To ask for tips on dealing with sciatica pain

[Patcherdog]

I'm in a lot of pain at night. It's really awful.
Started about a month ago. It's round my hip and down the front of my leg and in my shin.
I've been told it's likely radiculopathy relating to my femoral nerve and due to disk degeneration.

I've been to the GP who has put me on gabapentin which is now increased to the max I can take of 900 mg. The doc has also prescribed cocodamol 500/30. I am 56 and have type 2 diabetes and ckd stage 3b, so am limited to what pain killers I can take. I am less than 8 stone so not overweight.

I have been in very bad pain especially the last couple of nights. I am a bit wary about taking too much cocodamol and am taking one at a time rather than two. Perhaps I should take two at a time but I am a bit scared to do so.
I know I am probably going to be told to I should have posted this in general health but I did think more people would read it in AIBU.

I have been writhing in agony tonight unable to sleep for the second night so I've got up and am sitting in a chair under a blanket.

During the day I'm okay and can manage to go about my daily routine.

I dont think I've ever had worse pain 😥

I went to a physiotherapist privately for sciatica secondary to a botched epidural when I had ds I was only 23 and walking /moving like my 90yo grandfather. It was agony.

I'm asthma so also limited in the pain relief I can have (no nsaids so no ibuprofen /naproxen etc)

The physio gave me some stretches and exercises to do that helped quite a bit, it took about 5/7 years to resolve as much as it was ever going to. It does still flare up every now and then but it's more manageable now. I also splurged on a proper orthopaedic mattress, not a memory foam one. I'm 34 now and manage to work full time in healthcare, though I do have to be careful how many shifts in a row I do

These things helped but nothing really makes the pain go away completely I find

I feel your pain. I have spent nearly 2 years sleeping in a chair with my feet on a footstool. If I sleep this way my sciatica is only a minor annoyance but it is a very long night, waking up every hour or so.

I have tried sleeping in the bed from time to time but only lasted a short time before the agony returns and it is back to the chair for me. I hope to get a really good adjustable recliner or an adjustable bed to suit my back but I am worried that I will waste a lot of money on something that doesn't suit me.

I wish I had some helpful advice for you apart from becoming resigned to sleeping in a chair but I haven't found anything else that works.

I have one of these and put it on the outside of my hip as I sit in the chair before bed, sort of wedged in. Make sure you have a thick pair of trousers on so you don't get blisters! It seems to help me with my sciatica pain and sort of relax my back / hip muscles too

I was going to suggest gentle physio stretch exercises at night, pillow between legs, ice pack or heat pack etc ...

I am on prescription cocodamol of up to 8 a day for disc degeneration as well as a hip that subluxes so it feels as if it is near my shoulder rather than hip level.

I have found that muscle relaxants help me more than gabapentin - I take baclofen. The doctor also put me on a weekly pain patch as they said it was better to regulate the pain and to then use tablets on top.

I am awake as nothing is working as I walked more today - it sucks doesn't it!

Take two of the co-codamol.

They are meant to be taken in twos.

If you are on that much gabapentin and still in pain ask to switch to maybe pregabalin or amytriptyline.

I’m so sorry, being awake and in agony at 3am is just exhausting.

I don’t know much about long term painkillers, but I have pretty straightforward sciatica and have found yin yoga especially useful. Some amazing teachers on YouTube and I tend to do it first thing (in bed!) for ten or fifteen minutes and then again in the evening.

It’s taken a while but it’s made a real difference…I can go for long weekend walks now without needing to take the nurofen with me.

I had sciatica during pregnancy, highly recommend getting a Tens machine to wear throughout the day, hopefully it might help ease the pain and get you through the night.