vanity: sciatic nerve pain: how did you deal with it?

self | 11/28/2006 | RaceBannon

[RaceBannon]

I may have a blown disk, my L5, sciatic nerve pain is phenominal.

[RaceBannon]

I have been alternating heat and ice, and also therapy.

The electonic stimulation works great, but only for 20 hours max

Right calf is cramping on occasion, spike of pain is down from the hip joint to the foot, right foot is asleep for the last week

Pain has been immense for 5 to 6 weeks now

work related

Ho did you/do you make it shut off without becoming Rush Limbaugh? Tonight I am taking 2 pain killers, it hurts like you cannot imagine

Taking oxycodone nightly, tonight, twice within 3 hours

[RaceBannon]

Valium aint touching the calf cramping, either, 5 mg, I dont want to make coctails of large dosages, but I may start doubling up on those too if this keeps up

[gotribe]

Read the book "Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection" by John Sarno. Guy's in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Medical Center. Must read, has helped me a lot and I would have avoided surgery had I read the book first.

[A_perfect_lady]

You poor thing... I have never had what you have, but I gotta say.... when in pain, screw the consequences... become Rush Limbaugh if you must! The times I've been in pain I have headed straight for the liquor cabinet without hesistation. I hope someone more helpful than me comes along...

[kimmie7]

I will pray for you! Bless your heart...and I've been fussing about my 9-days-and-counting headache!

[xcamel]

stretching, and electro-muscular therapy sure helped me a few years back.. no drugs required either.

[Coyoteman]

Try a good chiropractor.

See if you can find one of the Palmer style (Palmer invented the practice a hundred+ years ago).

[txroadkill]

Welcome to my world...Mine is at l-4/l-5 & L-5/s-1. For some people Lumbar Steroid injections work, sounds like an SI joint injection might help too. If not, Neurontin (sp) has helped with the radiating nerve pain.

Keep in mind there is a BIG difference between being addicted to pain meds and being dependent. Being dependent is not addiction. A lot of people take pain meds regularly, most are able to stop taking the meds when the pain stops because the relief makes them feel so much better. Don't sweat the meds when you're in pain.

[zook]

I didn't have the pain as bad as this person seems to, but a good Chinese chiropractor did the trick for me.

[RaceBannon]

The electro does wonders, but only for a short while, last Therapy was Monday, today about 13:00 I was in agony

Next appointment is tomorrow about 14:30

[SIDENET]

Right calf is cramping on occasion, spike of pain is down from the hip joint to the foot, right foot is asleep for the last week

Sounds serious. Have you had an MRI?

[RaceBannon]

Since it is workman's comp, there is no MRI until therapy shows itself to fail.

[DenverGal]

I agree..a few glasses of wine gets me right almost every time

[43north]

Try to find a reputable pain specialist or anesthesiologist in your area to inject the affected nerve with Marcaine and a steroid. That is the best way to treat this short term and if done properly, it provides nearly instant relief. DO NOT accept surgery unless you have developed nerve deficits in your leg or foot.

Oral analgesics usually won't touch this pain. You need someone who's experienced in dealing with nerve root pain.

Not to worry, though. The body usually repairs this problem itself in 6 weeks or so. Of course, that will be the LONGEST 6 weeks of your life.

As for chiropractors and other practitioners of the fringe arts: if they tell you they can help you they are not reputable. Nothing will help this pain except knocking out the nerve for a while.

[txroadkill]

There is a way around that, go get admitted to a hospital for pain management. They will do an MRI, CT Scan and a Micro-discogram (sp) just make sure the doctors who treat you and perform any test on you know it is WC. If they note degenerative disc COMP WILL STOP PAYING!!!

[vetvetdoug]

Surgery to remove the nucleus pulposis from pressuring the L-5 region and relieve the pressure on the spinal column. OTOH, pain killers, muscle relaxants, vitamins (omega 3's, glucosamine/PSAG's) and minimal use is the conservative treatment. Other modalities? Acupuncture works but there are a good many quacks there as with the chiropractic community. One has to be careful.

I had a bulged disk 17 years ago and elected pain killers and rest for three weeks. I didn't stand up, crawled around using knee pads, and when I did stand up I leaned on a cane to relieve stress on the area. I was lucky.

[xcamel]

you really need to do lots of the stretching - get some help doing it too.

[SIDENET]

Since it is workman's comp, there is no MRI until therapy shows itself to fail.

Hope you find out exactly what it is sooner rather than later, and get some relief. That kind of pain is definitely no fun.

[A_perfect_lady]

I ripped a tiny muscle right between my shoulderblades about 9 years ago. For days and days it was like a knife in my back buried to the hilt. No position was comfortable. I could not sleep. I would pace all night and cry, and think that if this were permanent I would shoot myself rather than go on. Man, I sucked down a lot of vodka waiting for that to go away. Dull pain I can endure; my lower back has ached for decades. But sharp pain? Unbearable.

[FReepaholic]

...Since it is workman's comp, there is no MRI until therapy shows itself to fail....

Been there, done that. Took a year before they agreed to surgery.

Ended up getting a micro-discectomy. Work comp case manager found an excellent spine surgeon in Orlando and I feel great (4 years later).

Good luck.