Sciatica and a baby to look after!! How?

[BelleBoyd]

My back went a couple of nights ago. I moved some furniture on Tuesday and I think it was weak after months of hauling heavy baby/car seat around.
It is intense constant pain. Can't sit or lie down comfortably or move in general. The pain is on my right side above my hip.
I think it's sciatica.
I'm a single mum with a 6 month old and 4 year old. I am feeling quite panicked about how to care for them if this pain goes on. I can lift baby but am trying not to so much :(
I haven't lifted the car seat since-that's out now.
I've been taking ibuprofen the 400mg I had left over from my CS but they aren't helping. The pain is much worse than when I had the CS..
Going to the docs on Monday.
But how do I look after the children? Really worried for them/us. My mum is helping but she's 75 and has a bad shoulder! She comes round a couple of times in the week. STBXH has announced he's off to his mums this weekend and is working weekends for the next month so is totally unavailable to help. Not that he did much anyway...no one else available to help.
Any tips?

You need much better analgesia - can your mum go to the pharmacy and discuss/ask for advice from pharmacist? Otherwise a&e might be your only option.
I'm so sorry you're going through this.

Yes my mum did go to the chemist but just got ibuprofen gel which doesn't help really...
She did suggest a&e actually-maybe I should go tomorrow-she is coming round and could mind the children.
What painkillers would work do you think? And is picking up the baby damaging it further?? I'm not sure what to do today.

Most likely you just need anything that helps you get through tyd next 2-3 days. Prescription drugs (as should be given at a&e or walk in centre) should help. In an ideal world you should keep moving, as in walking, but do no sitting, carrying, lifting etc. you really do need help. Any neighbours or friends around?

I can't really ask anyone. All my mum friends have several kids on the holidays to look after already..
My 4 year old DD is great, looking after herself mainly bless her.
It's just the baby lifting/changing/playing with. I can't really hand him over to anyone else.
Also how do you do no sitting? What position should I put myself in?
Wondering how long this will last for?

Hi you need some stronger pain killers. Has your drs got an emergency drop in on Saturday? Nothing else helped me with the pain. If not head for a and e and see if they can help. It is so painful. Really hope uou can get some relief soon

If it is sciatica I really feel for you. Absolutely agonizing.

Hopefully the GP will be willing to give you codeine or something, but IME they often encourage you to try to limp along with ibuprofen and paracetamol - even though it barely touches the pain. If you are really desperate and have a nice GP it is possible that they will give you a few Valium, but it is addictive stuff, so most doctors are a bit reluctant to hand it out.

Sciatica is rubbish though, as there is no quick fix for it (and I am sorry to say it can go on for months, only very gradually improving) and you basically just have to grin and bear it and keep going as best you can.

Have you tried a hot water bottle on it? I found that helped a tiny bit.

Blimey don't know how I'll cope for months..
And school run starts soon.
I've tried those stick on heat patches but really the pain stays pretty constant apart from at night when it's worse :(

I'd recommend frequent rest - in bed, every 3 hours for 20/30 mins, lying on your good side with a pillow between knees - and heat (heat pads, hot bath or even hot shower aimed at the area) and keep moving.

Don't sleep on your front or back. Don't sit at all if you can avoid it, and if you can't, sit on very soft cushions and don't lean forward, lean back.

Effective painkillers are important now as you will start to avoid the pain and get muscle problems elsewhere.

Hope you feel better soon.

PS Do ask for help with the baby. Even if it is unconvenient. The more rest you get now, and NO lifting, the quicker it will disappear.

Please come and join us on the Back Pain support thread. There are lots of people in similar positions with a whole heap of advice and support. Your situation sounds awful. You definitely need more meds. For the weekend get ibuprofen and also cocodamol from the chemist. It is perfectly safe to take both. If you take them alternately but at full dose you should get better control for now. Your doctor can prescribe stronger versions of them both ( naproxen and cocodamol 30/500). Codeine is constipating so you might need a laxative, too. Diazepam(Valium) is excellent if your back is in spasm.

If this persists do ask your HV, sure start and HomeStart for any help that might be available. And of course any friends and family who might help.

Hope you will join us for more ideas. Sending a lot of sympathy and the actual fact that almost all of these injuries get better on their own. It can take a while though so you need to try and get plenty of support lined up.xx

Thankyou for your replies.
Just been to A&E and saw a really nice out of hours GP who's given me naproxen and omeprazole.
Hoping that'll help. The doc says it may just take a week to get better but possibly 2/3 weeks.
My mum is going to come over more this week to help too.

That's good but do keep your GP appointment, naproxen is an anti inflammatory and Omeprazole just protects your stomach. You may well need more. In the meantime see my advice above, it still stands. Back pai is agonising and need a multi med approach in many cases.

Take it easy. Keep going with the heat patches, too and a lovely hot bath is good for tight muscles.

The doc said if I'm still in pain in a week to go the GP for a physio referral. He said he could give me something stronger but as I've got a small baby to wake up for in the night it wasn't a good idea...Doubt the GP would give me anything else? I was relived to get the naproxen TBH I had thought they might just give me ibrufrofen.

So far have taken 3 doses of naproxen and it hasn't changed.

You might have pulled a muscle badly. I did this once through lifting - it was awful. I saw a physio, who really helped (DH saw an osteopath in similar circumstances). Longterm, pilates or yoga can build core strength to stop this happening. If you have a sling or can borrow one, use that to get the baby to the car and leave the car seat in the car at all times.

If you can afford it, go and see a physio or osteo one-off privately to establish what's wrong. It can often take a long time to access NHS physio as there is so much demand. In the meantime, if you know what you've done, it gives you an idea of what to do to fix it.

YY to seeing a good physio privately asap. She/He will be able to give you exercises which could make your pain go away quickly.

I've had slipped discs twice, 4 years ago I got physio instantly, privately, and went from unable to walk (A&E situation) to painfree in a very short time, with 3 sessions.

My slipped discs from March are still troubling me, because I didn't stop working (I could still walk so it wasn't too bad )and I only started physio in June.

Whatever the reason for your pain, you have to start doing the right exercises to relax and strengthen the muscles in that area.

Good luck.

PS the only painkillers that worked for me was Tramadol.