurting to walk and I had a hard time doing any bending, even to pick up things from a coffee table height. I'm trying to train myself to sleep on my sides (either side at this point) so I thought it might be the poor hip alignment with my legs folding in together and got a body pillow to stuff between my knees/legs. It's much better now and my side sleep training continues.

Hopefully it's as simple of solution for you, if you've also changed your sleeping position lately.

[adoremybabe]

Oh My Gosh! It's so bad for me already! I went to the chiro last week and it didn't help that pain at all. I think that I should go more than once a month but my insurance doesn't cover this chiro that I love.... so I might have to change.

I really can't believe how bad my Sciatica is already. It's on both sides and anything can activate it. Vacuuming is the uttter worst. After a couple of days at my mom's I decided that I should probably vacuum up my kiddos crumbs. Afterwards I was hunched over in pain leaning on the table. I might as well be in labor!

I'm thinking of going to a Cranio Sacral Therapist. If the pain is this bad and I haven't gained anything yet, I don't look forward to the coming months.

I've also heard that having someone roll a tennis ball over the area of pain while laying down can help a lot.

[justKate]

Anyone found any relief for their sciatica?

I was doing a lot better for a while, but its not back something awful.  It almost feels like it is aggravated by the baby's position.  When the kicks/tickles are on the right, I'm better; when they're on the left, my left butt/hip is so bad I can barely walk.  Ugh.  Sitting on the floor for any length of time seems to result in extra pain the following day, too. 

[wwisdomskr]

I have a belt thingy that I got from our chiropractor during my last pregnancy.  It seems to help a little.  Massage helps me, too...as much as I can squeeze it into the budget...

[Itsasecret]

 What's wrong with lying on your left side? Everybody recommends lying on your left side in pregnancy!

I did a quick Google search and didn't find anything about worrying about lying on your left side ...

[Itsasecret]

 I am trying not to freak out because I always lay on my left side. I thought is was best. Please, someone, tell me why y'all don't or send me to a website to read ...

[justKate]

No no, it IS good to lie on your left, later in pg, when the uterus gets heavy enough to compress the vein returning from your lower extremities to your heart (it allegedly reduces swelling).  The ladies were saying it was too early for me to worry about which side I was lying on.  Sorry for the confusion!

[Itsasecret]

 Gotcha, thanks.

[falafala]

Here is great website about sciatica and sacroiliac pain. It gives you a list of dos and don'ts!

http://backpainandpregnancy.blogspot.com/2012/01/wat-is-si-or-sacroiliac-joint.html

Good luck

[usagi629]

Thanks for the link. Mine has been really awful lately.. Every morning almost one side or the other is in a lot of pain. Then I spend all day at the computer for work and somehow I must sit funny because that just makes it worse. I do pelvic tilts and hip circles, yoga, and anything else I can think to try to get the pain to subside. Earlier tonight I felt aching in my lower back and it reminded me of the labor pain from my posterior birthing last time around, which really worried me about what labor is going to feel like if I have THAT pain on TOP of it. O.o

After reading your link, I'm thinking about ordering one of those belts they mentioned. I also saw on Amazon a thing called a "wedgy" that you sit on to help with SI. I'm considering one or the other or both. ANYTHING that might help. I was thinking of seeing a chiropractor earlier, but I might try the belt/wedge thing first.

Thanks!!

[BlessedOne]

Hello.....I have felt your pain....literally 0_0

I am 34 weeks and just this last weekend I went to the ER in so much pain (pain that was equivalent to labor pain). The pain showed up Thursday morning and made me bed fast pretty much constantly until I finally went to the ER Saturday evening (and then continued to keep me bed fast until just today). The pain would sometimes be so horrible that I could barely tolerate it and sometimes it would not be a deal if I was laying a certain way (laying on my right side....which is where the pain was). My pain was my lower right back and it radiated around to my lower abdomen. At first I thought it might be sciatica as well, but after much research and with dealing with it for days on end, I have come to the conclusion that it was probably not sciatica but instead was some form of muscle strain from getting  big (although I never had this issue with my 4 other pgs...but I am bigger with this one too). Apparently sciatica is not really that common in pregnancy (from the research that I have done). I brought the idea of it up to the people in the ER and they seemed to dismiss that idea pretty quickly and by the end of my 4 hr visit they were saying that it could be the baby laying up against my ureter....although I am not really buying that. I am finally getting better and am able to be out of bed for longer periods of time and haven't been using my heating pad like crazy. Today is the first day I have not had any acetaminophen either....so I things are definitely looking up. Now yes, I have felt the discomfort in my back and lower ab from time to time today...but nothing horrible at all.