Are there any active support forums for chronic sciatica/lower back pain?

[PromisesPromises]

I know there used to be a back thread on here but haven't seen it for a while.

Any sites I've come across elsewhere seem quite quiet and after a year of this pain, GPs dragging their heeels etc was looking for somewhere to look for further information on what has worked for other people maybe have a rant the odd time

Yes it has really kept me going. I have just started the fourth of six modules and so far I have managed it. What is a MOOC?

A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course: something that's free that you can access online and take at your own pace. Two main providers are FutureLearn and Coursera and you can do them on almost any subject. I should do another one, really!

Ah I have seen the future learn courses, they have some amazing subjects to chose from.

There's an excellent one on FB, they have been a massive help to me. Let me know if interested and I'll send you the link

Place marking for later, sciatica for 11 yrs and counting :(

How are you getting on since seeing the docs queen?

Sorry to hear others are going through this too, even after operations. Eleven years Zoflora

I'm not sure how the TENS works really Meg, I suspect it may just provide your brain a distraction from the pain tbh An OU course sounds great.

Hope you got on ok in the cold this morning Banderchang and the physio isn't too painful this afternoon. I have given up trying to rearrange my tree as the dc keep messing with the decorations. I do futurelearn courses too. Did forensic science and drug and alcohol addiction last year, learning Italian at the moment as the plan is a trip to Rome this year, life and money permitting.

Weekend was ok, had a bit of a tearful moment yesterday with dp. Tmi (sorry) but sex related. Get so down it impacts on that too, the mind is willing but the body bloody hurts.

That would be wonderful, thanks trouble

Well xray results are in. Good news no fractures but I didn't think that would be the case. Instead general wear and tear and narrowing of discs? How that relates to sciatic pain I don't know. Receptionist told me there was no point in making an appointment as it's just an age thing.

I have to say I came off the phone and cried. I feel so ground down by it all and generally hopeless at present. Suppose all I can wait for is physio to come through. I was paying private but got too expensive so now it's a case of waiting for nhs.

I'm sorry to hear that promises. It's easy for so.eone else to say 'its age' but doesn't help your situation at all. Why did they x ray and not MRI?

I had a bad fall over a year ago Meg and didn't go for an xray then and the GP wanted to cancel it out first I believe.

Once I've calmed down a bit tonight and not quite so emotional I'm coming to think the person I was talking to doesn't know the reason behind me going for an xray. As in I'm in pain. I'm going to make another appointment with my gp. I think I need to speak to someone about my mood anyway. I keep bursting into tears and feel so low the last while which is very unlike me.

One thing I have learned is that there is very little sympathy for back problems and you have to keep on going back to get any help. I literaly broke down at the doctors as I could not bear the pain any more a year ago and it was only when they saw my desperation they refered me on. Once I saw the consultant I got an urgent Mri which showed a 'massive herniation' that only surgery would sort. I literally said to the surgeon you can cut off my leg if it would make me better my sciatic pain was so bad. I was also taking over 25 pain meds a day. It infuriates me that we are left to suffer

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time, Promises. It's so hard when health professionals don't acknowledge how much pain you're in and you can't think what to do next to get action. It's very difficult trying to project manage your own health care when you feel at your worst. Hope the GP is helpful and that the wait for physio isn't too long.

I managed to walk around today even in the subzero temperatures we are enjoying up in the north east without ending up with my glutes cramping horribly, so that was something of a win. Had my second acupuncture session this evening and it feels a little better so I'll see how it goes. Now if the naproxen didn't make me feel sick all the time, that would be even better.

I found amitriptyline was the break through drug for me. Last year I couldn't do any gardening, and though I might have to give up work as my back was crippling.

This year was like a new me. Loads of gardening! Felt like a different person after about 15 years of pain, and the last 4 of really horrible pain.

Here you go promises;

www.facebook.com/groups/138823889468804/

Thank you, I have also asked to join. How do you type bold on here?

Press the T below the box you type in and you'll see a B, once pressed all type will be bold until you press again :-)

ah like this? thank you

Have you tried a massage by a sports physio ?, my OH swears it keeps his sciatica at bay.His first visit was at the height of his pain, he had made many visits to the Doctor and was in excruciating pain, he could hardly walk when he was recommended to try this and he's never looked back.He now goes every six weeks and it's twenty five pound.He says it's the best money he's ever spent.

Yep that's it Meg

That's really interesting, Emoji. Do you mind me asking what dose of amitriptyline you were/are on for you to feel better? I really miss my gardening and would love to get back to it but all that crouching down is a real issue for my glutes and piriformis issues. Glad that you feel so much better after such a long time!

How's everyone doing at the moment? I'm having a really down day, probably because I was unusually pain free for most of yesterday and started to get my hopes up that I might be on the mend. But then in the evening, due to nothing in particular, my hip started to hurt and then I couldn't sleep and today the pain has moved into my SI joint and I'm struggling to walk again. This despite being on naproxen and having twice weekly physio that I can barely afford.

I'm trying to stay positive that I can sort out my hip pain/SI issues, but having tried chiropractors, osteopaths and now physio I feel that I just can't get on top of it. My physio says I need patience and positive thinking, but when the pain just restarts after no apparent trigger I really despair.

I spent most of last Christmas (and the one before) in pain, and can see these holidays shaping up in the same way and it's really getting me down. Hope some of the rest of you are having a better day!

Thanks for the sympathy Meg and Banderchang , I have made an apointment. No doubt it'll feel like a waste of time but I can but try. That's shocking what you were dealing with Meg, sadly doesn't seem to be unusual judging by friends with back injuries and just left to get up and on with it.

Are you on omeprazole too for your stomach Banderchang? Dm stopped Naproxene herself as it made her really sick. Where do you get the acupuncture done?

That's what some of my problem is, I can't take NSAIDs as I have a hiatus hernia and already on a strong PPI every day that barely controls my reflux. I know an NSAID would tip my stomach problems over the edge, I struggle with something as simple as ibuprofen even so interesting to read other drugs that have helped emoji.

I tried sports massage for something else mum and haven't quite built up the courage to ty it for my back Oh my word, it hurt a lot although I was told the places I had it done are some of the most painful and I did well not to cry like some of his other clients It did kind of put me off. Maybe I should suck it up and try it though. Glad your dh has found it has helped him a lot.

Meant to say thanks for the other stretchy links posit and the facebook link trouble. I need to start being a bit more proactive about it rather than wallowing

Just realised I cross posted there Banderchang. I'm so sorry you are feeling very low today. It's bloody wearing and somehow makes you feel worse when you get some sort of relief, your hopes go up only for it to hit you at some later stage. Easy for physio to say to stay positive, much harder to do when you can see no end to it. Despairing has been my mood lately too. Are you able to rest up however you can get some ease today?

I'm not too bad today. Sore but had to go grocery shopping this morning and that always kills me. Current position; lying on the sofa in front of the fire.

Thanks, Promises, yes I am also in front of the tv trying for a rest. My final meeting of the day was cancelled, so I came home early to lay on my ice pack! Sorry to hear you are also despairing - it's tough when you're in pain all the time. I feel like I'm constantly counting down to the next physio appointment, yet within a day of the appointment everything hurts again and I'm back to square 1. DH keeps trying to convince me that things aren't as bleak as I feel they are, but it's hard to stay positive. I know it's only pain and not life threatening, but it's very depressing.

I'm on 110mg which is quite high, but my god the difference is amazing.

I was bent double with constant back pain. Eveything hurt, even small activities. My back would regularly spasm.

But now l skip round like a spring lamb😁

Thanks Emoji, that's useful. Are you on that long term, or just for a short while. I've been on 20mg before so I can't imagine how 110 must feel!

I'm trying to get a GP appointment this morning for better painkillers and hopefully a referral as I'm not coping at all well at the moment. Constant pain, lack of sleep, leading to cancelling activities and frequent tears of despair. I really struggling to work and even walk for the school run and I'm not handling things well at all. Maybe different medication will help.