Sure sounds like sciatica to me. This can be caused by a number of things, including discs which are pushing on the nerve, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis (vertebra slips forward over the other), trauma (wreck, falls), piriformis syndrome (hard to diagnose and not seen on MRI), tumors, plus a number of other things.

The symptoms you describe are EXACTLY the symptoms I've had for 26 years and I DO have sciatica. Mine has been caused by discs and bad surgery. I had 2 OPEN surgeries to repair herniated discs, and each one failed. Plus after these surgeries, the discs above and below the surgery site failed - this is called the "domino effect" and doctors don't tell you about that usually.

But I take medications to STOP the symptoms, and it has been VERY effective -- I no longer have the burning, stabbing, water running, etc. I take Toopamax 400mg per day, and Lyrica 150mg per day. This has totally removed all the symptoms for me. And it took 26 years to find a combination of meds that worked!!!

I hope and pray that you find some relief for this!!! And I pray you do NOT need surgery as surgery just begets surgery. Do EVERY CONSERVATIVE METHOD that there is before you resort to surgery or you'll be sorry, just like I am and like many many others are. Recent studies have shown that people who have had surgery have NO BETTER RESULTS than those who have had physical therapy!!!! I've done loads of research on this, so I'm not just blowiing smoke. LOL

Best of luck and when you get your MRI results, post them here, and we can help you decipher them. God bless. Hugs, Lee