Four in the morning.......

[sylvi]

Well i have been down here nsince three this morning to back ache which is causing me a lot of pain down my right leg. Thank heavens my date for a mri has come through.It is on the 12th August. I am so fed up with being in pain and my rheumy nurse telling me that i have chronic pain and sciatica and didn't think to help me.I felt the whole appt. was just a kick boxing exercise. Thats my rant over with and thank you all for taking the time to read through my post.xxxxxx

[popsmith1874]

I know how you feel Sylvi last night was the first night I've had a decent sleep and not been up but I'm up now, my back has been killing me and I have the same problem as you lower back gown down my leg, I've got doctor next week and I'm going to insist on a mri,you can't win with this disease if it's not the RA then theOA kicks in xxx

[Matalow]

That's why you shouldn't do kickboxing darling! Seriously sorry your having such a hard time ,hope the M.i.r shows them what the problem is and treatment will help.

Regards Mike

[Fra22-57]

I feel for you.Exactly same with me and rheumy said it wouldn't be RA but sciatica .Only slight relief I get is with ibroprofen gel .

[oldtimer]

It is always difficult treating sciatica and I don't suppose the rheumy team will either have the expertise or the interest in that. You might need a referral to an orthopaedic specialist with an interest in back pain, but , without being too depressing, there is often not a lot that can be done. Injections work sometimes, and occasionally surgery can be done, but looking at the results, although they can be a success in individuals, overall the best results seem to come from time and mechanical improvements. So worth trying people like osteopaths and Alexander Technique. In some areas these techniques are available on the NHS, so worth asking.

[Ranjmcl]

I had sciatica (I just thought it was another RA thing). My doctor gave me two diazepam and cocodemol. The diazepam relaxed the muscles which gave relief to my back and leg. Then the cocodemol kicked in afterwards. Along with this I had 3 physio appointments. It fixed the problem although I have to keep doing some exercises. Go to the GP and make him aware that this is not RA. Good luck.

[Hidden]

Oh Sylvie, I'm sorry. Sounds so frustrating. Everything is much harder when you can't sleep. It's utterly torturous. Have you tried any meds like amitriptyline? It might help with sleep too. Xx

[Hidden]

I sympathise with you in your sciatica Sylvi. As old timer has said sometimes there isn't much help out there, and it's a case of having to cope with it for many of us. I look on lying in my bed as torture, because as soon as I lie down its like 240'volts pass thru me and back pain/sciatica goes into overdrive. I just have to get up and walk around, I was examining my garden at 5.30 am this morning. Hubby is very accepting of the fact I do walkabouts at silly hours of the night. I have lumbar stenosis and cervical stenosis and damaged discs most of the way down spine. There is no cure. I will not put myself thru any spinal surgery at my age so I just muddle on.I expect you've tried hydro ? I find it the best thing for me. I go once a week As Arthritis Care hire the pool at local hospital, and it only costs £2 a session. I can get in that warm water right up to my neck and then I can stretch my spine, it does help because it can free up the nerves which are being squeezed. There's a physio there and she helps and advises.

I've just had course of acupuncture - was no help at all !! I have refused any further spinal injections as they caused me too many other problems.

My GP has told me that rheumatology services around the country are very patchy, some good, some bad, where I live it's pathetically bad ! My rheumy dismisses my back pain completely, like its nothing at all, even though I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylosis many yrs ago, he just refers me to orthopaedics and he passes me back to,rheumy, so I have given up, it's just hopeless. Meanwhile this wretched back has made me wheelchair dependant, I despair !!! I know this is basic Sylvi, and I expect you've tried them, but I,find those heated thermal stick-ons soothing on lower back, they last for about 8 hrs. Also an electric heated lumbar pad which I use when I'm sitting for any length of time, just a thought !!!! XXXX

[DC56]

Hold on Sylvi hopefully you find out soon what's causing you so much pain xx Dawn

[craigsif]

Hi Sylvi hope your feeling somewhat better this afternoon, I do feel your pain as I know only to well the 3-4-5 am wake up despite having only dropped of what feels like minutes before. I was using epsom salts about to large mugs in a hot bath this did seem to help! but as we have moved and the bath tub is mainly for small creatures of fairy land, I can no longer avail myself of that particular remedy , though it might hep your self warmest Craig

[PurrrdyGurl in reply to craigsif]

Thanks for the chuckle re small creatures of Fairy land LOL I feel like that about our bathtub as well!

[18446]

Oh! Poor you. I can sympthise as I was suffering similar symptoms. I hope the MRI finds out the cause of your pain and that it is easy to treat. Please let us know how you get on.

Wishing you all the best x

[DelicateInput]

I had sciatic pain for many years - there are numerous causes. It used to hit in the middle of the night so I had to get up and walk round all night to get any relief. I was OK in the day.

I had a CT scan which did not show much and was told to see a physio. The physio gave me some exercises to do when the pain came on in the middle of the night. I'll try and describe them but after five minutes they brought immense relief and I went back to sleep - had no trouble since.

Stay in bed, lie down flat on your back, keep one leg flat and pull the other knee up towards your chin. Then put the leg flat, and repeat the exercise 12 times. Do the same with the other leg, and keep that one flat. It seems to stretch the vertebrae in the lower back.

Also, lying flat, roll your hips from side to side. It's a bit hard to describe in writing. I still have the diagrams the physio gave me in 2004. I passed them to a friend who had severe back problems and she found them helpful.

Anything can cause sciatica, including gynaecological problems which was the cause in my case.

Funnily enough, I mentioned to the physio that I suffered from incredible morning stiffness and had bouts where I had to crawl down the stairs backwards on all fours in the mornings. She was very concerned about that albeit nobody else has ever taken any notice of it. Ten years later, I was struck overnight with awful RA in the hands and shoulder. I do feel the stiffness is related and the latter is a late manifestation. I don't suppose I will ever know. Everything seems to be left and left until it becomes really serious.

[sylvi]

Thank you all for you lovely and helpful replies. I think iwill be going to the drs this week.xxxxxx