I've looked all over the internet, and I can't find a clear explaination as to why my sharp electrocutiing jabbing pain in my rear comes and goes unexpectedly all through the day. I can just be still and be fine for a minute and them..BAM..there it is. I walk it off and it's gone (sometimes does it a few times before leaving).

Why would it come and go like that? If something is there irritating it, then why is the pain intermiitent? I just don't understand. The only thing that I can think of is that I'm getting unknown muscle spasms that are setting it off?

I don't know..maybe muscle relaxers would actually help to prevent this from happening..if this is the case. What do you guys think?

I have 4 days until Christmas..five kids..and no shopping done yet! I don’t even think I can go anywhere on Christmas since I can’t sit still..so the 3 hours in the car is out..My poor kids. I’ve ruined their Christmas.

Cheryl

Nerves can be very difficult. If they are irritated they misfire...hence why the pain comes and goes. And if they are irritated by a bulging or herniated disc it can be very positional. Certain positons may bring on the pain. Have you been evaluated by a spine specialist or neurologist to determine what may be the reason for your pain? I would not wait for a long time if I were you...if there is a compression problem the longer it goes on the more chance you have of the nerve being permanently damaged. Welcome to the board:wave: This is a great place if you have back problems. There is always someone who can relate to all or part of your story and the people are wonderful and caring. Good luck to you!

Deb

It could be due to a hair length amount of movement one way or the other that can set it off. You may be fine in one position , then move barely a milimeter, and there it goes. It could be due to large disc herniation, or stenosis, or vertebral slippage, etc...whatever it is, something is causing the nerve to get irritated & many times it just will come & go. And others times it is constant and excruciating. Sciatica symptoms can be electric shock-like pain, which can run down an entire leg to the foot, or it might just be felt in one small area. Even this can change day by day, I know its happened to me. You can get numbness in areas, pins & needles, muscle weakness, drop foot, loss of reflexes. Sometimes you think it's going away & feel better for a while and all of a sudden it hits again.

I posted a couple of days ago about my fainting from the pain and going to ER by ambulance. I had an X-ray and the doctor said that i have a slipped disc, L5-S1. He said it's only about 25% slipped. He thought it could be a birth defect, or a very old injury. He was surprised that I had no back pain as a kid when I did gymnastics and dance.

I'm 44, and had back problems years ago that went away for 7 years and came back 3 years ago. Over a week ago I hurt my back whiile breaking up a dog fight. The day after I had pain in my lower back and I was getting muscle spasms. It started getting better until 4 days ago when i woke up in sciatica pain. Now it comes and goes..and I'm fearful of the next event. I did finally get to sleep on my left side off and on last night..yay! I get up and walk a lot.

I went to my doctor for a referral, and it's going to take 4-6 weeks for the referral itself to go through. I was prescribed Vicodin and a muscle relaxer, which I don't really want to take. I'm taking 400 mg of motrin every 6 hours, and using mostly heat to help my sore muscles..from walking constantly to keep the sciatic pain away as much as possible. It's just too unbearable. I don't need to pass out and scare my kids again.

How do people live with this??

I don't know how I live with it, but unfortunately I do...on & off. There isnt much else I can do except try to deal with it somehow. I cant do certain things many times & have had to adjust my life, but I have pretty much accepted that. I only do what my body can handle at any moment. This week i'm doing fairly well being that I had an epidural on Monday, so it has been helping alot. At least I was able to shop in a couple stores for about 2 hours before I started getting too uncomfortable. I wish there was a good answer except one has to deal with it in the best way that they can and it's very unfortunate that people have to suffer alot of pain.

Hey Cheryl,
Like Baybreeze said, you just learn to live with it although I'm not sure you ever accept it. I had a laminectomy in June of this year for herniated disc and large broken off piece that was on the S1 nerve root. I have been dealing with nerve pain since I was 4 weeks post op from right buttock all the way down to my toes and intermittant nerve pain in the left calf. Have had 3 epidural spinal injections and a sympathetic nerve block with no relief. They do work though for a lot of people. The pain dictates what I can and can't do at any given moment and yes, it sucks. I would call and see if there is any way they can see you earlier. Let them know how much pain you are in. Best of luck to you Cheryl and keep us posted please, we care about you.

Deb

It could be the muscle's spasming or just that the disc is intermittently pressing on the nerve.

If it's not a massive bulge and can be dealt with conservatively, the key is to stabilise that area through core work and swimming.

You may have an instability in the ligaments or muscles that is causing the sciatica to come and go. Could be sacroiliac instability. In which case you will need to get in proper alignment (correct your ilium and sacrum - which you can do yourself) and then keep it in alignment. Could be the disc is bulging because you have a rotated sacrum/pelvis.