Anyone got any advice on how to deal with sciatic pain that's now running across my back and up too??
I've been suffering for 7 months now and only recently been referred for an mri. Which could be nine months!
I've been doing stretching, had physio weekly for 3 months and it's getting worse not better. Ended up in hospital last weekend because of numbness in my foot and leg. I could cry.
I dont have a cure for u as I suffer 24/7 daily but "corn bags" help,epson salt baths help,chiropractic adjustments help,acupuncture n cupping helps and does stop it for a bit of time till it comes back.If u find a cure,please let me and everyone here know.
My hot water bottle has become essential. An electric blanket is coming from Santa so hopefully that will help too
I’m sorry to hear your suffering so much. I have had sciatica on and off now for 45 years!!!! I have heard that total rest is important , but the trouble is with total rest it means the rest of the body gets too stiff . It’s very difficult . Make sure you do not carry any shopping. What I do is find the source of the pain and massage the muscle till it relaxes a bit . Heat is important too . My hot water bottle is my best friend. I hope you find a way to sort it out to some degree . Try a different therapist whoMight try a different approach.
Thanks for your advice. I always thought it'd only last a few weeks but this is relentless.
I've become very close to my hot water bottle! And Santa is bringing me an electric blanket so hopefully that will help too. It's the knock on effect it has. The painkillers take the edge off but have caused me tummy problems. So more tablets to help with that. I feel like I'm 92!!!
Keep moving, so the right pain management is essential, if your sciatic is persistent I can only assume that your doing something that is making the disc rub on your nerve??? Be careful not to overstretched and make changes to the way you move. Try and work out your triggers.
Hi - I sympathise with your pain. It would be interesting to know what medication your doctor has recommended for you. Although I have had surgery for a slipped disc which was causing sciatica like pain in both legs, I also had cauda equina and now have arachnoiditis which causes similar symptoms to what you are describing- constant pain, numb feet and leg and what feels like crawling insect on the skin, electric shock in the toes and legs, spasms all due to neuropathic pain. Please check out arachnoiditishope.com and arachnoiditis.co.uk; described as a rare condition, because I believe it is under-reported. I hope you find a solution soon.
Thanks for your information. I've been given a range of meds starting with gabapentin which I couldn't take because it made me light headed and woozy. Then Tramadol and different anti-inflammatory tablets. I ended up in hospital because of the pain and the doctors gave me Tylex and Keral. They have helped a bit but now the dragging feeling and numbness is getting worse. Usually later in the day. This evening I'm in a lot of discomfort. My doctor has put me on a waiting list for an mri. It's 18 months!!! So I'm going to go private and pay. Fingers crossed I'll have a date for sometime in the next couple of weeks....
Wow. I am really sorry for you. I was on maximum Gabapentine; I am now on pregabolin, amitriptyline used as a muscle relaxant, naproxen; I was on eterocoxib but I did not get on with them at all. I did not get the wooziness but I am having memory issues and putting on weight! I was on Tyler many years ago and had to come off due to stomach and duodenum ulcers - I was on them for 5 years. I saw a Neuro Physio 3 years but I have to take the stretching very easily - on top of the adhesive arachnoiditis, I have a cyst pushing on the spinal cord.
Do you mind me asking where you live? I live in the UK and sciatic pain down both legs is referred urgently for MRI. I am shocked they did not give you a MRI when you were in hospital. Please make sure you go to your Doctors or even hospital emergency if you have any change in bowel and bladder functions - these are the red flags along with leg weakness for potential onset of Cauda equina. Take care and I hope you get to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
I live in Ireland. I was in the hospital for 3 hours!!! A waste of time. They asked me questions, tested my legs for sensation and then gave me tablets. No blood tests, x-rays or scans. Doctor came back to me and asked what level my pain was. It was 9 when I went in. Around 6/7 after the tablets. So he said I could go home 😕.
Hi - I am shocked. You describe numbness and a dragging feeling - where does this happen? Legs, feet, saddle area, stomach? You also mention pain up your back as well as sciatica. Is the sciatica in one or both legs? What does the pain up your back feel like? And from where to where? Do you have a sensation of burning feet although they are numb? Sorry to ask many questions, but having been misdiagnosed by my GP and the radiologist which meant that I was not operated on within 48 hours of the bladder and bowel incontinence, I now try to help others when I can with the limited knowledge I have had to learn about my condition. Take care
The back pain seems to be across my waist and up towards my shoulder blades and sometimes down towards my coxic. The sciatica is down my left side but I don't feel burning. If anything it's more like coldness. That's mainly in the top of my foot travelling up my shin.. Over the last couple of months I've had pain in my right knee. I don't know if I'm going mad but the odd time I feel like I've numbness in my arms although it's very slight. Just a really odd feeling. I often have a severe pain at the top of my leg inside my thigh almost in my groin. I used to get just that!
I really feel sorry for you and what you are going through. I am not sure how to answer you and I can only share my own experience and hopes that it resonates with you.
I also have numbness/paresthesia in both hands which displays as pins and needles and also inability sometimes to judge hot or cold. I know this comes from my cervical vertebrae C4 where the disc has eroded. I also get thoracic pain due to a bulging disc at T7 which at worst creates a girdle of pain below the ribs which extends under the shoulder - it feels as if someone has put a red hot iron through your front and back and the pain radiates all around.
I can relate with the sciatic pain down the left leg and the cold numbness that you feel because this is similar to what I had originally before surgery along with gnawing pain in the buttocks, hip, knee and a band of pain around the ankle like a weight that has been put there. I now only get the cold sensation down both legs when I have urgent bowel requirements- so I use this as my early warning system! I never had the groin pain. My sciatic issues were due to a ruptured disc in the lumbar L4/L5 area.
Your problems may be associated with the same area or even lower into the sacral area S1- such as the sacroiliac joint disfunction - I am not a doctor nor have I had any medical training - I just learned from my own experience and doing lots of reading - but this last one may be worth a bit of research on various web sites and Wikipedia.
I find that heat (water bottle) and cold (ice pack) helps sometimes. Some form of gentle stretching whilst lying on back and trying to raise each leg as high as you can coupled with core strengthening exercises to keep supple; it hurts but if you do this everyday, it helps a little. Changing position every 10mns also helps.
I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck with the MRI - at least that should help you and the doctors understand your condition better. Let us know how you get on - take care
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Really need some help now
Really painful stiff back 
