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!

Physiotherapy was the only thing that worked for me. If I get a bout of pain now, I start to do the exercises again, gently at first. Painkillers didn't really help. The exercises will be online, but ideally he should consult with a physiotherapist.

My Dad had it and in the end paid for surgery to have a tiny nodule of bone in his spine removed. The NHS waiting list was terrible and he was in agony. That sorted it for him.

I had it very badly two years ago and it lasted months but gradually improved with physio and back exercises that I did at home. I've got it mildly now but it's different this time, I can stand and walk but not sit. Last time it was the reverse.

Mine is usually triggered by gardening and I am trying to be more careful about pacing myself these days.

He really needs to register with a GP!

A little update. So he has worn the support for almost a week but now he is saying it isn't helping him. He was in a lot of pain yesterday :( he reckons he overdone it! I've once again told him he needs to register with a GP to get looked at but as usual, he just ignores me. I don't know what else to do. I'm worried the more pain he is in, the worse it is going to get. He really is stubborn and doesn't want to go anywhere near any doctors.

Sounds to me you're doing your best for him but he's a stubborn old man. It's up to him if he wants to carry on living with the pain, he's obviously not prepared to do what's necessary. It must be exasperating for you.

I've just posted my own thread on Chat about this - I'm 27 weeks pregnant and I'm in agony to the point where I get stuck in one room and DP has to come and rescue me.

Those of you who had this in pregnancy, is there anything I can do?

Just wondering if it's worth buying one of those stick on heat pads?

Sorry to hijack the thread OP but I'm a desperate woman!

As others have said, he does need to register with a GP.
In the meantime I would even think about asking on your town’s Facebook page for recommendations of a local physio And see if they are seeing people.

If he has none of the illness listed by the government to be shielding then he doesn’t need to be shielding just because if his age.
I hope him possibly incorrectly thinking he has to shield purely due to his age isn’t was has stopped him getting help from the gp.

I hope he gets some treatment soon to help him 🤞

Firstly stop putting heat on it. My physio said to use cold only as heat makes things swell which is no use. Ice packs for 20 minutes every hour, anti inflammatories and stretches (NHS choices has a great section)

Yes. Three burst discs all pushing on my spinal cord + unstable SI joint/pelvis - I'm forever catching the sciatic nerve

Oh god, you're in a hard place - how do you convince him?

I had sciatic for years, that finally resulted in a ruptured disc that needed surgery.

At its height, the pain was worse than childbirth -
In particular because it was unrelenting for months.

Your dad needs to see a GP, or if it's unbearable, go to A&E. Normal painkillers won't touch it, as others have said. It can also cause permanent disability if not addressed.

If he starts to get tingling in his foot or can't wee, it's an emergency.

@LatteLover12 - you poor poor thing.
Heat made my entire back seize up to the point I couldn't even crawl - apparently it's one of the worse things you can do for nerve paid / inflammation.

I had it years ago, lasted for weeks, went to an osteopath a few times and it was gone! Didnt care about the money out of my own pocket, worth every penny.

Yes and it was due to a slipped disc which needed surgery. Sorry but my symptoms were like your dads.

Oh thank you @einsteinagogo

I'll try an ice pack instead. I just want to be able to walk further than 3 paces without crying out in pain.

I've still got 3 more months to go before baby arrives 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I had it for about three months a constant shooting down my leg it did gradually go. About 6 months later it came back with a vengeance, I could hardly walk, couldn't sleep, it was like a knife stabbing me in the hip constantly, truly the worse pain I've ever felt. I borrowed some morphine off a friend just to get a good night's sleep. The doctor prescribed Gabipentin which got rid of it in a few days.

I had it and it go so bad that I could hardly walk or sleep as woke up in pain every time I turned over.

I had an X-ray and was diagnosed with lumbar spondylosis. Basically worn out discs. I was advised to build up my back muscles which I did at the gym with weight machines and I was pain free within 2 months. The back pain has started coming back due muscle loss as not been able to get to the gym for 3 months but thankfully it’s not radiating down my leg like a red hot poker yet!

He really needs an X-ray to diagnose what the problem is but doing the physio exercises PP listed are very helpful for relief. Can you get him a yoga mat set up?

Definitely needs to use ice packs rather than heat! I used to use the lunchbox ice packs wrapped in a sandwich bag so cold not directly on the skin. Put it back in the freezer and reapply every few hours for 15 mins.

Long term he needs to join a gym and use the lower back weight machines. There are plenty of over 70s at mine. Even a very sprightly 93 year old!

I had it severely. A combination of specific yoga poses for sciactica (Do Yoga With Me, youtube),and losing weight helped me. At his age though it really is important to get him checked over by his GP to rule out any serious causes.

If he doesn't want to actually visit a doctor because of covid, most are doing visits over the phone and will prescribe something if he is in pain. Physios are also doing appointments over zoom etc so I'd look into that privately if you can afford it as the waiting list on the NHS is so long.

I had it in pregnancy, it was debilitating, I couldn't walk. I remember seizing up completely and had to get carried into a taxi. I saw a really good osteopath who helped with the inflammation around the nerve by really strong (painful!) massage. She got pregnant herself and I tried to find another one and it took a few visits from people who weren't as good before i found another one i liked. I don't know if they're working at the moment though.

My second pregnancy I did yoga from the outset and that really helped keep back pain at bay and even now a few years later in susceptible to lower back pain and yoga stretches really help so I'd suggest that, it wont do any harm and is free and can be done from home using one of the million videos on YouTube

Yes I suffer with it but a few months ago it was in absolute agony and crying in pain with it. It was horrific.
I couldn’t walk and nothing made it better, lying down, sitting down, everything was just so painful.
I saw the GP who prescribed diazepam alongside naproxen and cocodomol, she told me to go to walk in physio and they gave me crutches because I just couldn’t walk on it.
In the end it eased within about a week.
It was excruciating 😖

The doctor will probably be doing telephone appointments at the moment where he describes symptoms over the phone. If the doctor wants to prescribe anything they will either leave prescription at reception for him to collect or send it electronically to a pharmacy of his choice. Would he happy to do that? I hate going to doctor and find telephone appointments so much easier