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I have to admit, I posted here as a rant and I was more interested in seeing what everyone else had done for their sciatica. But to clear up a few things, first, I am a she *waves* and I should let people know that while I don't have any back pain at this point, I have a horrific backbone.
I have scoliosis in that it turns in a C shape and in the recent Xray you can see that the lower 5 discs have been compressed to the point of almost being fused in themselves. I also have some arthritis in my back. My back has also been bothering me for years, but strangely, I've had no pain while I've had the sciatica. But trust me, this is not a substitution I want forever. lol
I'm waaaay beyond the muscle relaxers. I'm taking gabapentin twice a day, but mainly I'm using the oxycodone twice a day as well. As I said, one pill will mitigate the pain to the point where I may be able to actually do something. For instance, it allows me to stand and walk without assistance for maybe a whole minute before I'm forced to sit down and ease the pain.
I've heard good things about acupuncture. My pain may actually get me over my fear of needles.
I stopped with the chiropractor mainly because the sciatica had been getting worse while seeing him. Now I'm concerned with the pain going down the left side of my ankle because I have a plate and eight screws there and I can feel them hurting. The spine clinic I hope to go to are the same people who did the surgery on my broken ankle, so I'll ask them about this on Monday. Their computer system is still not up, though.
I know surgery is a crapshoot. I've heard both good and bad things about it, so I guess we'll try everything else and then look at surgery.
The idea of a sports chiropractor is a good one. I always try to get people to go to sports doctors, so I don't know why I didn't think of that to begin with. My friend had a degenerating disc in her back and went to a regular doctor who had her on bedrest and bedrest and more bedrest, which did nothing for her. A sports doctor had her exercising and swimming in a pool. My friend was a competitive horseback rider and was back in the saddle winning races after seeing the sports doctor.
But it's heartening to read everyone's replies. Not that I'm happy you all are or were in pain. It's just nice to know I'm not the only one suffering. Thank you all for your advice.
Brought over a few links for you. Look at the various images, find the ones that pertain to the pain you're having. The dermatomes one I posted is great to start with, you can drill down even more with muscles and nerves along with anatomy of the spine.
This will allow you to get a better idea of what is causing you pain so that you can decide what to do or not do in addition to figuring out if your sciatica is caused by your spine or if it's caused by your butt area. If you have tender points in your butt, deep inside, good chance it's from that and not your spine issues even though you have a lot of spine issues.
The obturator and pyriformis are muscles in the hip- pelvis whose purpose is not so much to move anything but rather to just hold things in place while the bigger muscles (glutes/hamstings/quads and psoas) do the heavy work.
In a significantly large minority of people, the sciatic nerve is actually split so that one part of it runs THRUthe pyriformis, so any time that muscle goes into spasm from injury or fatigue, it pinches the nerve.
If that's the case, then proper PT, exercise, attention to body mechanics, including possibly wearing a lift in the shoe for "short leg syndrome" may help alleviate & prevent problems.
I wanted everyone to know this is exactly right!!! The whole post, Well said! Can't rep you.
I wanted everyone to know this is exactly right!!! The whole post, Well said! Can't rep you.
This is why he needs an MRI. They tried to tell me the problem was originating in my hip before they sent me off to thousands of dollars worth of PT and myofascial release sessions. And it was all a waste because that was never my problem.
So I had your basic, annoying sciatica for about a week. Then three weeks ago it turned really nasty. I can barely walk, even with a walker. My left leg drags because it hurts too much to lift it in trying to walk. I've been to the chiropractor for 8 sessions so far and so far no relief. I've been trying to get into a spine clinic but a computer shutdown makes them unavailable. I'm supposed to start physical therapy next week and do exercises - really? Hopefully I will be getting an MRI and I can get into a pain management clinic and get epidurals. Or maybe I'll get lucky and they'll just stick a needle in my brain and get it over with.
I've gone through 20 tablets of oxycodone in 10 days with another prescription for 40 more. One pill just mitigates the pain enough so I can get out of bed and do things like wash up, throw something in the microwave, maybe get to the store. I can't clean or cook at this point. Two pills allow me to get to the library and get on the computer to complain here about it.
The pain starts in my butt, goes down the back of my thigh, behind the knee, the back of the calf, and now is hurting me in the ankle and in the arch of my foot.
My life is just basically on hold till this $(*^ goes away.
Everybody I know has had or knows someone who has had sciatica.
So what have your experiences been and how the H E double hockey sticks long does it take to go away?
I had a bout with sciatica after slipping on a newly washed floor in the hair salon where I worked, and landed on my tailbone. I suffered with it for months until I went on vacation to a beach location. Not sure whether laying in the hot sand or swimming in salt water was the cure, but I finally found relief. Now, if it ever flares up again, I do the first exercise in this link and it stops it in its tracks. https://entirelyhealth.com/condition...e4dd6382e29648
My experience at old age. Horrible pain across lower and upper back and down legs. Had to use walker or crawl to bathroom. Went to chiropractor, said it was sciatica, wasted time and money for 3 months. Chiropractor gave up and recommended a pain management doctor/clinic. Pain doctor got me an MRI. MRI showed severe arthritis and loss of cartilage between all lower joints and stenosis of spine. Said it was bone on bone creating pain. Doc gave me series of injections on one side (lower back/hip area) then another series of injections on the other side. Got off the medical table and immediately walked out of the office with absolutely no pain and stored the walker in the closet at home.
My boyfriend has stenosis and gets the same quick result from the injection.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth
What was in the injections? You left out the crucial information!
The McKenzie exercises (which are a similar form of yoga Cobra position) helped my DH get rid of his sciatica...his chiropractor taught him how to do them at home...
It was kind of a miracle for my DH. He'd tried some conventional treatments for his sciatica to no avail. He was in a lot of pain and had been for a few weeks.
Then when he went to a doctor a friend recommended (the Doc had fixed her DH's pain) who knew about the McKenzie Method, it was fast relief.
Now, whenever either of us get an aching back we practice these exercises--and voila!--fast relief.
(we've found you can also lean against a kitchen counter and do the back arch w/o lying down) for more minor aches.
I shot a text off to my NP yesterday asking about the status of an MRI. I still haven't heard back from her. She does have to send a referral because I called the radiology center yesterday, they said they won't do an MRI without a referral. So tomorrow if I don't hear anything, I start lighting fires under people. If I have to be in pain, someone else is gonna be, too. lol
It's been a long time since I posted this, so I thought I would follow up with what happened.
I finally got an MRI and apparently I have severe arthritis and severe compression, but none of it bad enough to merit surgery.
I ended up quitting the chiropractor and going to physical therapy. I did that for 4 visits. They had some machine there that vibrates against your back (or wherever you need it) or maybe it sends electricity through your body, I'm not sure which. But after the first visit, I actually felt OK again.
After the 4th visit, the pain started to come back, so I called it quits on physical therapy. The pain then went away and hasn't been back since.
I have no idea if it was just time for the pain to leave or whether the PT actually did any good.
I'm happy to be "normal" again (whatever that is for me) but I have to say, I do miss that Percocet. I went through about 100 tablets while all this was going on and honestly, if I hadn't had it, I don't think I could have functioned. At all.
I ended up only taking one pill a day during the last couple of weeks in November, but it was a mood lifter too, so I miss that too. Ah, well. I was not meant to have the life of a druggie. What can I say?
Thank you, everyone, for responding. I found a lot of your suggestions helpful and I really appreciate the time you spent trying to help me out. You all have a wonderful day!
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Can't rep you.
