Worried - Sciatica or something else?!

[Jsp]

My health anxiety is at yet another sky high, and I'm so fed up with it.

I normally suffer with sciatica down my right leg, it comes with a burning sensation in my right bum cheek, around the top of my thigh, all the way down the back into my foot.

Well, the last few days, I've been experiencing other pains which I've never felt before in my legs. It started in my right leg, the right calf was kinda tender when I poked it, and I would get shooting pains in it every now and then. This slowly moved up the leg, eventually into the inner thigh and groin. This moved to the other inner thigh and groin for two days, and is now back in my right leg!

This time it is more around my bum and hip area, with horrible shooting pains mainly in the front of my knee, and sometimes in the front of my thigh, calf or foot.

I have a scolosis in my lumbar spine (I don't know where, all I know is that it's at the bottom) which was the apparent cause of my sciatica. Can the the curve effect other nerves leading into the legs too? As I'm pretty sure where the pain I'm experiencing is, the sciatic nerve doesn't run.

I'm just fed up with it and worried sick, that it's something serious like deep vein thrombosis. I saw a doctor this morning, who again fobbed me off and told me to take ibuprofen and say I'm too young to have anything wrong with me (even though two doctors and a chiropractor themselves said they can see the curve of my spine, but have never sent me for x-rays or scans etc. The chiropractor wanted two scans done but it costs a fortune!). Ibuprofen doesn't bloody work and I don't want to take them for another 6 months!

But yes I'm just so worried that this isn't to do with my spine, but it is to do with more serious, life threatening problems such as vein problems :( the pain is horrible I'm so fed up with it!

[countrygirl]

Well you do have classic sciatica signs and symptoms but regardless of your age if you have this for 6 weeks then your GP can send you for mri scan of your lumbar spine or at least they can in my health authority.

It is possible to get a mri of one area for as little as £199 via alliance medical scanning at loads of nhs hospitals via a referral from your GP.

I would certainly push for an mri scan of your spine, not because there has to be anything life threatening going on but if you do have sciatica at any age it needs investigating in case its caused by a spinal problem that can be fixed.

If your GP won't send you for a scan on nhs and you can afford the £199 get the details off the internet of scan provider and ask your GP to refer you and this might just make them realise how serious you are.

[Jsp]

So do you think this does sound like sciatica?

Well, if this isn't better in the next two weeks, which it wont be as I've had sciatica problems on and off for about six months, then I'll go back to my doctor and ask about scans or other types of treatment, like seeing a physiotherapist.

I don't have anywhere near enough money to afford my own MRI scans :( so I'll have to rely on the NHS for it. The chiropractor wanted £65 for two scans and I can't even afford that!

[Magic]

Jsp,
I have all the symptoms you have got. I have wear and tear of the spine, have spent a furtune seeing a ciropracter. The treatment was ok but I had to stop going because of the cost.had ibrufin . no better--- I could take co-codomol but they make me constipated.
I am going to see GP next week because I have varicus veins in my right leg too,and I wondered if I had ghoat in my feet ( sorry if spelling wrong) Never know where the pain comes from--- starting from right thigh down to my feet and toes. My legs feel like lumps of lead after I have walked for a while.
Just don't no what to do for the best

[Jsp]

Do you mean gout? I think my Granddad used to have that, he was in a lot of pain a lot of the time.

It's such a nuisance isn't it? It's like there is no treatment out there, or no one can be bothered, or its way too expensive. As you said it is to do with your spine, then the pain you are experiencing is probably nerve pain from pinched or trapped nerves. Have you spoke to your doctor about it?

At the moment, the pain is in my inner thigh area. I keep getting horrible shooting pains in the same place on the front of my knee, and some of my toes feel rather strange. My back aches a little too.

[countrygirl]

Have you seen a dermatome map of the body- you can download one off the the internet, it shows you all the areas of your body affected by each spinal nerve and is very useful for working out where the problem can be in your back.

It is also not uncommon for people to have only pain in their legs and not thier backs. My neighbour had agonising pain in her lower leg and after being rushed to hospital thinking dvt it turned out to be a collapsed disc in her spine but she never ever had any pain in her back.

[Jsp]

I just had a look at dermatome map. By the looks of it, my L1 all the way to L5 is effected, nearly the entirety of my lower spine! I suppose this would make sense, as if only one part is actually curved, it would effect the position of all the other parts.

Yeah, normally I only get the pain in my leg, and sometimes in the back. I just need to stop panicking about DVT as it wouldn't bother me as much then :(

[Magic]

JSP,
Yes sorry meant gout did not know how to spell it. Seein doc next week, its a prebookable appointment so i can see my GP who I always go to. female.

CountryGirl,
Will look that up later thank you for that information

[swgrl09]

Hi, I have similar aches and pains. I thought it might be due to having to sit at a desk all day, long commute, and sitting in class all night. I try to get up and stretch but sometimes its not enough. I may see my doc for it too. I get lower back pain that stretches down my legs

[phil0910]

i get this sometimes too but been told i have anxiety and maybe its to do with that as aches pains are common my doc said 1 or 2 problems is normal but anymore isnt common especially in young, also i went chiropractor who told me my spine curved too but apparently this is very common a lot of people have some sort of curve in their spine even without knowing so dont panic see how it goes next few weeks and go back to docs. good luck xxx

[Jsp]

Magic, tell me how it goes with your doc! :)

swgrl09, that sounds like sciatica too if it comes from your back! Very common among those who sit at desks all day etc as sitting in bad positions can effect our spine.

Phil0910, yes spine curves are very common actually. It's just when they sit on a nerve that it becomes annoying! By feeling my back I can feel mine has got a little worse I think, so it could be that.

I haven't been as bad today. Still worrying that its deep vein thrombosis. Keep getting horrible shooting pains in my knee. And some shooting pains in my calf only when I walk though :(

[Magic]

Jsp,
Will do, I have had pain everywhere today, I have very bad anxiety may be that has something to do with it, and I feel very tired all the time. I don't know if that is the case with you

[Jsp]

Yes I'm tired a lot! I got up at 9AM and was back asleep by 12AM for about four hours.