calling all back pain sufferers!

If you had sciatica pre BC you can bet it will now be exacerbated by lace of hormones. I see you are hormone positive, are you on an AI.

One year post chemo (kind of where you are) I began to suffer from the worst sciatica it was horrible and I was sure I had mets in hip or back. I had scan after scan for 2 years and finally figured out how different my body was now with no hormones. The only way I have gotten releif and I have tried everything is HOT YOGA 3x per week. I started it one year ago and rarely have the pains any longer. 

HI there, Please wait too long with this issue before seeing a neurologist.

I had similar bouts that became worse and worse to the point I finally couldnt walk, felt like my hip was broken, pain down the back of my leg, front of my leg and my leg lost feeling from the knee down. I ended up losing bowel control as the nerve that controls all of this was compressed. 

I had emergency spinal cord decompression and a discectomy on my l4 l5.  The surgery was a success, pain is 90% gone. I still do have numbness on my lower leg and no reflex as the nerve was so badly damaged. My neruologist gives me epidural injections of kenelog, a steroid that gets rid of the remaining pain.

Good luck, please seek help before this gets worse and you possibly have issues like I did. FYI , I was 44 at the time, about 2 years ago.

Bevin

I had sciatica down my left leg that would come on all of a sudden and be excruciating.  My PC dr sent me to physical therapy for 6 wks and it helped!  But since it's something that I understand comes and goes, I always wonder if it would have just gone away on its own.

That was last fall, but now I've noticed weakening in my rt leg and aching for which my oncologist has ordered a spinal MRI.  Had a bone scan last summer and it came back clear--just lots of arthritis.

Hot Yoga is not advised for those who have had lymph node removal, my PT strictly forbade it.  Just another person's perspective, I sure wish I could do it because I bet it would be great.

Hi there again-

The scans never showed anything but mild arthritis, I got several opinions and most believe it was the problems we may have had all along but greatly excerbated by having a harsh drop in hormones. I have been doing hot yoga for almost 1 1/2 years and had 4 lymph nodes taken. There are several cancer survivors in  my class with more nodes taken and they are all doing well. I suspect the warning has to do with Lymphadema but I would get a 2nd opinion. All of my docs, surgeon, Onc and Rheumatologist suggest yoga for these type of symptoms and the hot yoga allows you to take that stretch much further, it has literally healed by body in so many ways. You must stay very hydrated. If you have  more questions PM me, but it really saved me as I was 41 at dx and the hormone suprression was really hard on me much worse than the 1 year of chemo. 

Hi Liz--

I too have sciatica that comes and goes, had this way before BC. It first showed up in my 2nd of 3 full term pregnancies. At the time, my Ob/Gyn, who happens to be my Aunt....told me that once you have it, it will recur off and on, I guess forever. Now, when I experience it, it is not as bad as when I was pregnant. Then, I remember my right leg actually giving out on me.