Sciatica as a result of piriformis injection

[HerMajesty]

Hi All,
If anyone has advice and if not, then just as a cautionary tale...I got a steroid piriformis injection August 26, at the advice of Dr. Filler (but not BY Dr. Filler, that would have been like financing a car!). Pioint of the recommendation was, My piriformis muscles were locked up and as they are bipartite (split), he suspected based on MRN results that the pudendal nerves might be entrapped in the piriformis muscles.
Well, the right healed fine; and overall the procedure gave me temporary moderate a flare and no improvement; but on the left it has created sciatica which got better for awhile but now is flaring up worse again. I DID NOT have sciatica before the procedure, and it is a big deal to me because I have to sit a lot on the job and in the car, which was possible prior due to other treatements that had improved my PNE. I am sitting at the computer right now, with pain running down my leg. I have been assured that this is from temporary swelling of the muscle, but it has been a month now. I think it might be a permanent new chronic remitting / exacerbating struggle for me.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Treatment suggestions?
If not, just a warning FYI!

[Tiny Dancer]

Hi,

Don't panic just yet, it took me four months to get over my flare. Worry and stress make it worse. I have sciatica too and I know it can be very hard to sit. Don't think that it's permanent for a few months. There could be swelling or steriod sometimes forms crystalls that can puch on the nerve. Hang in there.

Kate

[pianogal]

I got sciatica symptoms and plantar fascitis from my surgery with Dr. Filler in 2005. After about 3 years, it went away unless I do a lot of standing.

[HerMajesty]

Tiny Dancer,
Thanks I appreciate this so much it is reassuring.
pianogal, what kind of surgery did you get? I just got a steroid injection - did you have something more involved?

[pianogal]

dr. filler was trying to reach my pudendal nerve bilaterally without cutting through ligaments, transgluteally, and he focused on the obturator internis region.

[MsRivers]

Filler told me the same thing about my piriformis (that it was split) and that the nerve was probably stuck in it.

[HerMajesty]

Ms Rivers,

In my opinion Dr. Filler is a little obsessed with the piriformis. If you have pudendal or sciatic symptoms, and have a bipartite piriformis as 20% of the population does, that is the culprit as far is he is concerned.

My MRN also showed bilateral S2 tarlov cysts which he entirely discounted; although when I researched the issue, my symptoms correlate classically with symptomatic S2 tarlov cysts. Also the MRN showed inflammation of the pudendal nerves above the level of the piriformis, which he also seems to have discounted in his assessment of cause.

I can't unfortunately tell you yet if relaxing the piriformis did in fact help my symptoms, as the steroid didn't help and I now need to try botox. The staff of the anesthesiologist who does my injections is totally incompetent, resulting in an UNREAL amount of time to get the botox approved. I started this thread end of September which means that they have been "working on" getting approval to do botox since sometime in October 2010

I am 6 hours from Dr. Hibner, it would probably be quicker to get on Hibner's list to be botoxed, maybe I will just do that!

But to me, I am just getting the piriformis relaxed to rule it out; I really think Dr. Filler implicates the piriformis too eagerly and is often incorrect.