OT - Severe Sciatica - Update

BEst wishes for your appointment. Maybe the frustration of xx has settled in your back causing pain, my pain seems to be slightly lower.

TASmart wrote:BEst wishes for your appointment. Maybe the frustration of xx has settled in your back causing pain, my pain seems to be slightly lower.

Thanks. I'll post, if I can, after my appointment. Today is kind of rough, but I suspect I did too much yesterday and aggravated it again.

As for xx? He's definitely a pain in everyone's behind but I cannot give him credit (blame?) him for my pain. He hasn't got that kind of power! LOL

I am back from my very first SOLO trip anywhere in several years. My husband is super busy with work. He offered to take me, borderline insisted on it, but I made something that allows me to open/close my door from my wheelchair so going to the doctor seemed as good a time as any to test it out. One little glitch that I compensated for but overall, very successful test.

Doctor is thinking sciatica as well. Gave me a steroid shot and a prescription for another week of steroids. Also gave me pain killers & muscle relaxants to keep the pain at bay.

If there's no improvement by Friday, they said they would refer me to an Orthopedic for further evaluation.

Crossing my fingers & toes that the steroids do the trick.

Madalot wrote:I am back from my very first SOLO trip anywhere in several years. My husband is super busy with work. He offered to take me, borderline insisted on it, but I made something that allows me to open/close my door from my wheelchair so going to the doctor seemed as good a time as any to test it out. One little glitch that I compensated for but overall, very successful test.

Doctor is thinking sciatica as well. Gave me a steroid shot and a prescription for another week of steroids. Also gave me pain killers & muscle relaxants to keep the pain at bay.

If there's no improvement by Friday, they said they would refer me to an Orthopedic for further evaluation.

Crossing my fingers & toes that the steroids do the trick.

Hopefully the steroid shot is already helping with the pain and the other meds will help with continued relief. I do hope that the steroid meds will clear it up so you won't have to go through further evaluation.

PT plus chiropractic worked wonders for my sciatica years ago, if either of these ends up being recommended for your situation. For me, the combo is what did the trick. (Neck issues for me tend to respond better to just PT.) But hopefully by Friday this will be gone and you won't even have to think about any other treatment.

(And congrats on the solo trip!)

Good going Madalot. Hope you are feeling better quickly. Rest and relax. Don't push yourself.

Hey Madalot. I'm sorry to hear that you're in so much pain. I hope you get better soon; you're such a kind soul. Let us know how you're doing, this may be a cpap forum but that doesn't mean we can't care about each other Hopefully the injections do the trick.

I'm glad to hear you've got some medical support for that sore back. Well done on making the trip solo!

Rest yourself now,
Jean

Madalot, I am so glad to hear that you were able to see your doctor. I do hope the steroid shot helps alleviate your pain. I understand the excruciating pain a severe episode of sciatica can cause. I've had a few bouts of sciatica in the past....very painful and limiting, but never as awful as what I experienced last June. (ICU for a week <blocked kidney stone/sepsis>). The forced inactivity (tightened muscle) brought on the worst episode of sciatica I've ever had. I'm the kind to grit-and-bear it, high pain tolerance type, but my hubby was shocked at my constant howls of pain and crying when I got home. Sounds very much like what you are experiencing.

A movement of a silly millimeter was ungodly unbearable and I called upon every deity to deliver me from this evil. I used a wheelchair at the computer and hubby had to push me to the bathroom and kitchen table, etc. Then, it took 10 minutes for me to navigate the few steps from the door to the toilet itself. I did it in inches. The home health physical therapist put me through exercises (Yeeeeouch!) and manipulated my back and butt. (Talk about a straaange experience...<laughing> A strange man palpating my posterior as I'm in my nightclothes while hubby watched!>

Although I'm very active again, (esp. after the hip replacement in Nov.), whenever I feel the familiar twinge of sciatica possibly coming on, I stretch this way and that and somehow it goes away pretty quickly. You've heard of the tennis ball trick? Sit on or lean against a tennis ball to provide a knobby point to push against the muscle and (perhaps move it over). Or lean against a doorknob?
I do realize that stretching and certain exercises may not be options for you at this time.

The product that has worked well for me has been a Shiatsu massager. (Amazon) Mine is a kidney shaped "pillow" with 4 rotating (and reverse rotating) hard balls and they're heated! (Option to turn off heat if desired) A warm massage, almost like strong fingers! It has a permanent place on my computer chair, always plugged in. (Also has a car adapter plug but I've never used it). It's lightweight and I can just push it higher or lower on my back or backside, or up to my neck. and just lean back. If I've overworked my thighs, I just lay it on top or stick it under 'em. I do have one of those full Shiatsu massage chairs that also has a calf and foot component, but this smaller Shiatsu has been ever so much more convenient and helpful since I can place the balls any place I need it.

IF it is sciatica, ask if your Doctor thinks something like the Shiatsu might be of some help. It has really helped me, perhaps even as a preventative measure. I truly can imagine your pain. I wish you quick relief and hopefully, never another occurrence!

Many thanks for all the suggestions and good wishes. I truly appreciate all the help and the kind comments.

It appears that I am going to have do basically NOTHING for several days. I was feeling half okay yesterday afternoon so I made my bed, emptied my dishwasher and went outside to sit on the deck (which requires walking to the sitting area of our deck). I relaxed for a couple hours but when I got up, we were in "OMG it's excruciating" again. It was awful.

When I got up this morning, it was borderline between just hurting and excruciating. Unfortunately, my wheelchair caught a table caddy that holds my cell phones (yes, I have 2), my Kindles and a few other things and it sent it flying on the floor. Picking everything up sent us back to excruciating again.

Right now, I'm half okay, but have to accept that I must do as little as possible today and probably tomorrow. That means no making the bed (I like to get into a straight, made bed at night) and no other activities requiring much walking.

If I still feel badly tomorrow afternoon, I will call the doctor's office and see about getting a more thorough evaluation of WTH is going on.

Madalot wrote:Many thanks for all the suggestions and good wishes. I truly appreciate all the help and the kind comments.

It appears that I am going to have do basically NOTHING for several days. I was feeling half okay yesterday afternoon so I made my bed, emptied my dishwasher and went outside to sit on the deck (which requires walking to the sitting area of our deck). I relaxed for a couple hours but when I got up, we were in "OMG it's excruciating" again. It was awful.

When I got up this morning, it was borderline between just hurting and excruciating. Unfortunately, my wheelchair caught a table caddy that holds my cell phones (yes, I have 2), my Kindles and a few other things and it sent it flying on the floor. Picking everything up sent us back to excruciating again.

Right now, I'm half okay, but have to accept that I must do as little as possible today and probably tomorrow. That means no making the bed (I like to get into a straight, made bed at night) and no other activities requiring much walking.

If I still feel badly tomorrow afternoon, I will call the doctor's office and see about getting a more thorough evaluation of WTH is going on.

Take it ease madalot. I know it can be hard to sit back when you want to do something but when you need to rest, you need to rest. My dad had a severe stroke a few weeks back and went from being an incredibly active individual (he has 2 properties out east he's been working on during the summer) to being bed ridden, completely incapacitated and it is incredibly frustrating for him to be told to rest and sleep. Take the time you need and feel better. You are one of the few that gave me the benefit of the doubt when I first came here and I won't forget that. I hope you feel better soon. God bless, or spaghetti bless or whatever you believe in bless.

hi madalot, you are one of a tough lady out there... Very impressed about your SOLO trip, nice job on the door trick. It is amazing how inventive one becomes when needed...

Did you attache the wheelchair behind the car on the way to the doctor ?

I had once what we call a "witches shot" It is a lower back pain that comes up like a shot generally on a gentle movement. The pain in the lower back can be terrible. I couldn't move for hours, just laid on the floor and waited and waited and ... well still waited wasn't laughing at that time and that is why we call it "Hexenschuss"



Wish you good healing... For me it slowly, slowly, very slowly went away. Move as little as possible and stop if possible all moves that directly triggers that pain.

Good luck, be patient. Easy sad and hard to do...

No idea if you can do this with your muscle disfunction, but I release my sciatica by laying on my back pulling my knees up to my chest, putting my arms out flat to both sides, and rotating both legs one way while keeping my shoulders square and then rotating them the other way, about 10 tens.

sorry if this has already been suggested, I don't have time to read through the whole thread right now.

Again, I thank everyone for their ideas and well wishes. This is turning into a major ordeal, sadly.

I don't walk/move very much due to my Muscular Dystrophy, but I DO have a routine that I go through most days that I move around here and there. In order for this heal, I have to basically stop ALL but the essential movements like using the bathroom, showering (I cannot NOT shower - makes me feel awful). No making the bed, no doing laundry, no getting up to fix my own lunch, no helping prepare/clean up from dinner.

So I suppose I'll spend yet another day on the computer (I have some bills to work on today), then sitting in my recliner watching TV (I HATE doing that during the day - makes me feel lazy) - reading, playing Words with Friends, crocheting. I've taken to making more of my door pulls. Why? I have no clue because I only need one, but I enjoy making them.

Anybody here play Words with Friends and wants to play me, send me a PM. I try to play at least once a day. Right now, I have about 20 games going on my tablet and another 7 or so on my phone.

I'm hoping that another day of pure laziness will result in feeling a lot better by tomorrow.

Madalot wrote:Anybody here play Words with Friends and wants to play me, send me a PM

I don't think I could stay still long enough to play games on the computer... I'm just too antsy and need to be moving around.

I hope each day is a little easier for you. Try that palm to butt thing... it just may help a little... and ice and rest.

Lucyhere wrote:

Madalot wrote:Anybody here play Words with Friends and wants to play me, send me a PM

I don't think I could stay still long enough to play games on the computer... I'm just too antsy and need to be moving around.

I hope each day is a little easier for you. Try that palm to butt thing... it just may help a little... and ice and rest.

I don't play on the computer. I use a tablet and my smartphone.

I've been icing and resting today. As long as I don't move much, the pain is tolerable.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk