OT - Severe Sciatica - Update

[chunkyfrog]

Agreed! A clot might explain the pain.
A clot can become an embolism.
Take care of yourself, please.

[Lucyhere]

Agreed! A clot might explain the pain.
A clot can become an embolism.
Take care of yourself, please.

Of course she should see a doctor, but there is no sense in scaring her like that. Most prob it is sciatica.

[Madalot]

coolief worked for my wifes sciatica

This is not something I can do for myself, nor is it likely to happen (if deemed necessary) fast enough to give me any relief now.

Agreed! A clot might explain the pain.
A clot can become an embolism.
Take care of yourself, please.

Of course she should see a doctor, but there is no sense in scaring her like that. Most prob it is sciatica.

No worries, Lucyhere. I appreciate your having my back though. Even though it most likely IS sciatica, more serious issues are a possibility. Being reminded of that might encourage me to seek medical help faster. It's all good.

[Lucyhere]

Thanks to all for the input and suggestions. I've been taking it very easy today and feel like I am back to my "pre-bending down" condition from yesterday. Not good, but nowhere near as bad as after bending down on bug retrieval duty! I just need to be very mindful of every move I make and be ready for that excruciating pain. If it catches me off guard, I'm likely to fall and that is really bad.

I've been taking Advil and using Biofreeze which helps some. I also found some muscle relaxers. They are not advised for someone with a neuromuscular disease, but desperate times...

As long as it doesn't get any worse than this, I feel I can wait until Monday and see about getting in with my PCP.

Boy, do I feel your pain!! After being in pain for 13 years, I finally had surgery. I tried everything before having the surgery and nothing worked. That was 20 some years ago. Now I'm around 85% better but do have occasional flare ups. Had one a few months ago and it took 2 months to finally go away. Pugsy's advice was spot on. Ice and hand massage on my butt cheek helped me. I would push upwards (toward my lower back as hard as I could with the palm of my hand) and it helped, altho I can't tell you why it did. Of course talk to your doctor first to see if that's advisable. Oh hell... just do it and see how you feel.

Sending you a big hug... I know that pain!

L

[WearyOne]

.
Madalot, I am SO sorry for what you're going through! I hope you're able to make it until Monday without having to go through an ER trip, but if it gets worse again, please seriously think about going. Ice, Advil or Aleve, and a muscle relaxer (if you have them), like others have said.

[jagzoo]

Concure with "See your doctor" or at least communicate with her/him about this. This is not the place for other than APAP type questions. Your care is complex. Mean while, I agree, with the anti- Inflamatories for pain ( ibuprofen, naproxen, etc.) interspersed with acetaminophen if needed, as needed for pain.

[kteague]

you should triple check my advice then take it..coolief will fix your problem permanently

That is an absolute statement. You can't possibly know that. You could say that you highly recommend coolief and I would have checked it out for possible use myself. There is no treatment out there that can be guaranteed to "fix your problem permanently" 100% of the time, especially when we don't even know for sure the exact origin of her pain. And this is not the time for petty digs.

[Julie]

Right, and if that were true, do you think all the surgeons, physios, etc. would still be in business? Just how totally out of touch with reality are you?

"I know if it's sciatica it'll fix it"... then "there are no guarantees in life".

[TASmart]

Right, and if that were true, do you think all the surgeons, physios, etc. would still be in business? Just how totally out of touch with reality are you?

"I know if it's sciatica it'll fix it"... then "there are no guarantees in life".

Don't ignore the success rate as high as any medical procedure, none of which are 100%.

[TASmart]

Madalot, I really feel for your situation. I have no solution but want to extend my sincere hope for a solution for you and to try to get this back on track from the recent posts.

[Bons]

Hopefully you can see your doctor quickly for a diagnosis and relief.

For what it's worth (and quite possibly not much), I thought I had sciatica and it turned out to be bursitis. So you really need to see a physician (or a PA or NP).

[Janknitz]

Glad you are feeling a bit better, Madalot! I've had some bouts myself and they are miserable.

I'm glad you're going to see a doctor. I have a home program that gives me fairly good relief without NSAIDS because I can't take them any more (consisting of heat, infrared sauna, gentle yoga, interferential electrical stimulation, muscle relaxer at night, and a standing desk at work) but not sure any of those would work for your situation.

Two things seem to predispose me to a bout of sciatica--not being consistent with my daily Hatha yoga practice (very gentle yoga) and eating off my usual way of eating. Especially eating gluten foods cause me endless pain. I always think it's worth it when I'm eating them, not so much the next day when I'm in pain.

[WearyOne]

you should triple check my advice then take it..coolief will fix your problem permanently

That is an absolute statement. You can't possibly know that. You could say that you highly recommend coolief and I would have checked it out for possible use myself. There is no treatment out there that can be guaranteed to "fix your problem permanently" 100% of the time, especially when we don't even know for sure the exact origin of her pain. And this is not the time for petty digs.

You're right, he absolutely does not know that. Just because it worked for his wife--as he mentioned--doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone else. Period. Recommending something that's helped you or someone you know and suggesting it might help someone else is wonderful. Making a blanket statement that "this with fix your problem permanently" is ridiculous.

[Cpapian]

It's radiation!

From the Coolief website.....

Potential complications associated with the use of this device include but are not limited to: infection, increased pain, nerve damage, visceral damage, failure of technique, paralysis and death.

Yah! I'm gonna try me some of that.

[Madalot]

Once again, I thank everyone for their input and suggestions. I feel I am back to my pre-bending down condition (Friday night). Still not good, but as long as I move carefully, not excruciating. A couple Advil and care in moving and I'm somewhat okay.

I took a muscle relaxant and a prescription pain medication last night and while I still woke up a lot, I got some decent sleep. I even was able to turn over and sleep on my left side, something I could NOT do Friday night.

I pretty much figured that alphabet guy would contribute here so no surprise there. I did look up the coolief he mentioned but once I saw it was a medical procedure, I stopped looking at it. If this ends up being sciatica AND my doctors recommend that procedure, it's going to be weeks (months?) down the road. It's not something they would try immediately anyway. Alphabet guy made it sound like it was something I could do myself, which is what I was looking for.

His absolute statement about fixing it was typical him - stupid at best. That statement, then "there are no guarantees in life" are a perfect example of his mass of contradictions.

Frankly, I just do an eyeroll at him and move on.

My original post was to get ideas for relief over this weekend, which I got a lot of. Again, thank you.