Sudden sever pain, posibly Sciatica

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A couple months ago I started having episodes of sever pain around my upper legs, butt, & lower back area. Sometimes it's just on my right side but usually it's on both sides. Physical activity seems to aggravate it like walking, carrying & lifting. However I sometimes have the pain when changing positions like sitting down, laying down, & standing back up. The pain intensity can fluctuate quite a lot. Sometimes I feel like I'm just stiff but other times it can be very sharp. Sometimes when it's very bad I feel like my legs are ready to give out & I just cant hold myself up. The pain can sometimes stop very quickly as well after I sit down or lay down. The pain from changing positions can go away within a minute after I'm done the position change but other times I can feel it for a while after but the pain isn't as sever. My mom has various pain issues including Sciatica due to working very hard her whole life & having various injuries. She would guess my pain is Sciatica & I would guess that too based on the little research I've done but we could very well be wrong.

I know I need to discuss this with a doc. I have an in person appointment with my doc scheduled towards the end of this month that was made quite a while ago as kinda just a checkin with things. I got a letter in the mail a week or so ago from the health center that my doc will quit doing primary care. She's been doing other stuff there & her workload has been increasing. This means that her patients will have to see different docs. The letter said that if we have an appointment already scheduled with her before September she can discuss getting setup with a new doc. Getting this pain addressed will be more difficult to do when I'm in the process of switching docs.

I am very out of shape & overweight & I know that I really need to start exercising & change some other lifestyle habits but it is very difficult for me to motivate myself to be physically active, especially when I might have sever pain from it. I used to walk a bit but I've gradually gotten out of the habit the last few years due to stress & other life factors. I want to start walking again but I'm afraid to rite now cuz of the pain & fear that I might end up falling.

I think I would need to take something regularly for a few months as a preventive thing in order for me to become more physically active & get in better shape. I have some prescription Aleve/Naproxen on hand for migraines that I've been taking when this pain is bad. I also have some of the mussel relaxer Norflex/Orphenadrine that I've been very occasionally taking as well when the pain is really bad. I'm not really sure if those meds have helped though since the pain fluctuates & I only take the meds when the pain gets bad & I have to rest then as well. I'm kind of wary about taking those meds regularly for an extended period of time due to potential side-effects & risks & not being entirely sure if they are helping the pain. I also am not sure if I could get anymore Norflex. I've been on Neurontin/Gabapentin for OCD for the last 9 years & I would be willing to try increasing my dose if a doc suggests it because I have not really noticed side-effects but I kinda doubt that increasing it would help the pain any.

I'm wondering if anybody here has an idea of what might be going on? or things I can do & try to work on improving my physical health without being very physically active or doing strenuous physical activity for a while? or meds to consider trying while I am getting in better physical shape. I am open to physical therapy type exercises if they are simple to do at home & not strenuous. I would look up vids on em before trying em though cuz just reading a description on how to do it might be confusing for me.

Your weight and joint/bone health depends on you diet to a huge extent. Weight management is like 80-90% diet, not exercise.

Google "Osteoarthritis is Not Your Destiny" by Mark Sisson and follow his recommendations.

Before you can start full on exercise you should lose weight first to avoid further injury, ketogenic or paleo diet combined with his recommendations would work perfectly.

Meanwhile you could make an area filled with round rocks in your backyard or buy some textured mat, like "river rock mat", but not too flat and pace on it barefoot everyday for like 30 minutes to stimulate nerves responsible for bone and connective tissue regeneration.

Foam roll your front thighs

Sciatica is usually caused by a problem in the spine. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20377435

If you are able to see a physical therapist without first getting an order from your physician, I'd start there. They can show you some neat tricks to strengthen your back and maybe relieve some of the pain. So if you can't get a replacement PCP appointment for a while yet, see about meeting with a spine physical therapist.

Good luck. This condition might be more fixable than you think.

I understand your fear of falling. Very well.

Still, I would start walking again, if I were you. Just start by walking around the block. Or walk a quarter mile or something.

I'd suggest starting with online physiotherapy. They will show different movements to pinpoint which area is hurting, and then offer physio exercises you can try from home. I"m thinking of Bob and Brad (google). They're kind of annoying in personality but their treatment is often helpful for me. I don't know if you do yoga but there are also online yoga tutorials starting at a very basic level. I have chronic issues with my Glute Medius, and yoga saved the day.

If it gets worse when you lift weights, pelvic organ prolapse is possible. I had this after giving birth, although my tonus was normal.

Never written in this thread before (think it's a great idea) but i guess i'm seeing if anyone has any tips...
I have bipolar 2 disorder and very long story short, i'm still in the process of waiting for meds to fully work.
I've always had issues with fatigue. But it seems to have gotten worse recently. Don't know if it's just bipolar flare ups, medication side effects, fatigue from dealing with this for so long... Anyway I'm normally really good at pushing through. But at the moment it's hard.
And I'm so harsh on myself. Even though my bipolar disorder is pretty severe, I'm very high functioning. So I expect myself to continue to be high functioning. But then when my fatigue kicks in, it's hard. It's like the bad fatigue triggers my depression symptoms which trigger the fatigue. Or other way around. It's exhausting and I feel sapped of all my energy.
Like last week at TAFE I told one of my lecturers I'm struggling with some work at the moment because of my bipolar disorder. He was very nice, which I knew he would be. But I feel so bad that I can't live up to my high expectations.
And because my fatigue is invisible (like all the other bipolar symptoms), I sometimes doubt if it's valid/real. Am I making it up? My familly can't see it. And it's hard to get people to understand how bad it is. And then I feel bad when I can't do as much as I normally do.

So yeah I guess I'm just seeing if anyone has any fatigue management tips/dealing with feeling bad about not doing as much as you think you should.

what you have sounds like what i have - Sciatica, which occurs when the sciatic nerve becomes pinched, usually by a herniated disk in your spine or by an overgrowth of bone (bone spur) on your vertebrae. More rarely, the nerve can be compressed by a tumor or damaged by a disease such as diabetes. there may be SI joint issues as they often come along as a bonus in that part of the body. YMMV but what i can tell you what offers some pain relief- in order of importance- [see your doc first!!]
*use a spinal traction device, which can be something as simple as an old spare tire in the backyard hung by a rope from a stout tree branch, you hang your upper body in the tire and let gravity weigh-down your lower body, thus taking load off your lumbar/decompressing them and releasing pressure on those nerve roots, sustain for 15 minutes/30 minutes. if you can handle it [no hypertension], a reverse incline board will do the same thing.
*lose major weight, i can't stress the importance of this enough.
*do back stretching and strengthening/core strengthening exercises such as The Bridge [lie on back and lift your butt up by arching], pushups, lupine jackknife where you kneel then put both your butt and your head on the floor, and abdominal crunches.
consistently take your NSAIDs such as Aleve or Advil or Naproxen or Diclofen or what have you. always take them with food.