Need some help with sciatic pain
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi, I'm 18 years old have had sciatica for almost a year now, I'm sure like everyone I have days where it's bareable but lately it has got a lot worse to the point where nothing I do or take for it will releive any pain, I've just left college and was hoping to go full time in my job, which working with a building firm is very demanding. But I cannot because of how bad the pain and how much it limits my range of motion in my left leg, ankle and lower back.
My doctor and I have been discussing possible surgeries but in the meantime I need something to help me as I'm becoming more bed ridden as each day passes.
Thankyou in advance
Ellis.
0 likes, 8 replies
pacehuman Ellisrobo
Posted
Dont opt in for surgery its a very last option and as you are very young i would never go for it, have you try terdmol capsules they did worked for me!! Start swimming its a very good exicerse for slip disc.
Ellisrobo pacehuman
Posted
And I will definatly give swimming a try.
Thankyou.
pacehuman Ellisrobo
Posted
There are also some magic strips which are really helpful and cure the pains
angela29594 Ellisrobo
Posted
I'm sorry to hear your in such pain,it must be awful for a young lad as I know how much it affects your life style.Iv been suffering for 6 weeks with terrible pain in my left leg so bad that I can't drive so I can't get out,so it must be driving you mad especially if it's affecting you getting job.
i have Bernard prescribed gabapentin and naproxen but not sure if there cooing anything.the only thing that helps me is co Codamol 30mg/500mg so you might want to try them,also I find hot baths definitely ease the pain.
I'm having physio and that doesn't seem to be doing anything and I have just started a course of acupuncture,I've had my first one today so too early to tell if it will help.
i wish you well and hope you find something that helps with your pain.
Ellisrobo angela29594
Posted
Will definatly mention gabapentin to my Gp next time i'm there, I have already taken Naproxen and co-codamal but seemed to have very little effect over the 6-8 week period I was taking them.
Thankyou for the reply.
Patient99 Ellisrobo
Posted
Sorry to hear of your problems - I'm a lot older than you (almost at retirement age), and found that physio didn't work (about 10 years ago, now; then I was given a short course of epidural injections (which was much shorter than intended, due to change of consultant, the new one in his wisdom considered that physio (which hadn't worked previously) would be the best course of action - the physio dept of my local hospital didn't want to go anywhere near it, and to cut a very long story short, I ignored the back problems for another 5 years or so - then April/May 2013, it hit me like a ton of bricks - sciatic pain in my buttock and right hip, which then spread down my right thigh and calf, then into my ankle and across to my big toe - in July 2013 I was in so much agony, having hurt myself getting back into bed after a painful visit to the loo, that paramedics and late call doctors were summoned - the paramedics thought it best not to take me to A&E because they thought I'd be sitting there for hours before being attended to, and only gave me (was it nitrous oxide?) gas which only barely touched the pain - eventually, the second late call doctor diagnosed paresthesia and eventually prescribed oromorph I think it is called (liquid morphine) which hit the spot, and on an ongoing basis, prescribed amitryptyline, diazepam, pregabalin, naproxen and morphgesic/zomorph - I have kept on with the middle three (in bold type) of those, gradually weaning myself off of them (3 a day down to 2) but when I took the amitryptyline and morphgesic/zomorph, I was completely off my head, totally totally 'spaced out' - I dropped them like a hot potato almost from the word go - I have since had, in May 2014 (by yet another surgeon/consultant) a decompression of my lower spine (L4/5-S1/2) and was going/due to have a discectomy, which apparently was not needed, because the main problem in 'catching' sciatica in my case has been 'engorged veins' (wish I had them instead in my penis!!
, which apparently will gradually revert back to normal over a period of time - the veins, not my penis (unfortunately
) - according to this new surgeon/consultant - I still have the numbness in my right foot and sometimes in my lower leg, but every day I seem to become mote mobile, which means that the paresthesia is becoming less
Might be worth an MRI scan to see if you have engorged veins, as maybe a course of anti-inflammatories might just do the trick, instead of epidural injections or surgery - last thought, could it be that at your age, it may simply be a case of growing pains, maybe?
I hope all of the above gives you a bit more insight into how this condition can be 'controlled'
What part of the world are you from, I'm from UK?
Ellisrobo Patient99
Posted
I'm also from the U.k, Leicester England to be exact.
I've had an MRI just over a month ago, and from the results I have been told by my Gp/Doctor That it's Compression on my sciatic nerve.
Unfortunatly we do not yet know what is causing this compression, I have an appointment with him next friday but I feel that by then the pain will be far to extreme to bare.
Patient99 Ellisrobo
Posted
Before your GP - and then (hopefully) your consultant - leads you down the path of surgery - which as others have said must be viewed as a last resort, especially at your age, maybe you ought to mention that 'someone else' (me!) had engorged veins, which are said to have been my 'problem' - and might it be yours' also?
Hope you get some answers next Friday, and that things progress rapidly to a cure (or pain relief as an absolute minimum)
All the very best young man