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Hello Everyone, did anyone have sciatica leg/hip pain that was relieved after surgery? Please answer...Good or Bad. I've just begun to have this problem one week ago. I have to have physical therapy next week. I'm afraid it may not get better after surgery.

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no it didn't!! I wish it had, it's hurting an insane amount right now as I write this... If something can help with sciatica I want to be pointed in that direction. This is an overly excruciating pain!!!!! Pain before and still hurting a year later. I wouldn't think Bariatric surgery is a cure for sciatica in the least, no connection

Edited by msknitexoxo

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I started sciatica about 2 weeks before my surgery. The pain got increasingly worse after surgery and I'm still in pain. Its been almost 3 1/2 months. I gone to the chiropractor, I've had accupuncture, massage, steroids and shots in my back. It is horrible and nothing seems to help. The Orthopedic says I have a bulging disk that is pressing on the nerve and that I will have to have surgery to repair it to make the pain go away. The nerve pain in my buttocks and left leg are excruciating and though I don't want to have surgery... I may just do it . I need some relief. I hope you can get yours to a manageable level or maybe have surgery. I wish all of you ladies that are having pain to get help and get better.

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Sciatica is one of the problems I was having before surgery. I am 6 months post op, down 85 lbs, and I still feel it. It is better, probably much better, but I still feel it every other day or so. I think it could resolve given more time to heal, and maybe with more lost weight.

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I had severe back and joint pain for years. Since Nov of 1992 as a matter of fact. I had a horrible car accident that took me 3 months to recovery enough to walk with a walker. It was another year before I could walk unaided. For the 10 years leading up to my surgery, I had a standing prescription for percocet and vicoden.

In Sept of 14, I did something that herniated yet another disc and had reduced my left leg to a piece of deadwood. I was literally dragging it at times. I slept in a chair because I couldn't lay flat.For 2 months I endured awful pain in hopes that it would go away. I finally had an MRI and there was no question, I had to have surgery to correct it. I had put that off for 10 years but it was looking like I had to finally do it. When I went to the surgeon, he said there was no way he would cut on me unless I lost 100 lbs! So when he said bariatric surgery was his recommendation, I actually gave it thought this time.

Because of my condition, I was approved quickly. Had the surgery in Feb of 2015. Within a week my pain was gone. I followed my gastric surgeons plan to the letter for 2 years and in that time I have no so much as had a back spasm. I went from dragging my leg to squatting 200 lbs and deadlifting 240.

The foods we eat have an incredible effect on our bodies. Not just in the amount of calories, but also in the nutritional content. Loosing the weight and no longer eating junk food gave me my life back.

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I had sciatica for the better part of a year prior to surgery. My surgery was 12/12/16. I'm down 60+ pounds. The sciatica has been gone for more than a month. I was concerned about shoveling the heavy wet snow yesterday. But today I feel great! 0 pain.

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I suffered with sciatica for many years when I was 327 lbs. I had to drive a cart around to go grocery shopping. After losing 100 lbs, I rarely ever have any issue. You will always likely have to continue stretching because sciatica is a nerve placement issue, but can be greatly relieved with losing weight. I still go to a massage therapist that unserstands sciatic massage every 6-8 weeks. It has been life changing!


Banded 2010 weight:327
Sleeved 12/28/16 weight:253
CW: 228 GW: 155
Heather in Texas

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Actually, I got this problem after I got pregnant... anyways... I have been sleeved since January 20th and so far no sciatica issues. I even had deep tissue massage ( which often makes my sciatic nerve hurt as heck) and have had no issues or pain whatsoever!!!!

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Please look up PIRIFORMIS stretches.
This is a muscle that often aggravates the sciatic nerve and a lot of people just need to stretch this or get a massage by someone who is trained and knows about this.
I had issues before and found a massage therapist that cured it by deep massage and stretches.

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Thanks guys. I had an appointment with a physical therapist today, and he performed a lot of deep massages to my hips, thighs and lower back as well as showing me a couple of leg stretches to do at home. I'm sort of achy and stiff in those areas right now but hopefully they will help in the long haul.

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On 2/10/2017 at 1:57 AM, 1Day1Life4Now said:

I started sciatica about 2 weeks before my surgery. The pain got increasingly worse after surgery and I'm still in pain. Its been almost 3 1/2 months. I gone to the chiropractor, I've had accupuncture, massage, steroids and shots in my back. It is horrible and nothing seems to help. The Orthopedic says I have a bulging disk that is pressing on the nerve and that I will have to have surgery to repair it to make the pain go away. The nerve pain in my buttocks and left leg are excruciating and though I don't want to have surgery... I may just do it . I need some relief. I hope you can get yours to a manageable level or maybe have surgery. I wish all of you ladies that are having pain to get help and get better.

Sounds like me except I've been fighting it for about 3 1/2 years. I've done chiro, 4 rounds of cortisone shots, physical therapy....nothing worked. My sciatica only kicked in when I had gotten back up over 300 lbs. I'm 3 weeks post-op as of today and I haven't had any pain since surgery. Before I could only walk for barely 5 minutes without my leg starting to go numb and wanting to jump in front of a bus. I notice I still get some numbness depending on how I'm sitting, but I haven't had the pain.

My sciatica was what finally pushed me over the edge to do WLS. I couldn't work out and dieting was doing nothing. The doc said I would have to lose a good amount of weight in order to do back surgery so I figured I would try the WLS before getting vertebrae fused. I suffer from psoriatic arthritis so I'm afraid it will eventually come back. For now I'm just happy to have gotten some relief.

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I wish i could say I've had a huge improvement but i dont think so. At least not the great relief all my doctors were making it seem like it would be if i lost 20lbs. I've lost over 80lbs from my highest ever (58lbs post surgery) so far and i still have pain and stiffness in my hips and lower back. My mid back still hurts like hell and walking is not fun. But its better than before. Walking is feeling like less of a chore, but i still have to sit fairly often. My lower back and hips and upper thighs WILL almost lock up if i stand or walk for periods of time. It's very inconsistent. It could take 5 minutes, an hour, i still don't know when it'll happen. It makes going to the grocery store really anxiety inducing. Whenever i go to my boyfriend's house and we go to the grocery store i have to lie down when i get back to relax everything and the pain is sooooooo bad and jarring. I always scream and cry until it settles. It doesn't take long but it hurts and wears me out.

Sorry this was so long. Just giving you a very small idea of what i still go through even after losing a good chunk of weight. Im 5'2 190lbs 30yr old female. I gave up hope years ago of ever being out of pain. I guess I've made peace with it.



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I had knees that wouldn't let me sleep, sciatica so I had trouble walking to the bathroom, nerve pain down my right leg, hip pain in both hips, the list goes on and on. I'm 63 and fought these for probably 14 years before surgery now 16 months out and 105 lbs lighter and although I still have some pain it is SO much less and manageable. The biggest pain I get now is when I sit on my skinny butt too long cause I have no padding!!!

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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