Aargh! Please share your sciatica experiences, tips and wondrous miracle cures

[WaggyTailsWetNoses]

I’m on day ten of back pain from a herniated disc and day five of excruciating one-sided sciatic pain. It’s pretty much all I can think about and talk about. Driving is almost impossible. As a is sleeping, sitting and doing anything that isn’t a scalding hot bath. OTC medication useless, description NSAID/ codeine also not great (although strong ones help with sleep a little). Yoga poses, TENS etc. all
offer only fleeting relief. BUPA only will fund five physio sessions and, apart from that say to give it time.

Ant ideas where to go next?

I’m happy to try an osteopath and other medications. Happy to pay to see a pain specialist/ orthopaedist. Has anyone had a cortisone injection? BUPA physio ruled it out but I’m happy to pay if it might help.

To be honest, I feel a bit fobbed off by insurance company and GP (only spoken to the practice nurse, and she was very kind but said it’s just stronger painkillers from them), as it’s massively impacting on my quality of life. But maybe I’m being an impatient baby she just need to suck it up.

I had an excruciating bout back between June and October last year. I had physio. Did the exercises but it took time. Weirdly cycling used to ease mine. Didn't hurt on the bike

McKenzie technique helped me. Also aromatherapy. Osteopath and alternatives wouldn’t touch me once my disc had fully perforated. The only thing that fixed me was surgery to remove the part of the disc rubbing against the sciatic nerve.

The other thing I wasn’t told, despite living with the herniated disc for several years, was if you have any incontinence whatsoever go straight to A&E as there is a 24 hour window to prevent permanent nerve damage.

Once I was under the care of the orthopaedic surgeon o had much better care than my GP could offer. I had paracetamol every four hours, and Valium for two days at a time to get the muscle out of spasm.

A TENS machine on full blast was also annoying enough to distract me from the pain.

Hope you get it sorted soon. Keep pushing for radical intervention.

Swimming. Backstroke. If too painful to swim at first, walk up and down the pool.

Oestopath
Opiates
Valium
Walking

It's horrible but you have to really pushy with the NHS or you will be dismissed. I was apparently too young for that kind of injury. But it was agony.

You poor thing. I had/have that due to bulging disks. In good news, it lessened over time, but it took weeks. And i could barely walk (although driving was OK).
I had some relief kneeling over a gym ball on my bed.
I found it terrifying at first because the pain was so intense and sudden. I felt as if the muscles in my leg would snap. I was paranoid that one slight error in movement would effect me for life.
The surgeon I paid privately for (scanned and seen within week) did say that movement would be painful but probably not cause additional harm.
I worked out what triggered it and am very careful now. I still have a little residual numbness in my leg but it has improved.

I had to sleep in an armchair for a year in order to get a half way decent night's sleep.
I already had the chair. The chair back reclined slightly and also had a part of the back near the actual seat that bulged out a bit and fitted exactly into my back at the point where I had pain. That somehow soothed the pain.
Other than that I had strong painkillers from the DR.

Get checked to see if the sciatica is true sciatica or piriformis syndrome. You will probably need to see an osteopath or osteomyologist to find out.
If it's piriformis syndrome, there are things you can do that will help but you'll need professional advice to make sure you don't do any more damage, or interfere with healing.
In my area, I can self-refer to NHS physiotherapy, so you might want to look into that too.

I agree with all the other comments but something else no one has mentioned yet - start gentle core exercises

Leg slides
clam shells
cat & cow

piriformis stretch and child’s pose good too

but really, painkillers and hot baths to get you over the first week or two then you can start to recover

sleep in your bed on your side with a pillow between your knees

Don't have a cure sadly. I couldn't even have a hot bath - got in and was in an excruciating position, thought I'd never get out again!

But these things helped me (slightly)

• try different painkillers. The first ones I was prescribed did nothing for me, others (nerve-specific, I forget what they were called) were better
• I have this chair for work (office job). When my sciatica was at its worst it was the most comfortable place to sit. Still couldn't use it for long periods (I alternated with standing). A PP said cycling was fine - for my first sciatica bout I found that horse-riding was fine, and that's when I researched and found the chair. In fact one day I rode for a couple of hours, then did a 6km run - but couldn't sit down on a sofa! Second bout was worse and riding was painful and running a non-starter
• moving about early in the day helps, so first thing I would do some exercises (e.g. side plank, couldn't do normal plank) and go for a walk
• if you don't already, try sleeping on your side with a pillow between your knees

Good luck.

Cross-post with @ShirleyPhallus !

Oh thats so horrid.
When I had sciatica they prescribed small dose of Amytriptilyne sorry not sure how to spell it. It took a cpuple of weeks to work but oh my god finally feeling my leg again was amazing. It was like my leg was falling off and not working properly before that. I feel for you not nice, I hope you find something to help!

Thanks so much everyone. There’s some really helpful advice here. I’m going to try to book into the back pain clinic at the local private hospital as they have pain and musculoskeletal specialists. I want to avoid stronger and stronger opiate painkillers if there are alternatives.

Drugs legal ones
Thermacare lower hip and back wraps
Move gently
Avoid sitting, stand or lie down and use a pillow between your knees

A good physio. Mine watched me walk in after a couple of sessions and said "nope, here's an MRI referral, I'm not treating you any more until you've had one"
I had spinal surgery 3 months later for a massive disc herniation and cauda equina. Couldn't walk without dragging my foot

PLEASE google cauda equina red flags and straight to a&e if you get ANY. Don't ring 111 or anything, just get to a&e

I had it years ago - lying on the floor helped, and strong painkillers pain just gradually eased, I was fine after about 6 weeks and haven't had it again.

I assume you're talking lower back?

Stretch, stretch stretch and just pay to see a private physio, you'll be waiting ages on the NHS

I dont know the names of them but there are some standard lower back stretch exercises, lifting your bum in the air is the one that I rely on most, also trying to 'hang' from the door frame or bannister if you cant quite reach the top of the door, also lie flat with knees in the air and rock from side to side, gently obvioiusly, there will be something on google for 'lower back pain'

I had a terrible bout of sciatica recently, I couldnt even sit down, had to stand up and walk around, couldnt sleep, awful

I mean this kindly but why do you want to avoid stronger painkillers? That’s what they’re there for and a few days on them are unlikely to cause any bad side effects

Osteopath
Opiates
Diazepam
Pilates

Best of luck. At one stage I was on six different painkillers. It was the worst pain of my life. The NHS were seriously dismissive until I lost my temper, and couldn't even sit down or walk.

I still have residual numbness 10 years on. If it happened again I would just go private immediately

A massive v shaped pregnancy pillow really helped me to sleep.

Ask for Gabapentin.

Regular painkillers and amitriptyline did nothing for me. I was in pain like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

For me it was codeine on prescription interspersed with ibuprofen, big supportive knickers while wearing a nighttime sanitary towel all the time, a support cushion. Sleeping sitting up in bed with pillows behind my head and back, when I could lie down making sure I was lying on the opposite side of the hurting side with pillows between my legs, a massage gun, physiotherapy, constantly alternating between sitting, walking and standing even overnight, sitting on an office chair was the only way to get comfy sitting down at first with a footrest as well, and heat packs.

Oh and no painkillers worked. I was on paracetamol, naproxen, diazepam, dihydrocodeine and oramorph
Didn't touch it. The thermacare hip and back wraps saved my sanity until I had the op
I told a&e to cut my leg off at one point as I was suicidal with pain

Gabapentin can be very good. For me, it made me into a moron. I knowingly put my back door key in the bin and forgot my own name while taking it. I had small children at the time and the doctor prescribed it. That was really irresponsible given the strength

cortisone injection was ultimately the only thing that worked long term

Painkillers for nerve pain - gabapentin.

Or antidepressants... those also work on nerve pain.

Nothing else made any difference to my pain.

It's like being stoned, so I couldn't drive on them etc though