Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Pregnancy-Related Sciatica Is a Pain in the Butt!

At about 6 weeks along I was walking with Eddie, Shelley, and Keith one afternoon when I noticed that I had a "catch" in my back. I'd had it on and off all week but that afternoon it was REALLY bothering me. I asked Shelley (my physcial therapist/nurse) what her take on it was and from my description of it, she ruled it my sciatic nerve.

Since then it has gotten worse, and worse, and WORSE. I really shouldn't complain because my pregnancy has been pretty good so far. I'm not one of those women who LOVES being pregnant, but it hasn't been too terrible. However, this is my one big complaint.

If you'd been around me in the past week you know how bad it's recently gotten. You know how you feel when your back needs to be popped? Well, that's the feeling. It's in the very bottom of my back and when it "catches" I have pain that runs down the small of my back, down the left side of my butt, down the back of my left thigh, all the way to my ankle. My kids at school think I'm a loony bird because of my random yoga-moves and stretching occassionally, but I'm looking for that "relief." So far, I haven't found that relief.

I'm whining in hopes that someone has dealt with it before and knows how to get rid of it. Any ideas? I'm not going to a chiropractor - Eddie would have a fit - but aside from that I'm up for anything. It has hurt SO bad today that I was limping by the time school got out. Any ideas for some relief???

1 comment:

Melissa said...

I had something like that but it only happened further in my pregnancy when I would roll out of bed or bend down to pick something up. It didn't happen as often, but I remember it was excruciating and it started in my lower back and would catch. Towards the very end it would happen right between my shoulder blades and I would feel stuck!

I did get a prenatal massage and I feel like that helped me to relax the muscles back there. I hope it gets better!! Oh the joys of pregnancy! I have already forgotten what it is like.