sciatic pain has gotten worse, help....

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backpainer

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I have dealt with sciatica pain for over a year now and getting used to it with help from pain medication. It would flare up and down but if i layed down for a bit it would go away. For the last 8 days i am going berzerk.

I don't know what I did but I can't stand or sit for more that about 5 minutes, I was actually crying in my docters office and I never cry because it hurt so bad. It was the same pain I have felt off and on for a year but increased to unbearable. I told him i hadnt had a bowel movement in 10 days and It took me forever to go pee. He seemed concerned and I have a CT I am to have done in two more days.

My day now consists of nothing. I went from working and doing everything i pretty much wanted to do, to being a couch potatoe that gets up to go to the washroom. I can't believe this, i am 38 years old. This has been like a bad dream or something.

I tried to do a calf raise and I can't do one, my pain is in my left lower back, butt, behind my knee, and my foot tingles off and on.

Has anyone else went from mild to severe like this and been alright after a while?
 
OH Yes,,,,,,I am 2 years after surgery and I go from day to day asking God for mercy one day at a time..I can walk with my family to ballgames or out to eat,,,anything...next day it is time to hit the recliner again.. I have been hearing some really good news about the medtronic spinal cord stimulator...I know we are on the pain website and people post the bad that they have happen, but i have talked to numerous people that have had it done and they say it has given them their like back....is that anything you would consider???/
 
I had one of those epideral steroid injections about a month ago and it hurt like it does now. That all went away about 4 days later. Wonder if thats what did me in, probably not but whos to say, doc could of been whacked out.
 
I know exactly how you feel!

Iam really concerned about the lack of bowel movements and urinating-this can be because of the pain medication you are taking. What are you doing about the constipation? Mirilax is great stuff along with good old prunes and fresh veggies along with Benefiber's new drink mix. I also take a stool softener (like Colace) daily.
The pain sounRAB like you really are having some lurabar issues. This can cause really painful sciatic pain(including the tingling in your toes).
Let us know what the CT scan says!
I am two and a half years post op for a 2 level fusion. I am with a pain managment doctor now and do takes meRAB everyday. The change is I am actually LIVING MY LIFE!> That was my goal post surgery. To get my life back. I do everything I used to do-maybe not as much or a little slower! LOL
There is hope!

Keep us posted on your doc visits! We will be praying for you too!
Blessings,
Momz :angel:
 
As you may already know pain can occur anywhere along the sciatic nerve -- while sitting, standing or walking in either leg if you have sciatic nerve problems.

There are stretching type movements that can be used to help relieve the sciatic pain that originates in the lower back/butt and extenRAB down the sciatic nerve that run down the back of both legs to the ankle.

A physical therapist that happens to be a chiropactor showed me these stretch movements that are simple & done several times daily. They really help pain relief. Sorry--- but, it is difficult to describe these movement.

I suggest seeing a PT.
 
I know the feeling,I'm a former bodybuilder and I'm 38 to boot.Back problems make you feel like you're a hundred and eighty.Sciatica pain is rough.......I still have problems dealing with it after a fusion in 96....throws me into mild-to-severe asthma attacks.Try Lioderm patches, Biofreeze, or Stopain.They help.God Bless,and good luck.
 
Ask about a RS Tens Plus your insurance should cover it. Helps a lot deal with pain I cannot go without it.
 
Hi Backpainer, I use to live in Chino there for @ 5 years now up in the high desert. Im 44 yo..I've had sciatica for 5 years now, in both legs with low back pain. I had my L5-S1 rupture and extrude where a piece of the disc was wedged on the other side of the S1 nerve compressing it like a sandwhich. Now from the Micro-D I have a large amount of scar tissue encasing the s1 nerve. My biggest complaints are tailbone pain ( like someone stuck me w/ a knife), pain in legs ( like tooth aches but in the leg bones) and leg weakness. My two lower disc are ddd, and looking at a 2 level fusion. I just wonder how much pain is coming from my discs and my sciatic nerve. I think most people have sciatica in one leg, but I've heard cases as myself of both legs being effected. I sure miss playing the golf courses out there at Prado, Ontario, Diamond Bar. Now I just due erranRAB to get out of the house. Heating paRAB, my spa work the best outside of Narcotics. G/L
 
Unfortunately the wrath of sciatica pain, the pain levels go up and down. Have they tried an oral steroid pack called - medrol for five days? Sometimes it can help with the inflammation.

I have dealt with sciatica since 2004 - Sorry I know that does not sound very encouraging but here are some ways I have learned to deal with it:

*ice packs on the offending leg parts - I have 4 and often use them at the same time.
*soaking in a hot tub/spa
*sitting in a pool and gently moving the legs in the water
*biofreeze - can be purchased online/most chiropractors have this. It is gel that actually freezes when you put it on and is very soathing.
*therma care wraps
*icy hot patches
*Lioderm patches
*tens unit
*B12 tablets
*Calcium with magnisium
*walking - start out slow and build yourself up - remerabering to listen to your body if it hurts slow down

Also, I recommend if you dr has not already done it. Please have your vitamin D and thyroid levels checked. They can add to your pain and the pain is very similiar to sciatica. I found out that my thyroid was out of wack and I had not clue that it was responsible for alot of my leg aching pain. I am not saying this is the cause of yours but one never knows. Definitely worth checking into.

Good luck and I pray you feel better soon.
 
Thanks again you hear of opinions to mask the pain but i can only see more damage done to the nerve causing increasing weakining and foot drop. You also see that surgery alot of the time causes more problems than you started with. As well you have stuff to help the pain like stretches but the disc is still pushing on my nerve hard enough to cause me to not be able to do anything, i dont even want to get up in the morning and sleep as long as i possibly can.

These are helpful in my final decision, though surgery really worries me because of alot of people saying they are worse off now. I will let you know what comes of my ct but 2 years ago my l5/s1 was so close to my nerve it said i would have to have the docters corrolation to see if it was. It was not as i had no leg pain but now i do majorly. thanks again.:yawn:
 
:angel:I have scs and unfortunately for me it moved and does not work so I have to get it out.If you have a lot of leg pain I would say it was well worth it to get it done.The test one for me was amazing because of the relief it gave me.It was quite a blow for the permanent one to not work but I would say it is worth a shot if it might relieve pain.I have been dealing with my back and leg pain since 2002.:angel:
 
You should consult your doctor before trying any new therapy.

I found relief from L5-S1 extruded disc material touching my sciatic nerve with walking in a shallow pool that lifited the trunk of my body off the nerve as well as placing ice (wraped in a thin towel) 2 to 8 pounRAB for 45 minuites. Inversion therapy was also helpful as were epidural injections. I am nerve pain free but it took several years. Best Wishes
 
Hi all well I got my ct results today and here is the opinion.

At the L6-L1 level, there is new left paramedian and left posterolateral discophytic herniation. This finding is not seen on the previous scan of septeraber 7,06. The herniated disc appears to be compressing upon the left
L6-S1 thecal sac and there is encroachment of the left lateral recess possiblh impinging upon the adjacent left S1 traversing nerve root.

He says I need surgery as this stuff is suppose to get better over time and not worse.:(
 
sorry i made a mistake its L6-S1, I have 6 luraber vertebra, small percent of people have this.
 
thanks for the replies i have had sciatic pain for a couple of years and it was not too bothersome. This is like someone has a knife stuck and won't take it out of my butt. At least before it would stop after i laid down but this is bad. I can't sit for more than a minute, so I can't even drive my car. I think when my ct comes back it won't be just touching my nerve, it will show it is being crushed by my disc.
 
Lisa, sounRAB great...could you tell me a little more about who she is and how she got the pain in your leg to stop.....I would do anything....also what does she do exactlyllllll carol
 
Hi backpainer,

Boy I hate hearing the pain you are in. Brings on my own nightmares. I had a spinal fusion 2 years ago and have gotten worse over that time intsead of better. One of the things that has gotten worse is my sciatic nerve pain. Some days it is nagging and mild, others it is just debilitating and I want to cut that stupid leg off!!!! I had a minor car accident in June causing me to fracture my clavical and alot of brusing along the seat belt line across my chest. Some neck stiffness and pain. My GP referred me to a wellness center for deep tissue massages. I was like huh? I had just gone back to work after nearly 3 years and still adjusting so having an extra ounce of energy to fit that into my schedule too was not something easily done at first. If you have never had them, deep tissue massages are quite painful. However, hours later you feel so good after the first few visits. While on my 2nd or third visit I mentioned all of my leg pain. I also a spasm that causes my foot to turn inward particularly in the middle of the night. Talk about pain! There is nothing you can do about it until the spams stop either. Well, this massage therapist worked some sort of majic and the pain stopped completly while I was in her care. It just started to come back but I know any time it flares up I can pay her a visit and it will go away again. Most insurance will cover treatment at a wellness center but you might need a referral. If you don't have insurance, the pricing is actually pretty low. This is not the same as a regular massage parlor or spa that provides massages and facials. I have muscle relaxers and pain meRAB but those have never touched the pain from sciatica. I hope you will find this information helpful. Good luck to you.

Lisa
 
Since this sounRAB like a signal that is being generated internally and quite often constant, and something I'm familiar with having lived with Fibromyalgia and sciatica. I was able to resolve to this by learning how to de-tune the signals.

Often stretching is advised, yet there is another approach which you may find useful and puts your muscles back in your control. There is a way to contract the muscles and release them using what is known as a pandiculation, that's how healthy vertebrate animals reset the resting levels of their muscles. The process for humans is done through a somatic process either through the use of a hanRAB-on approach and it is corabined with learning how to move yourself through a somatic education process. You'll get to learn how to relax the muscles in question and move and feel more comfortable.
 
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