Maggy,

I don't know if the 2 are related, but the fact that you are feeling numbness in your left leg when standing or walking and in your lower back, as well as wehn sleeping and a popping noice as well, all indicate a possible nerve compression from stenosis or a a disc in your lumbar spine.

It may be coincidence and they may be related to the epidural. It could be that you have had a spinal issue with out any symptoms and the changes in the a woman's body during pregnancy, labor and delivery, may have been enough to now give you the symptoms that you are having.

You really need to get this checked out and the best way to do so is to see a spine specialist. Either an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in spines only or a neurosurgeon that specializes in spines only.

That is the only way to get the proper diagnosis and the proceed with a treatment plan.

Good luck

Fran

I've gone to my GP and requested an MRI appt. Don't know next steps after that but that's a start.

Tx for your help!

M

may also be a sympton of sciatica, i put my bk out when i was 17, im now 25 and im still suffering with numbness in my legs, can be either side sometimes both, sore skin like a graze all the way down bk of legs, tingling, severe pain, poin in buttocks and bk ache, pain also in bottom of foot along with tingling ect and its all because i have a bulging disk at the bottom of my spine!

dianna,

you should really have something done with that bulging disc that you have.

All your symptoms are being caused by nerve compression and you have had it for quite a long time.

Continued nerve compression can result in permanent nerve damage that can lead to even further problems than you have, including loss of bowel and bladder function that will be permanent.

Fran

M56789,

Good luck with the MRI. but please have your MRI evaluated by a spine specialist, regardless of what the results show.

Your GP is not qualified to make any kind of diagnosis or prescribe any treatment for you.

Fran

hi fran, thanks for your post!
i did see a specialist about my bk, this is where i discovered it was a bulging disk, and she has referred me to a physiotherapist, yet to get my appointment but im hoping its going to work! the specialist says i need to strengthen the muscles around the bottom of my bk to stop the disk bulging or as you say it could lead to more serious probs!! i just hope this does the job cud previous to this id seen my doc soooo many times to be told theres absolutely nothing wrong with me even after explaining my symptoms, i had to self diagnose and luckily i wasnt wrong!! haha xxx

Most bulging discs will respond to PT over a period of 8-10 weeks. The key to the PT working is really up to the patient.

That is, the Physical therapist can work on various aspects for you with heat, ultrasound, message and electrical stimulation.
Help you to stretch the muscles and show you good solid exercises to help strengthen the core muscles and be sure you are doing them correctly.

BUT, the real key to all of this is YOU. You must follow through with doing the exercises at home and do them faithfully every day and as many times a day as the physical therapist tells you to do.

Believe me when I tell you that he physical therapist will be able to tell if you are or are not following through at home with the exercises.
If you are not doing them, you will continue to stay tight and show no signs of improvement.

Even if the PT doesn't solve the problem with the disc, you will be able to strengthen the core muscles that are so important to have. If you do end up needing surgery on that disc, the work with the PT will make recovery from surgery easier for you.

Surprisingly enough, physical therapists have told me, so many times over the years, that more than 50% of their patients do not follow through with exercises at home and never fully recover from any kind of injury because of it.

That is something I will never understand.

Good luck and let us know how it goes with the PT.

Fran

FYI - I gave birth to my son almost 14 years ago, and I have had a numb spot on my left upper leg that doesn't go away, ever. It's clearly in the skin, mostly...it's about 10 inches long by about six inches wide. It came on during pregnancy, and never left.

Now I am having problems with my lower back and hip joints, but I didn't have these problems for years after giving birth. Now I can barely walk 10- yeards without the pain overwhelming me and frcing me to sit on something - ANYTHING! - to geta break.

I am feeling the same thing with my left leg. Usually it starts with a burning sensation as if there are lots of ants crawling inside the skin of my leg stretching to my inner thigh. At some point, walking or standing for 5 minutes would trigger the pain. Actually, the feeling is likened to being injected with an anesthesia that the skin on my left leg becomes hard and as if it is a rubber that I wanted to cut open. The numbness is visible yet when I run my nails onto the leg, I feel a pain that is different than doing it on my right leg. At some point I get to have backaches on my lower back portion but what is dominant is the numbness and the burning sensation in my left upper leg. Any advise from doctors here?

I also have a simular problem. I gave birth to my son (10lbs) three months ago and have numbness in my right leg since. In addition to the numbness, my leg feels heavy and sore. I asked my GP and OBGYN about this and they told me not to worry about it and it was simply one of the things that happens to a woman after childbirth. I asked them if it was a pinched nerve and they said possibly. I'm quite concerned about my leg and really don't want it to get worse or result in other problems down the line. Any suggestions???

This is not "one of those things that happens to woman after childbirth." It indicates the potential for nerve compression in your lumbar spine that isn't part of pregnancy, labor or delivery.

Since this has gone on for several months, after giving birth, you should not ignore this any longer, but rather find out what is wrong.

You need to see a spine specialist, either an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in spines or a neurosurgeon that specializes in spines only for an evaluation and treatment plan.

Good luck

Fran

I have similar numbness and sciatic pain and could not understand why it continued even after a microdiscectomy. I did have a massive herniated disc which caused GREAT pain. (I couldn't bend over or put my socks or shoes on etc.etc)
The pain now is not as bad but does increse thu the day till I am unable to walk without tramadol pain killers.BUT bending is not a problem. Eventually I self diagnosed piriformis muscle syndrome, my new physio confirms this. All I am saying is google this syndrome! The key to determine if sciatica is due to disc herniation or the piriformis is can you bend easily and even touch your toes? if yes = piriformis. Always physio is the 1st best option. I feel so annoyed that (at least in the UK) this problem is not well known by Neurosurgeoans at all.