_{^{Can you request an MRI scan from your doctor?}}

Can you request an MRI scan from your doctor is a question I see a lot of from people with sciatica. Unfortunately, there tends to be a belief that by having the scan the sufferer will have a better grasp on their pain issues leading to some element of relief. Most times though the scan will just confirm the opinion of your GP. Knowing whether you have sciatica from a herniated, bulging, prolapsed, slipped or a diseased disc is not going to make your sciatica any less painful! It would also, and probably more crucially, be very rare for an MRI scan to actually change the treatment your GP had advised for your condition anyway.

_{^{My GP won’t refer me.}}

Sometimes your GP won’t refer you for an MRI as you just haven’t had sciatica long enough. Acute sciatica will normally clear up after 6 weeks. I would suggest it’s no good even asking for a MRI scan unless you’ve had sciatic pain for at least 3 months or until you’ve tried most of the more conventional early sciatica treatments.

_{^{Can I insist on an MRI scan from my GP?}}

Yes of course it is possible to insist you get an MRI scan. The first time I requested an MRI scan I was turned down. When I got home I was explaining to my wife afterwards that the doctor wasn’t going to send me and we started discussing the meeting.

“Did you tell him you’re in agony”? my wife asked.

“Yeah, I told him I’d been suffering for a while and that things weren’t improving”.

“Did you say you’re on the verge of tears some days”?

“Yeah, I told him it was getting me down”.

“Right hang on” my wife asked “did you actually tell him you’re in agony, that you’re getting depressed, that you struggle to work”?

“Well, you know love I didn’t go that far but I got my point across”.

“Well obviously not”!

The mistake I’d made was I’d put on too much of a brave face! When I should have been begging I was politely requesting!

A few years later and having suffered another 2 years of pain I was experiencing a pretty agonising flare up so I went to see the GP again. This time I was prepared! I laid it on thick with him. I explained I’m in AGONY, I told him my job requires me to carry a heavy bag over my shoulder and that sciatica was stopping me from working, I reiterated the SEVERE pain I was in every day. That I was DEPRESSED about my life and my future! That I have young children I can’t interact and play with!

So unlike the first time where I put on a brave face this time I hammered home, built up and emphasised my issues. I tell you it would’ve been a heartless GP who turned me down this time! And so success. Well I say success! Yes I got an MRI scan but it just confirmed what the GP had previously told me! Sciatica caused by an issue to my lumbar spine. Although we were able to narrow it down to degenerative disc disease – basically wear and tear to my lower back. I can’t remember now but it was probably at the L5 S1 joint.

_{^{Why is it so hard to get an MRI scan?}}

I read many theories that the reason GP’s won’t refer you for a scan is due to cost and resources. I don’t believe this. A GP is not going to withhold, a relatively (in medical terms), cost effective way to diagnose someone’s agonising pain for the sake of saving a few hundred pounds.

_{^{Doing some research, the most common reasons most GPs won’t refer you is:}}

• At the time of writing this article (early 2021) we are in lockdown so it’s just not practical or sensible to send people to hospitals.
• Your GP knows that the MRI scan will probably just confirm their own diagnosis.
• It’s very rare that having the scan will change the treatment you’re on anyway.
• Sometimes things that look like issues on the scan can actually be asymptomatic.
• Equally non-specific lower back pain is hard to pin point. Your scan may not show any issues at all. Although at least this would give other areas to investigate, piriformis syndrome for instance.   
• It may be that you just haven’t had the issue long enough to warrant a scan. As mentioned above acute sciatica can resolve itself in 6 weeks or so, any request around this timeframe will probably not be considered. Having chronic sciatica is going to be a much more favourable condition to require a scan. I’d had chronic sciatic pain for, I would guess at least 3 or 4 years, before I got my scan.

_{^{It’s not all doom and gloom!}}

I realise that having sciatica can be painful and frustrating. I just want you to know I suffered for 7 years until I got on top of managing and coping with my pain. A lot of these coping mechanisms and treatments can be found on the remedies and treatments page. The biggest difference to my pain reduction was the use of CBD and you can read all about that here CBD to treat sciatica.

“Can you request an mri scan from your doctor” is a pretty reasonable question to ask and I don’t want to put you off requesting one but just wanted to give you an idea behind the process. I’d like to get across that having an MRI itself is not going to reduce your pain! You’ll still have your pain and will in all probability be on the same treatment plan you were before the scan.

Having said that if you’re still adamant you’d like a scan or your pain is getting worse then please make sure you visit your GP and remember to lay it on thick! I’ve read some people advise if you don’t get any joy with your GP to change your doctor or GP practice. Alternatively, you can go privately. In the UK private MRI scans range in price from £200 to £400 depending on location and also how quickly/flexible you are with appointments.

Please be aware I’m not a doctor and this site shouldn’t be relied upon as a replacement for professional medical opinion. I suffered with sciatica for 7 years before I found relief. This website is my attempt to let sciatica sufferers know there is hope.    

“When told by my GP that nothing could be done for my sciatica I doubted anything would ever help. I now lead a pain free life”!