Tips on pain relief for sciatica. It is unbearable :(

[FifiFerusha]

Hi,

I wondered if anyone knew what I can do as I have to wait 6 weeks to get a physio appointment and I am in agony. I also have a 9mo and a 6yo and I am finding it really hard to look after them properly with the pain I am going through.

The doctor says to just keep taking the painkillers but they hardly touch it. The oaharmacy said en to take neurofen and co codomal together. This is the only thing that has worked and give relief for about two hours although I can only take them every four. I am also worried that co codomal should only be taken for three days. .how can I keep this up for 6 weeks? I am really struggling to carry my son around, get him to sleep , bf him(I only do this in the morning now and avoid co codomal at this time although I feed him in agony, he is a big boy). The doctor hiwever says I can take co codomal and bf but am simply worried about affecting him.

The pain is around my bum, in my right thigh and projects down into my shin, ankles and leaves my feet with pins and needles. It is worse in the evening and most nights I am genuinely wondering whether I need to go to the hospital it is bad. I am not a hypercondriac and am a very get on with it kind of person but am genuinely struggling to do that right now. My doctor wasn't very helpful. Any tips? I have tried stretching advised( form the internet) but it actually leaves it feeling worse so am scared to do anything until I see the physio. I also start back at work in five weeks and I am not sure I can actually function. Please help if you can x

I take 2 500g naproxen daily

Mine are 250 grams. Maybe they are seeing how they go. I will have a review next Tuesday argh, hope I last.

The two other things that now jump out having come back is that you carry your little one in a sling and that your partner is possibly not that supportive.

Picking up heavy stuff or carrying stuff around made mine far worse as all linked to the back. I can't advise you to not pick up your baby obviously but be very wary of how much you carry and how you do it.

Issues with stress always made my sciatica and back issues worse. My Osteo explained that when stressed we tense and in tensing it makes everything worse. So as much as its your body that is causing agony your mind needs some tender loving care as well.

Thank you. I am not carrying him the sling now because it hurts to be honest. I try and lean and carry him front ways and not sideways but yes, it doesn't help. The hardest thing is putting him his cot and for naps he needs to be held to sleep even though he settles at bedtime. This is killing e the most. Today I feel a bit better but after putting him to bed this morning the pain is creeping in and I have had to sit down. The house is a mess but I just can't manage.

My partner is stressed with work at the moment and he is sooo concerned with taking time off. Somewhere in his mind his defence mechanisms are playing games and I truly believe he thinks I am putting it on. It is soo hard, when you are physically sick and pale with illness you get sympathy but for some reason, when it is a physical incapability you can get branded as lazy and not getting on with it. As you all understand sometimes you just can't, especially when you can't walk. I am struggling but am pressured to keep going. I may get my sister to visit and help me, I don't want to make this worse.

To be honest, OP, I think that unless someone has experienced a herniated disc, they cannot imagine how painful it is.

Also, I know loads of people who merrily trill "I've got sciatica" while running around quite normally, whereas when my sciatica is playing up, I have to be extremely careful, both with movement and lifting.

The ones who take it lightly are definitely the ones who have had it very mildly, no one who has had an acute episode wants to go through it again!

I had terrible sciatica. The pain was severe.
Luckily I had private health care so I had physio very quickly.
Mine came on suddenly and I really struggled to walk. I was dragging my leg. The action of standing and putting my leg to the floor was indescribable.
I had 8 weeks of physio, twice a week. This included ultrasound and a vibrating machine that I can't remember the name of.
I also had Naproxen prescribed. This really helped. I also took codeine with this but the naproxen certainly took the edge off.
I did fully recover. I find if I exercise and do lots of squats it really twinges though. I also can't do kettlebells as I can feel it right up the nerve.
I hope yours improves ASAP.

Totally agree with Finnegans
I felt awful and kept apologising to the paramedic (between frantically sucking on gas and air)
He said I was tachycardic and BP high due to pain so severe and not to apologise. They had to dress me and put my shoes on and scrape me off floor
It took me an hour to get out of bed the next day and the doctor did a home visit as I couldn't move
My dad has two slipped discs and when they go, his top half is completely out of line to his bottom, almost like a diagonal line. He's one of these "no doctor unless leg is hanging off" but he goes grey with the pain and I've heard him screaming when they've gone. Luckily he's found a physio that will actually do a home visit as he cant get in a car, he just hangs by his hands off a door frame to relieve the pressure until physio arrives!

hollinhurst - I used to wait for DH to go out and then I'd scream , it helped evacuate the stress of all the pain, and the sheer frustration of not being able to find a single position that was comfortable.

I have never taken the ability to walk and live normally for granted since then, I am thankful every day that I recovered almost completely (I still have sciatica from time to time and slight numbness in my foot, but nothing incapacitating, thank God).

I used to long to be able to do housework again when I was unable to but that soon wore off once I got fit again

Excruciating pain again this morning and DS 5 am wake up is making me cry. It is so hard to be a good mummy. It wears off throughout the day until I can move just enough to take care of him but have to sit down every three or four minutes for a minute rest and start the procedure again. I booked a private physio today. I just want to have the assessment to see what is wrong and then take up the NHS if my appointment comes through soon. Feel relieved to get the ball rolling at least. I am really appreciative of all of your experiences although I wish none of us have had to go through this. Avid yes, I can empathise but had I never experienced the pain then maybe I would struggle with that.

Ps Finnegan, I am wishing I could do housework right now. I have never seen the house in such a state and in laws are visiting tomorrow. Told DP I can't do much to help mmm, he is not too pleased, what can I do? I didn't exactly choose this :) x

Don't even think of tidying up before your in-laws come! It's already hard enough for you having to keep lifting your DS, normally you shouldn't be lifting anything at all. Every excess effort is putting your recovery back

Your in-laws will hopefully give a hand, and allow you to rest. Tough if your DH isn't happy, you're not exactly singing with joy at being like that either!

This isn't a time to put a brave face on it and struggle on through the pain, you will make it worse that way. And no one will take your pain seriously.

His parents, his house, his unwell wife - his housework!

Do not even think about doing anything like housework - the posture required for lots of tasks is terrible for back, sciatica or not: leaning forward while working in front of your self puts immense pressure on discs.

Seriously, do not even consider it.

Well said Pacific dog. On a good note he said his parents were thinking of taking us out for lunch so I took advantage and said I may stay home for a rest. Can't imagine going out right now. . .ahhh. And, and, he has tidied up the house as well. Feel a bit bad now but he didn't have a choice. I think he may be coming round:)

So evening pains setting in and I am lying down. Mornings and evenings, my fears, anyone else get it like this? Friday night with no glass of wine though, that is the sad thing about having all these meds :(

So with all the medicines the pain continues. For some reason my only relief is sitting or lying down. I am trying my best to do the school run because I don't want to ask my friend to do it everyday. I felt like my leg was going to completely give way today, felt sick with pain and had to sit down every few minutes if I could find anywhere. Felt so bad for my little girl. But on a good note I booked a private physio for tomorrow but nhs got in touch to say they would see me tomorrow so cancelled the private. I am in disbelieve that I am being seen so quickly. I think it is because I have a baby dependent on my need to at least function somewhat, the doctor tried to push things on a bit. So I am happy about that. I am worried though as I know it might not be the answer. Apologies, I am committing the crime of using mumsnet as a bit of a vent. Well, at least that is a relief of some sort x

If it "leaves my feet with pins and needles" you have a serious nerve root impingement and it should not be left. You need an urgent physio referral and a 6 week wait is simply not acceptable. Traction is likely to be the best route, but you need to get to the physio in the first place to get this started. If it were me I would go back to the GP (or even a partner rather than the one you first saw) and insist that the referral be speeded up.

It is so miserable and I really feel for you. I do think you need to ginger things up a bit. When I got the consultant he took one look at me and wanted to operate. He could see I was not keen, so he got me to the physio urgently and the traction finally did the trick - but it was a bit slow.

Mishaps, I have my physio appointment with nhs today. The doctor got me urgently so I am thankful for that. Doctor also thinks it might not directly be sciatica and thinks a few months of trial and error to work out the problem. Argh, a few months, so sad, I have to go back to work in four weeks. What happens if I can't physically work??

In fact, how did some of you guys work with all the pain you had? I dont get it but I know it doesn't count as a 'disability'. I am a reception teacher so this is going to be haaaaaaaard!!

I took amitryptaline for mine and it was like magic.

Actually it does count as disability if it is an ongoing condition. I sincerely hope this isn't the case for you. A few months of trial and error doesn't sound good enough to me. You don't have a diagnosis yet: sciatica is caused by something, commonly a disc prolapse. You need an MRI to determine this. Then treatments such as spinal injections can be helpful in giving pain relief as the body recovers which it almost always does.

In the meantime it is very reasonable to ask for gabapentin/ pregablin and / or amitriptyine to manage the pain as you recover. Nobody should be weeping with pain. If you have any spare cash at all buy in help for the house and baby. These conditions can take a long time to improve

Went to the physio. She seems very confused after doing the tests as she isn't sure if it is the sciatic nerve or the femoral nerve. However the latter means possible knee jerking whichn I don't have but then this compression of this nerve may relate to my troubles of walking and pressure while standing. I have been given the simple lie down, roll knees to each side exercise(which I was doing anyway) and lie down and hold the knees up(which I was doing anyway). . . And that's it. I am currently trying to touch up my knowledge of all nerves, bones, muscles in the back, legs, hips, thighs etc in some kind of desperate way to self diagnose. The physio will see me next week to see if there are any changes but I am not confident. Can I just ask the NHS to give me a scan? I have a feeling they may put it off until it is the last resort. Or am I being harsh? I guess it is all good to know which nerve is pinched(and that I don't yet know) but the cause of that is surely the route to solving the problem.

And yes, a few months of trial and error sounds like a slog and really makes me feel unimportant and sad. I need to at least try and put this right for my kiddies. I can't afford help with them unfortunately x x . .just kind family at last resort.

Ps I have been prescribed nortriptyline, naproxen and cocodomol (15mg).

Sorry I have realised I have made this thread/ post go on for a long time. It is helpful x x

Yes of course ask for a scan. Not sure what it will show, but that's what you want to find out. And agree with your Gp how often you should go back.

Has traction gone out of fashion? - it did the trick for me.

I will ask my GP, physio about it. Willing to do anything to get rid of this. Started to dread going to bed because of morning pains and DS's early wake up. Argh x

I have sciatica and I was given Valium... I only stopped taking it because I turned into a zombie!