Sciatica - am SOOOOO fed up I could cry

[posey]

and I can no longer bring myself to joke about it being a pain in the a**e
It is completely and utterly horrid and so wearing. Almost impossible to sit down.

Anyone able to offer any words of advice on what to do to relieve it. Please.

Have you tried a TENS machine or acupuncture?

Ditto on tense & acupuncture, both can really help Lloyds pharmacy often have offers on Tens machines if money is an issue - have you had a referral to a pain clinic?? - they can arrange NHS acupuncture :) - waiting on mine to come through now after seeing pain specialist on Monday

also theres a gadget you can get in Boots etc - called a "paingonepen" its sort of do it yourself acupuncture - my acupuncturist recommended it to me & it is a Godsend on localised pain such as sciatica (I get it too) you click around the areas the pain starts & ends- though for some reason they don't work for everyone, so try before you buy if you can

Have you tried things like Osteopathy or a Chiropractor?? - they can work wonders too - but make sure you get a recommendation/registered 1

Various stretches are crucial but you need a physio to show you. Are you sure it is sciatica. Is it travelling down your leg. It could be your piriformis.

I feel your pain, I suffer from sciatica a lot. I find a tens machine is helpful and also the following exercise. Lie on the floor with a tennis ball under the most painful area of the buttock, try to gently roll the tennis ball in a circular motion for a minute or two, this is incredidly painful! but it does normally help afterwards!

Inversion table?
I've got one for a different back problem, but have had sciatica in the past. I started getting the sciatica twinge a while ago so had a few minutes on the table and it went.

Orthotic inserts in shoes have helped mine massively, just the standard ones you can buy in Boots. They were exceedingly uncomfortble the firstfew weeks, but I got used to them and they have made a huge difference to my sciatic pain.

Deep massage of the buttock worked a treat for me. I suffered terribly with it after a slip on ice. I got my (then 7 yr old) dd to walk over me, concentrating on pummeling the worst affected buttock. It worked brilliantly.

Hello again, I have just googled the condition that Drosophila mentioned, pyriformis, I had never heard of this but I think I have suffered with both sciatica and this. I have had acute attacks of sciatica, excruciating pain extending down one leg rendering me barely able to walk, which I have alleviated by rest and anti-inflammatories. Have not had this for years now. I have also had the chronic, grinding pain extending from buttock to ankle type, which seems to be the pyriformis. This used to disappear overnight but reappear by about lunchtime every single day. The orthotics have largely got rid of this for me now, but if I feel it coming back I get instant relief by the following stretch:

Sit on an upright (dining type) chair with feet flat on the ground about a foot apart, knees at 45 degrees the same distance apart. Lift the foot of the painful leg inwards if you can and place that ankle over the knee of the other leg to make a triangle with the painful leg. Ease the painful leg downwards (or the supporting one upwards onto tiptoe, or both) and feel the stretch down the painful buttock. Hold for a few minutes.

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to reply.
I chatted to a friend today and she also mentioned pyriformis. Lots to investigate. Am going to see GP next week to get a proper diagnosis if possible and set the ball rolling re help as I don't think I can sort this without proper assistance.