New here and trying to learn about sciatic nerve down my leg

@jds54 I think you are on the right track. I did have funicular pain and that was when many doctors didn't understand that this type of pain existed, so I have made it my mission to communicate this because surgeons miss it. 5 surgeons missed my correct diagnosis even though they all read the imaging. It was because I read literature from a surgeon at Mayo, and then looked up the term, "funicular pain" and that lead to medical literature with cases like mine. I had been rejected 5 times, so I sent that literature to Mayo with my request to be seen by that surgeon who was Jeremy Fogelson.

Yes, the spine surgery cured all my pain which proved that it was the funicular tract pain. There is no diagnostic test for this, but if you had a steroid spinal injection that resolved pain temporarily, it does predict the possibility of funicular pain. I had pain all over my body caused by spinal cord compression from a collapsed C5/C6 with bone spurs in the central canal. I did not have stenosis in the foramen or spinal cord compression anywhere else. I walked with a limp, had trouble emptying my bladder, and was losing the coordination in my arms. I do believe the surgery will help you but not knowing if there is any permanent damage to the spinal cord, I don't know if you will still have pain after your surgery. There will be pain of course from the surgical path. When I woke up from surgery, all my preexisting pain was gone. I only had pain from the incision. Now you see how spine surgeons miss this. They were afraid to touch me; afraid of a poor result from their surgery that could lower their personal statistics of success because they could not link my symptoms to the imaging. My walking also returned to normal and I regained strength in my legs. Like you, I did also have pain in both feet and when driving and having to push the pedals, it would get worse.

Here is the medical literature that changed the course of my journey to spine surgery.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3111492/

Did you g to Mayo? I am scheduled to drive down on the 21st of this month at 10pm for new MRI and meet with a neurosurgeon the next morning at 8:15 am They looked at the MRI from 4 months ago but did not like the quality. I am thinking about calling them to see if thye can also do the cervical area

I had fusion L2-S1. Emergency. No back pain. Nerve pain especially at night. Then it went beyond excruciating nerve pain to no pain but weakness. Difficulty walking. I had no clue something was wrong with my back of all things. I arrived at the ER on a Friday in lousy shape. The neurosurgeon performed surgery first thing Monday. No dainty sissy shopping for the perfect doctor. Elective surgery. Nope. The neurosurgeon and his staff were fantastic. So 10 pedicle screws. This winter my right foot began feeling cold. Pain from my buttock to my foot
I went back to the same neurosurgeon. Two pedicle screws showed lucency and there was bone spur squishing the nerve. But this time I was much stronger. Elective but not quite. Those nerves were compressed. And it went well. He rechecked the torque on every screw. And inserted a new spacer plus two long long pedicle screws into my sacrum. He pushed me to get my bone density checked. I see an endocrinologist who is a female Indian version of Columbo. I wouldn't call it failed back surgery. The neurosurgeon studied the structure of my back. Considered my age 67, female.and while active I'm thin. Sometimes you just get lucky. Funny because I found some hospital papers from ten years ago. I sustained a subdural hematoma. He was listed as the responsible neurosurgeon had I required brain surgery. I didn't. But it's easy to forget that neurosurgeons do some very important work.
But I never had back pain
The second time I understood more about our nerves.

Does new drug called journavx help with sciatica?

Does not work. If you put it into AI and ask if it helps with sciatica. AI will tell it does not work on sciatica. In test they got the same results as a placebo

Check with your Dr to see if an inversion table would be appropriate for your condition. The pain in your leg comes from the sciatic nerve making contact with disc between the lumbar vertebrae. The disc makes contact with the nerve and the brain interprets it as pain. Using the inversion table creates traction that separates the vertebrae enough for the disc to pull back from contacting the nerve. This works for many sciatic pain sufferers. But you need to check with your doctor first.
If he says you can try it go on fb marketplace. People are selling them cheap once they’re finished with them.
I’ve used it for years to deal with occasional recurring pain.

Thanks I will ask but this pian is killing me. I find it hard to even walk. and Now with drugs it will calm down enough for me to sleep.

Hey if you end up getting one message me before you use it. I can show you how it works because it can be confusing on the very first time.

Thanks

I would be cautious of any traction devices.
My issues started in 2012 before my first back surgery. A Orthopedic doctor sent me for traction and my symptoms became worse after one of the sessions. I felt a pain while being stretched and think the nerve at my L3 in the foramen may have become pinched when traction was stopped at end of session. I went to a neurosurgeon after that for a new opinion of my issues. Get the MRI and get opinions before you do anything to make things worse or create another issue.
Traction may work for some but it depends on their lumbar pathology.