Anyone here with or have experienced severe sciatica?

[yarncakes]

My dad had sciatica a few months ago which seemed to have lasted a while, but it gradually faded off.

Now it is back. He has had it for 2w and its still not getting better. He said it is very painful when he walks on it and sits down. He finds relief when laying down only. It is in his upper and lower back and it radiates down his right leg, just above his knee.

He has tried codeine, cocodamol, naproxen, CBD, deep heat, taking regular paracetamol at intervals as well as ibuprofen and nothing is touching the sides.

I have got him a back brace specifically for sciatica for him which is arriving this week as a last resort. If I suggest he goes doctors then it will be a big fat no unfortunately. Especially with this pandemic going on, he is shielding due to his age. He hasn't been to the doctors or hospital for years and years. He is not even registered with a GP surgery (I'm not kidding).

He has been thankfully so lucky but he is in his 70s now and I am worried to tell him he needs to go doctors and get a check up. I think it is because he is terrified of what they're going to say. He just thinks all of his problems will go away but with the amount of pills he takes as well as his pain, I'm worried something untoward is going on, perhaps a prolapsed disc?

He said it started when he sat down on a hard chair then it flared up there and then and has been ongoing ever since.

I'm so worried about him :( what else can cause sciatica? Why would it start up just by sitting on a hard chair!

Yep when I was pregnant. Acupunture really helped me

Acupuncture helped me. But not sure they can work at the moment.

Yes I have - it is absolutely horrific and sitting is the absolute worst position for it. Severe sciatica can be caused by a bulging or prolapsed disc pressing on the sciatic nerve and sending constant pain signals (comparable to childbirth ime). Painkillers don't really help because it is so hard to treat neuropathic pain; although some doctors will prescribe pregabalin or gabapentin for it I didn't really find anything helped during a severe episode. Gentle exercise such as walking and pottering about at home is helpful, and most doctors would refer to physiotherapy for advice on tailored exercises to strengthen the core. You could look at private physio for some advice as a start if he won't go to a doctor?

Look up physio exercises. For sciatica I had to do all sorts to stretch the lower back given to my by a physiotherapist. I also had acupressure which although painful at the time worked really well.

Your poor dad! I have just had my first ever experience of sciatica and the pain is horrendous. Like your dad painkillers didn't touch the sides. GP gave me naproxen and referred me to physio who did a phone consultation with me and then emailed me a program of stretches and exercises to do. They really helped and now my pain is relatively mild. I know your dad won't see a GP but I would def recommend you look into some gentle exercise/stretches that would be appropriate for him (age/agility etc). Hope it helps

I have suffered sciatica for the last 15 years, on and off. It's bloody agony at times. Mine can take weeks/months to settle down. My latest flare up started in January and I'm still suffering. I had a physio appointment just before lockdown which helped and I have exercises which do help (when I remember / have time to do them).

My episodes are caused by physical strains, I'm an active person and it's usually because I've overdone it. Anti inflammatories help.

I've never had a GP appointment, always seen a physio. But it sounds like your Dad is in a lot of pain and is he sure it's sciatica? Might be worth a GP appointment to diagnose in case it's something else and requires different treatment. Hope he feels better soon.

If he's lucky it will get better within about 4-6 weeks. If not (like me...) then steroid injections and surgical interventions are sometimes a possibility. I would really encourage him to get it looked at though - I had an MRI which really clarified what was going on.

Hard chairs have left me immobile for weeks, they are my nemesis!

If you can't at least get him to speak to a physio via zoom or something then the best way is little bits of everything, keep mobile or he'll seize up which is just as bad, lie a bit, move a bit, sit a bit (NOT on a hard chair), move a bit, stand a bit, lie a bit. If you can fashion something to go under his knees when he lies under his back so they are raised up this can often give a bit of relief.

When he is sitting and lying try heat/ice, for me the most effective pain relief is a what bag I heat in the microwave and apply to the area causing the problem. If you google spinal nerves you can often see charts showing which vertebra the nerve in question causing leg pain arises from, heat the vertebra not the leg, or both if it helps.

In my experience (30 years of back pain this year, I should get a badge or something) time is the only thing and it is always a lot longer than you would like!

Osteopath/chiropractor would help realign him and take the pressure off the nerves.

I've had it a couple of times and it was absolutely horrendous. My GP have me diazepam, naproxen and some codeine mix (can't recall its name) but that combination did the trick after days of the worst pain I have ever experienced. He really needs to be registered with a GP though, it's just one less thing to worry about.

Tens machine helped a bit.

Gabapentin can help. He should ring the doctor.

Thank you for your replies so far. I'm so sorry you all suffered from it as well! I've also had it a few times, especially after having my son (via c section. I believe having the spinal caused it). I wasn't in severe pain like my dad seems to be though. I'm not sure what it could be, it sounds like sciatica based on his symptoms as he said it radiates down his leg like shooting\electric shock pain. Love him to bits but he won't go to the doctors. He will try anything and everything if it means not having to go doctors but I don't want to scare him about how severe it can get ie loss of bowel and bladder control.. Scary stuff! I'm sure it won't come to that, so I wont say any more to him about it and just pray that the back support that also goes down to the thigh helps relieve it at least. I am so worried. I live 200 miles away and with this lockdown going on, I can't travel to see him yet.

Yep. Suffering from it now - second bout. The first was a few years ago.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercises-for-sciatica/

These exercises helped last time and seem to be doing the trick this time too.

Mine was caused by a bulging disk and I ended up with emergency surgery. No painkillers would touch the sides but the surgery was very successful and I have not suffered since
Hopefully your dad might see someone soon

I have a tens machine which really helps. I use it about 4 times a day when an attack starts and it shortens attacks to just a couple days.

I had severe sciatica for 9 months that was only sorted by having a micro lumbar discectomy in December. I tried everything and it was the most miserable pain I've known - nothing helped other than the surgery.

sciatica is caused by something pressing on the nerve, it could be a slipped disc for example, but I have triggered attacks just be picking up a piece of paper from the floor - I just pinched the nerve.
The pain is horrendous and can take up to 8 weeks to go
Naproxen worked for me, in that I could function but it didnt remove the pain.
You could try cold packs for a while instead of heat treatments.
After repeated attacks I had physio and have kept it bay by doing the exercises I was given.
He really needs medical attention

I have diagnosed sciatica but your fathers back pain doesn’t sound like mine. Mine sciatica is very lower back- the tail bone. The pain goes down my left leg. I cannot lie down when it strikes. I have to stand or sit propped up. It is also not constant. It will come on for 4-8hr bursts and is literally worse than childbirth. The pain is surreal. No pills can touch it. But between bursts, it is pain free.

I did however, injure my back badly in a traffic accident, and that was more what you describe. Upper and lower back. Unable to stand or walk unless I would roll my shoulders back. No bending, no sitting. Only lying down flat helped. This pain is constant as it’s due to an injury and takes months to improve/get better and even after healing, I still have to be very very careful because just sitting too fast or bending and twisting can set it off again.

He really needs to get his back looked at as it might be sciatica, but it also might be something else? I think he may be able to self refer to a physio therapist and skip the GPS office entirely. www.nhs.uk/conditions/physiotherapy/accessing/

I had it and amitriptyline worked for me. It’s a nerve based painkiller that I was VERY anxious about taking but was actually completely fine. It enabled me to properly use physio and I was able to stop taking it after a few months.

I had a prolapsed disc - from a wonky office chair! - and it was so agonising I couldn’t walk AT ALL without holding onto the wall and taking tiny steps.
I also had pain in my upper back (muscles compensating for the weak lower back) and at time’s felt I couldn’t breathe.
I was given diazepam for night (I was asleep in minutes and I could hear the sticky clicking in my back of the disc where the muscles were relaxing).
I had Co-codamol and something else I can’t remember. It took six weeks to heal but from about week 4 I could walk about.
I still periodically get excruciating pain in my back (I’ve not been able to sleep for the best part of a week this week). I’ve taken a lot of nitrogen and kept moving as much as possible.
Getting my DH to massage my feet has helped a bit.
Deep heat helped a bit.
Sitting upright is awful.
It’s a case of time and movement and a lot of medication I reckon

I have sciatica, and nerve pain in other areas. Painkillers don't seem to affect nerve pain in general so is he on amitryptine or gabapentin? I'm on one of those and it really helps.

I use a tens machine for chronic costochondritis and on a really bad flare up of sciatica used the tens machine on that area and I did feel it relaxed the muscles.

The tens machine I use was thirty or forty pounds on amazon, med fit. It has pre programmed settings for pain relief or muscle stimulation. It's worth a try, just be careful to research the unit you buy.

Yes. I had emergency surgery for cauda equina. Keep an eye out for groin numbness and any changes in bladder and bowel movements
Mine was a severe herniation, unknown cause
Sleep with pillow between knees on side, or under knees if on back. Avoid long periods of sitting

No he isn't on any other medication, I'm guessing they can only be prescribed my a doctor? As he isn't registered with any GP at all, chances of him being prescribed anything are small. The codeine, cocodamol and naproxen he got from his friend. I will suggest gentle exercise and physio suited for his needs. I know he won't take any notice and he will just bury his head in the sand and tell himself it'll all go away. He's so stubborn! A bit like me.. I take after him lol. However I know if I have to see a doctor, then I will. I'm just hoping this back support works. Are back supports suited for sciatica or at worse, herniated\bulging disc?

Your dad really needs to register with a GP especially as he's in his 70s and he should not be taking prescription drugs he gets off a friend. There are certain combinations of drugs he should not take together so this is really dangerous. Has he never had a GP?

I know I've told him this but he still takes them. He isn't taking the medicine his friend has given to hin anymore as they don't work any way.

No he has never had a GP. Last time he got any sort of treatment was at A&E well over 20 years ago to stitch his eyebrow which he cut open at work.

I reckon his boss and colleagues pretty much forced him to go otherwise, knowing what he is like, he would've just done it himself. Like he does with everything else!