Sisters Sciatica Pain and Prednisone

[RaisinBran]

My 89 year old sister had her second appt with a chiropractor and appears to feel better after her session with him. When I reached out to her this am, she was really hurting and didn't sleep well. But, after her session with the Chiro at 2, she was able to walk on her own for a bit around the grocery store. We are hoping that the Chiro is the way to go instead of the drug route. She has been on Prednisone for a couple of years for back pain and has been tolerating it well. She is on 10mg daily. Last week we raised the dose to 20mg for 3 days and then we did 30mg for 2 days prior to her seeing a Chiro and that either wasn't long enough or again not enough to relieve her pain. Has anyone used heavier doses of Prednisone for sciatica? Again, just about 6 months ago, my daughter had sciatica pain and her very good Doctor put her on 60mg for just 5 days and the pain subsided.

Again, this forum is just excellent and we thank everyone that has commented. TY

[PMRpro Ambassador]

The opinion in the literature about using pred for sciatica is mixed. There is no real evidence that oral pred is effective and it will depend very much on the actual cause of the irritation to the sciatic nerve. I would be reticent about such a high dose for a lady of her age,

See how the chiro goes if it has already helped.

[RaisinBran in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you PMRpro!!!!! I will

[Knip in reply to PMRpro]

When I had severe sciatica for eight months, no painkillers helped me at all...nothing worked. My husband finally MADE me rest completely and after a few days the pain started to ease a little. My GP told me it was a 'hello of a pain, but there was nothing he could give me that would help, not painkillers or steroids. It turned out that mine was caused by two bulging discs in my lumbar vertibrae. I was better sitting, because lying down was excruciatingly painful, so I would suggest that she rests as much as possible in her most comfortable position. I had been to physio for most of that time but given the wrong exercises by the very kind team. They were really empathetic, but it was only following an MRI scan which showed the cause that I started to recover. In those days I paid privately, at their suggestion, because the wait for an MRI was going to be five months. Has your sister had an MRI scan? Thankfully, things are different now and it is a short wait for one. I hope that you sister starts to feel a bit easier soon. I really feel for her.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Knip]

You replied to me - I assume you meant it for RaisinBran? They will see it though as author of the thread.

[Knip in reply to PMRpro]

Oo! I did indeed PMR pro. 👍😯

[piglette]

The only thing that helped my sciatica was physio and exercise.

[Bcol]

Pred had/has absolutely no effect at all on my sciatica, although I have to admit I've not tried doses that high. Neither do opiates. Patience and gentle exercise are the only thing that works at this time. Consultant Orthopaedics have said that I need to referred up the system next time it gets grumpy.

[Pixix]

I’ve had sciatica for six months longer than PMR (nearly four years). I went onto pred in January, during a very bad time with sciatica. Pred made no improvement on it, sadly. I’ve not seen or heard of anybody using pred for sciatica. I admit I haven’t tried any dose above 17mg, though.

[RaisinBran in reply to Pixix]

Thank you

[Koalajane]

I have sciatica and have never found that prednisolone helps it. The thing that helps me is walking as it seems to improve as I walk. I was prescribed a low dose of amitriptyline but not sure how much it helps

[S4ndy]

I have sciatic pain which is caused by tight muscles. I bought a massage gun as it was on offer and cheaper that a massage. I watched a YouTube video on how and where to use the gun for sciatic pain and hey presto I've used it for 10 days and the pain is much much better. I can sit down again now Stopped all the strong painkillers and anti inflammatory drugs too. I am now using it to help with the Achilles tendonitis and it seems to be working.

One caveat, I am a qualified exercise instructor and masseuse and so know the contraindications and what to avoid. Also my skin integrity is good but even so I use the gun carefully over clothing. Exercise is also key and doing the right exercise can help greatly.

[AliDeJ]

Hello. Sciatic pain is crippling and depressing. I have spinal stenosis, and other lumbar problems which put pressure on my sciatic nerve causing back and leg pain, and difficulty walking. It was so painful back in May this year. However, I have found HUGE relief from NOT doing movements which twist the spine and NOT sleeping on my bad side. It was badly inflamed, I think, and letting it calm down has helped so much. Before that I was trying to improve it with exercises...which made it worse! I take Naproxen twice daily too. Walking is good for it, and being very careful how you sit. I hope this helps.

[Headwood]

Massage from a physio has helped me. Yoga and specific stretches too. But finally after a year of sciatica I’ve tried CBD oil. It’s almost gone! Prednisolone certainly didn’t have any effect on it.

Good luck.

[papadapadoo]

From what I know about how low-dose naltrexone works, I would think that its only action against sciatica would be easing pain a little. However, after I began taking LDN for PMR, my sciatica (which was only intermittently painful) disappeared. It has not returned after 8 months.

[RaisinBran in reply to papadapadoo]

Thank you papadapdoo