Feel My Pain - Sciatica

[jet_noise]

Dear All,

Ouch, feels like someone's continuously dead legging me. Can't walk (tried the paper shop yesterday, got there and had to ring Mrs Noise to come and get me!), can't stand or sit on most chairs, pain gets worse.

Only places I can get comfortable are in bed on my side or (oddly) in the front seats of the Jazz and this despite pain killers.

Earliest doctors appointment?
Tomorrow 17:20.
He's not going to give me an instant cure either,

Ouch,
Jet

[turbolucie]

Do you suffer from this a lot? I've only experienced it once properly after I put my back out after lifting a dog. Are you dosed up on ibuprofen?

[gifdy]

Try icing it. 15min at a time with an hour break. Always works for me.

[soda]

I get this now and then after hurting my back a few years ago. Usually just a dull ache thankfully.

Doctor won't be an instant cure either I'm afraid, more than likely diclofenac (anti-inflammatory) and some decent painkillers. Ice on it will help, if your lying on your back put a pillow under the knees or between your knees if lying on your side.

[jet_noise]

Dear All,

thanks for the pointers.

No I don't suffer from this a lot (thank goodness).
I had a very mild bout 25 years ago - IIRC it got better of its own accord. This occurrence is hugely worse.

I'm taking Ibuprofen.

Where do you ice? The pain is mostly back of my thigh but I don't (yet) know where the nerve is actually being trapped - isn't this where the ice needs to go?

regards,
Jet

[Muncle Trogg]

I have suffered from this a lot since slipping over a few years ago and landing on my back. It is usually caused by a disc pressing on the sciatic nerve but can also be caused by the deep muscles in your backside (piriformis) pressing on the nerve.

Have you hurt your back recently or do you keep your wallet in your back pocket when sitting? This may give an idea where to add ice or if it may be better to add heat (muscular pains can also respond well to heat/ice cycles).

[Du1point8]

until the appointment go get paramol (strongest over the counter painkiller you can get without perscription)... if not forthcoming with help or cocodamol (sp) then what about a tens machine from boots to subside the apin, I hear they work quite well.

If its a problem with core muscles what about a balancing device?

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/core-strength...

http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/features/relieve-ba...

[KrazyIvan]

I though Sciatica, was a term to refer to a set of symptoms that can be caused by having a trapped or damaged nerve ending in your lower back, rather than an actually "issue". And that your doctor will normally send you to a specialist to find out what the actual issue is so that can be treated.

I tend to suffer with a dull ache in my lower back down the back of my left leg, normally it’s not too bad but have also been in the situation where I can barely walk, oddly enough, not because its painful, but because I can’t feel my leg (dead leg) and it keeps "giving out" on me leaving me walking like some kinda gimp legged freak .

[turbolucie]

As I'm sure you know, the doc will just rule out anything more serious and then possibly prescribe you diclofenac or something else and tell you to keep moving about and keep on at work etc as much as possible.

Also, make sure you take the ibuprofen as often as is allowed, best to remove a small bit of pain as you'll get better quicker.

[jet_noise]

Dear All,

yes I do have my wallet in a back pocket but then I always have.
I can't think of any specific recent event that might be a trigger.

I have had mild back pain off and on for many years - always caused by lifting something with my body twisted left/right at the waist. Sometimes not very much can trigger this. Usually I lift properly but every now and then forget.
It always lasts a few day and gets better on its own provided I avoid lifting. It has never mutated into sciatica.
The last occasion was maybe 6 weeks ago.

Today's sciatica started maybe 3 weeks ago fairly mildly and has steadily got worse with a step on Saturday to the can't walk/sit stage and when I began painkillers and booked a doctors appointment,

regards,
Jet

[db]

ask the doc to refer you to a physio, they'll give you stretching excercises that will help.
if you find it more comfortable to lie on you side, try putting a pillow between your knees.
swimming may help, but DO NOT use breast stoke

[Muncle Trogg]

jet_noise said:

Dear All,

yes I do have my wallet in a back pocket but then I always have.
I can't think of any specific recent event that might be a trigger.

I have had mild back pain off and on for many years - always caused by lifting something with my body twisted left/right at the waist. Sometimes not very much can trigger this. Usually I lift properly but every now and then forget.
It always lasts a few day and gets better on its own provided I avoid lifting. It has never mutated into sciatica.
The last occasion was maybe 6 weeks ago.

Today's sciatica started maybe 3 weeks ago fairly mildly and has steadily got worse with a step on Saturday to the can't walk/sit stage and when I began painkillers and booked a doctors appointment,

regards,
Jet

I would recommend taking the wallet out of the back pocket for the time being (it really helped with mine) and then, as others have said, ask for a physio referral.

[tuffer]

Agree with the wallet out of back pocket comment, help me no end......But then I ruptured 4 disks playing golf so back to square one.

[jet_noise]

Dear db,

db said:

... DO NOT use breast stoke

Hee hee, he said breast,

regards,
a childish and spaced Jet

- little sleep last night, toss, turn, move, pain subsides, ahh, relax and arrgh blam back it comes. Not good.
At least I can still drive although even that is getting uncomfortable. Not looking forward to the next few days.

[saleen836]

Have you tried hanging off of something to stretch your spine?
If you have a slightly trapped nerve this should release it, but remember it will still feel as though it is trapped for a while due to being compressed for a while.

[dfen5]

I had sciatica, got so bad I got out of the car at a service station and sat in a Costa having a coffee. Couldn't get up, had to slide off the chair and get back to the car switching between on my hands and knees or hunched over holding onto the wife's waist..

Doctor put me on some drug or other that helped but walking, even tho' it hurt, and losing a few pounds helped. Then I started taking a few high strength glucosamine sulphate tablets. Sorted. It's never come back and a neck ache I used to get after a long stint at the wheel also faded completely.

[zax]

You have my sympathy, I know the feeling well. Just had a week or so of similar pain myself. I can honestly say I haven't found anything that helps yet. Physio, stretching, acupuncture, whatever. Nothing in my back pocket, pretty string core muscles, hell I even sit working on a gym ball instead of a chair! I do find that a long walk helps a lot funnily enough, it seems that inactivity due to the pain/dead leg does not help shift it.

If you find the cure, please post!

[jet_noise]

Dear All,

thanks for the further pain sharing

Doc. prescribed co-codamol which helps but makes me feel so weird I have only taken it thrice so far.
I managed to clean a car yesterday having taken one. Got to the leathering down stage before the pain came back.
I have taken my wallet and keys out of back pockets. I'm doing some internet-found exercises when I can.
Sleeping is usually possible on my side.
It's bloody boring though not being able to walk anywhere or sit for long enough to watch some decent telly - I'll have a go at the GP later though and have managed to avoid the result so far ,

regards,
Jet

[ctdctd]

I had this for three months last year.
Came on suddenly, took ages to go.
Started when I had a "Oh, I've put my back out" moment which didn't affect my back but left me with Sciatica down my right hand side.

Pain killers didn't help a lot - enough to dull the pain left me too addled to work.

Ended up going to a private Osteopath - about 8 sessions over two months along with exercises for homework. Gradual improvement with each treatment so I pronounced myself cured. Ongoing twinges lasted for the rest of the year but are now largely gone.

So, if the Doc can't do a lot, try an Osteopath!

HTH

[gifdy]

zax said:

You have my sympathy, I know the feeling well. Just had a week or so of similar pain myself. I can honestly say I haven't found anything that helps yet. Physio, stretching, acupuncture, whatever. Nothing in my back pocket, pretty string core muscles, hell I even sit working on a gym ball instead of a chair! I do find that a long walk helps a lot funnily enough, it seems that inactivity due to the pain/dead leg does not help shift it.

If you find the cure, please post!

It sounds like you're in a similar position to me so thought I'd share my findings. I don't get sciatica but suffer a lot from lower back pain. I've also had everything from traction to acupuncture and nothing really helped. What I did find was that after skiing I had a couple of months where my back was really good. I then found this book :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Back-RX-15-Minute-Day-Pila...

It's written by a doctor/physio from the US PGA tour. He noticed that golfers with a lot of flexibility in the hips didn't suffer from back pain - those with less flexibility were always knocking on his door. So he figured that if you can increase the flexibility you should suffer less and designed a set of exercises to help. They are simple to do and he has three different regimes from recovery through to building core strength. This seemed to tie in with what I found with my skiing and it really works well for me.

More recently I had an assessment at a Chiropracter and while his treatment didn't work for me he believed my issue was with the quadratus lumborum muscle group which again ties in with skiing and the Back Rx exercises. I've just started working on specific exercises which stretch (rather than build) these muscles.

If you have similar symptoms maybe worth a try ?