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Sciatica: Ever experience it? ***RECOVERING RAPIDLY**

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My best friend is a captain for a major airline and has had this flaring up pretty bad lately...being a pilot especially with a class A medical license, he can't take pretty much anything out there medicine wise and certainly not serious pain killers...which he refuses to take even on his off/call out days. I've never seen a grown man brought to tears solely by pain. Its a pretty crap diagnosis to have.

Me? My neck looks like this so I got my own problems.
 
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I have a flare up every now and then that lasts for about a week and then leaves for a few months. Thankfully mine is not as painful as yours, but it does make it pretty difficult to sit or sleep. Ibuprofen takes the edge off for me, but obviously that's not going to help you if even the heavy narcotics aren't having any effect.
 
Stretching basically made it go away.
But I still have arthritis and 3 partially collapsed discs in my lower back.

Torn tendon in right shoulder. Probably a torn tendon in the left (compensating for right) but I haven't had it diagnosed.
 
oldsmoboat said:
Stretching basically made it go away.
But I still have arthritis and 3 partially collapsed discs in my lower back.

Torn tendon in right shoulder. Probably a torn tendon in the left (compensating for right) but I haven't had it diagnosed.
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Monitors are heavy! This explains a lot.
 
Squisher said:
Lastly, ice, ice, and more ice.
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This. If you can't stop whatever has that nerve in it's grasp, ice can at least lessen the inflammation. I lived with it for a month after injuring my back so badly I could not get out of bed for 48 hrs. Once the spasms stopped, it was sciatica to deal with. Good luck to you.
 
jhansman said:
This. If you can't stop whatever has that nerve in it's grasp, ice can at least lessen the inflammation. I lived with it for a month after injuring my back so badly I could not get out of bed for 48 hrs. Once the spasms stopped, it was sciatica to deal with. Good luck to you.
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I get the most relief alternating hot and cold. I have a microwave heat pack that provides moist heat and re-freezable ice packs. Usually 15-20 minutes of each...repeat as necessary.
 
I have a mild form of it that started about a week ago. My lower back went out when lifting something wrong. I waited a week and it got worse, not better, so I went to a doctor. I was given a steroid and muscle relaxer injection and proscribed flexoril and loritab for a short while. I can still feel it, but at least I'm not limping and can stand for a while without experiencing the pain. I hope that it goes away soon before my Rx runs out. I would go see a chiropractor about it, but my chiro is about 300mi away from my current city. :/
 
DominionSeraph said:
You can have gallstones and feel them without ever having an "attack." I've had them for years with nothing but a tenderness under the right ribcage.
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Fair enough. But . . . if you have an attack, you certainly will know it. As in roll around on the floor moaning (not in the fun way) know it.
 
soxfan said:
Fair enough. But . . . if you have an attack, you certainly will know it. As in roll around on the floor moaning (not in the fun way) know it.
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Got my gall bladder out about 5 weeks ago. Gall stones are the worst pain I've ever had. I've broken bones, torn cartilage, ligaments, tendons and had some nasty cuts.
 
Had the worst back pain, hurt like a ...well you know.

What worked for me?

Hanging..

Just the weight of my legs pulling on the spine was enough to stretch it out and relieve the pain. Didn't come back for years. When I do get it I hang again. Like doing pull ups, or chin ups or whatever you call it. I rarely get this pain anymore.

Hope you find relief soon, sorry you have to go through that. Sounds like a pretty common problem.

I wonder why they can't just cut that nerve out?
 
disappoint said:
Had the worst back pain, hurt like a ...well you know.

What worked for me?

Hanging..

Just the weight of my legs pulling on the spine was enough to stretch it out and relieve the pain. Didn't come back for years. When I do get it I hang again. Like doing pull ups, or chin ups or whatever you call it. I rarely get this pain anymore.

Hope you find relief soon, sorry you have to go through that. Sounds like a pretty common problem.

I wonder why they can't just cut that nerve out?
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This, 100% legit, I looked into it.

NO autoerotic asphyxiation joke here folks, move along
 
DixyCrat said:
You're falln' apart Olds.
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Pretty much. But I've always busted my ass. Always been the hardest worker. Always did what people said couldn't be done. Move that 400# drum with a crane? Meh, watch this...
Now, I am paying for it.
 
I have a lot more experience than I'd like with that type of pain. For the last seven years or so I've had it on and off.

Steroid shots where the nerve is inflamed help a lot. No one medication, even powerful opiates, seemed to really be the answer. But the shots along with core strengthening (to better support your back), NSAID's like naproxen or ibuprofen, opiates, and a med helpful in nerve pain like Lyrica or gabapentin all in combination would usually help.
 
Yes, it sucks. Like a lightning bolt up your ass sometimes.

As mentioned above, hanging from a pull up will help stretch out the spine and provide some relief. I tried MDs, then physical therapy and then finally relented a tried a chiropractor. The chiro finally got results. I'm much better now without ever having surgery.
 
********************************************************************
UPDATE
********************************************************************
Went in for an MRI yesterday morning. The results were less than exciting to say the least. Here's the report:

At the L2-L3 level there is a very large central disc herniation extending eccentrically toward the right. This results in considerable spinal canal stenosis with compression of the thecal sac and multiple nerve roots, more so on the right.

At the L3-L4 level there is a small midline disc herniation. Minimal encroachment on the traversing left L4 nerve root.

At the L4-L5 level there is a medium-sized broad disc protrusion centrally and on both sides of the midline with some associated hypertrophic spurring, with mild spinal canal stenosis. There is some encroachment on the traversing L5 nerve root bilaterally.

At the L5-S1 level there is no significant abnormality. There is partial sacralization of L5.

Slight degenerative facet joint disease in the mid and lower lumbar spine bilaterally. Lumbar spine otherwise negative. no compression fracture or mass.

Conclusion: Disc herniations as described
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At least I know whats going on. I now have to wait for an appointment with a specialist. 🙁
 
If those discs are herniated, not much you can do other than surgery. If it were me, I'd get a few other opinions before going in and I'd consider disc replacement, not fusion.

Hope all goes well for you!
 
My appointment with a specialist recently basically confirmed my only option was surgery. The first specialist was chosen by my doctor specifically due to his ability to keep patients away from surgery. This specialist basically said there was nothing he could do to help me being that the herniation of one of the discs being so large and my spinal column being so narrow. He referred me to a surgeon who went over my options. Basically he said its a common procedure that he has performed over 800 times. He says if the large ruptured disc is not taken care of I could lose control of my bladder or other function including but not limited to numbness and weakness of legs. I have had some numbness recently in my toes. So ready to be done with this pain and getting back to being my normal self.

Surgery scheduled for monday and the surgeon said I would be walking out that night as long as the bleeding has stopped. Here's to hoping a life without pain is in my future!:thumbsup:
 
I had surgery for a herniated disc last November. I did walk out that night, but barely. i was having problems with throwing up from the anesthesia. The throwing up also caused some extra bleeding from the incision. Once that stopped though I felt ok. I took 1 week off of work and was mostly in bed for the 1st day or 2, then was able to start moving around more after that.

The surgery was successful and i felt great after about 3-4 days. 6 months later now i feel great and am very glad i had the surgery. even at the beginning, my pain level was not nearly as bad as yours. after about 5 months mine had healed to the point where I was not in pain constantly, but I could not straighten out my leg when i was sitting down, and I had a hard time reaching my feet to put on my shoes, so i decided to get the surgery so i could have my flexibility back.

Good luck, these surgeries have a pretty good success rate.
 
PC Surgeon said:
My appointment with a specialist recently basically confirmed my only option was surgery. The first specialist was chosen by my doctor specifically due to his ability to keep patients away from surgery. This specialist basically said there was nothing he could do to help me being that the herniation of one of the discs being so large and my spinal column being so narrow. He referred me to a surgeon who went over my options. Basically he said its a common procedure that he has performed over 800 times. He says if the large ruptured disc is not taken care of I could lose control of my bladder or other function including but not limited to numbness and weakness of legs. I have had some numbness recently in my toes. So ready to be done with this pain and getting back to being my normal self.

Surgery scheduled for monday and the surgeon said I would be walking out that night as long as the bleeding has stopped. Here's to hoping a life without pain is in my future!:thumbsup:
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Best wishes brudda. When pain dominates your life, the quality of it goes right in the crapper. So get pain free.
 
Wishing you the best of outcomes, PC Surgeon. I know that nobody is hoping to need surgery but at least you know that's what must be done and you don't have to fret about what to do.
 
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