Sciatica

[Court]

I have recently had a bad attack of sciatica and a couple of people with Parkinsons have said they also get attacks.

I was wondering whether anyone on the site has had this problem?

[Hidden]

Definitely

[alllowercase]

oh yes!!!

in 2oo8, before my PD diagnosis, both hips were affected, but the pain was way more in the right side. and i said "in" my hip rather than "on" it because it felt that it was right down to the bone. But, once i was diagnosed, the PD meds got rid of the sciatica 100% in under 6 months.

Now, however, it is back 100% on the right and about 10% on the left. and it has been tracked back to the two times in February and March this year when I was hit by that damned Arabic woman in the car. Trouble is, iam 4 years or so down the line, so it probably won't heal much if at all.

God bless the women drivers - because I won't bless them.

[ccobroussard]

I have been having this problem in my left hip since feb. as first I didn't realize that it was the pd. I had dbs surgery in march and had the stimulator turned on 10 days ago and it is helping but I need to go back and have it turned up higher. it is so painful--nothing helps

[inkyorion]

Yes, I had a very bad bout of sciatica six months ago in my left hip and leg although its my right side which is mainly affected by PD. My neurologist thinks it was brought on by an over enthusiatic physio who was treating me at the time for arthritic pain in in my right hip!! He told me PwP are prone to getting sciatica but he also said it was different from sciatica experienced by people without PD ( can't remember whether that was in origin or form but he was very sure about it). It has left me with nerve damage in the two toes of my left foot and my GP tells me it is permanent. I seem to be allergic to the nerve drugs (pragabalin?) so I just grin and bear it. Have to say, the drugs did work but couldnt cope with the side effects. I dread the thought of another bout of sciatica, it was so painful...I didnt know which way to lie in bed. I did look up about how sciatica effects PwP so if I can find anything, I'll post it to you. Good luck.

[hilarypeta]

Yes ive had it on and off for years..but so have lots of people i know..mostly car drivers i notice nowwhen i get up from a table the pain in one leg is bad. it could also be arthritis..a lot of my friends have that. Its called getting old!

[Court in reply to hilarypeta]

Old age is no fun whether you have Parkinsons or not. So many of our problems seem to be caused by Parkinsons that I wondered whether there could be a link

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im having an mri scan this thursday as i have had pain in my left leg and back every day since last july i have to take antiinfllamatres and pain patches have helped since january i had an xray in casualty last november that showed the 5th vertabre leaning to one side from artaritis and that it must be leaning on the sciatic nerve bad posture with parkinsons can lean on it too . the pain is very intense cant sit stand or lie for any length when the pain killers wear off till next ones ,i have had it on and off for few yrs but its stayed ten mths this time so i hope mri scan will show whats going on and i hope the results are back quick i had to wait 14 wks for this apt ,wish me luck x

[Hidden]

My hubby had this problem extremely bad about a year ago. Had to take him to emergency room because pain was so bad and he could hardly walk. The only thing they did for him were give him pain meds. I ended up taking him to a chiropractor who fixed the problem in 2 visits as well as his balance issue. We have been going to a chiropractor every so often since then to make sure it doesn't happen again. Everyone is different with this disease but this option certainly worked for him.

[paddyfields]

What a relief to see that this topic is being raised.and once again patients lead the way in recognising a symptom and its connection with PD. I've had since dx.4 years ago, three hour assessments on two occasions by the PD physio clinic. The regular one won't see me because I am PWP and the PD one just says "keep up the good work" as regards exercise but doesn't address the problem in any specific way. Very frustrating. It is intersting to note that at least one neuro above (inkyorion's) recognises that it is commoner in PWP's. Driving position definitely exacerbates the problem and I have not been able to get away with sitting in anything but but a dining chair or similar for at least eight years No lounging about for me

Four years since dx. and two i(according to my medical diary) dentically developing bouts of pain and sleepless nights lasting for months at a time starting with more than usual PD stiffness in the hips, followed by bursitis and then sciatica moving from the left side to the right.(PD) side and then to various points on both legs. A course of Gabentin 1 at night for a month (whether the pain was there or not) calmed the irritated sciatic nerve, steroid jabs dealt with the worst soreness of bursitis but I still can't lie on either side at night, nor can I now avoid getting a increasing frequency of generalised aching in the lower half of my body.however I lie down sometimes spreading all over in what I call fluey episodes, I am 73 but my hip joints are those of a 50 yr old so its soft tissue. Only now am I being sent for an MRI scan to see what's going on

.I now feel justified in resisting more PD meds until the exact mechanism of what I'm tempted to call a PD related syndrome (not sure if that's the right word) is pursued.. When I told the pD nurse about seizing up (with the pain and muscle spasms) one week-end, she recorded this as "freezing" as that's the only symptom she could hear with her PD hat on I suppose. Not the first time a medic has written what they expect to hear rather than what I have actually said!!!

I'm even tempted to lay my stiff right big toe at the door of Parkinsons because it actually got better while in Turkey on a strenuous walking holiday which Hallux limitus does not prompting the chiropodist to suggest that tendonitis in the toe had been part of the problem, Tendinitis in various parts of the body is another unsung feature of PD.. It certainly affects my gait with the knock effects on the hips that can cause.

[Court]

Thank you everybody for your replies. Parkinsons does appear to figure in sciatica. People who have Parkinsons know a lot more than anyone else about the various ailments this horrible disease (I don't like using this word, but could not think of another) throws up at us. The pain this brings with it is treated, in my case, with Gaberpentin, which I did not really want to take, but which has helped a lot. I now take so many different meds at set times that I have had to write a schedule

I keep on walking my dogs and exercising. Just waiting for the next surprise to appear!!

[lmbanni]

Geee Sue, I am sorry you are having so much pain. I hope the Gabapentin helps you. Leo has the sciatica pain too from time to time but since he has back issues too we thought it was due to that. I see your last post on here was back on May 8th. I hope you are doing better now. Gabapentin was given to Leo too for the pain in his legs and back but it didn't help much. Another doctor said that maybe it needed to be increased cause he was not getting a very high dose. How many mgs. are you taking? He was taking 300. It sounded like alot to us!!! He already stopped taking it. Take care my friend! Mary

[LauraL]

I too experienced an episode of sciatica. My neurologist speculated that it was due to my Parkinson's "walk" which I was surprised that I had-there goes my sexy walk that my mind envisioned.

About a month after the sciatica pain subsided my shoulders started hurting so bad I couldn't lay on either of my sides or lift anything higher than waist high. I went to see an orthopedic doctor who said that it was a shoulder impingement so he is sending me to PT. What is weird is that some days it is the left side and some times the right. It is better after a warm shower but really never goes away, If I lift anything high or heavy it is worse.