siatica - anyone else suffer from this! help!

[chacha3]

have been suffering from siatica since i was pregnant on my first child 8 years since then i have been having it off and on only not so bad!

well the last coupla months i have been finding it really painful! worse than ever! anybody know any alternative thepapies that could help! ive had painkillers from doc! they dont really help at all!

Beware is all I'd say. I've had the same, ignored at first too, but then it got ridiculously painful. To cut a long story short, mine's a prolapsed disc that presses on the nerve. Mine was so bad by the time that I bothered to do anything, that I was facing surgery. Not a nice prospect and not anywhere near a guaranteed fix either, so I went in another direction and have found acupuncture astounding. I'm a complete sceptic about these things, but have to say that it's amazing. Found a wonderful woman who has basically woken my body back up and it's slowly healing. I'm now well enough to try to regain core strength, so am starting pilates very gently. Theory there is that should protect my back in the future.

All I'd say is if your problem is the same as mine, don't do osteopathy or physio. Both are great for certain conditions, but manipulating a prolapsed disc can v. obviously make things significantly worse. I was sent to a physio on the NHS. Lovely bloke who was convinced what he was doing was right, but he set me back at least three months..! Take care of yourself, but don't ignore it and listen to the professionals with a nod towards distrust.

e-me if you want to - I could bore for England on this one..!

Meant to say - the doctor told me that pain killers don't work because they don't hit nerve pain. Not sure if that's right, but they certainly didn't ease pain for me, so perhaps it is. The pain might ease if they're anti-inflammatory as the back might be inflammed where the nerve is pinched. If you haven't got back pain though, they probably won't help.

thanks for all your advice and info smee! much appreciated! gonna have to try accupunture for def!

Mine was shocking after birth, but doc told me to stop making a fuss and get on with it - all new mothers suffer a bit! I used to cry with the pain, and was on constant pain killers.
Had a mri scan, and it was a prolapsed disc. Did a lot of physio, & had steroid injections into my spine, and built up my excercise to improve my core strenth- i now play netball- the twisting and turning has strengthened my back. they told me to do pilates, but that made it worse, so never went back! I never thought I'd be free from the pain, but I am.

Have you seen an osteopath? Where do you live? I know a couple of good people in North london.

Reflexology - helped me

i didn't try reflexology for my back, but have for other things, and it is fantastic!

I have suffered from it on and off and I get a sinking feeling when I feel it start up because I know if it develops into a really bad episode - I will be stuffed. In bed crawling around and the like.

I have had an mri which showed a curvature in my spine which explains it, couple this with being overweight and you DO get it more severely.

My old Doctor told me to take 1200mg of Ibuprofen/Nurofen. I have diclofenac/voltarol as well but they are useless unless you have taken them regularly for a couple of days. They are long term and don't help in the short term. I didn't want to be on them for any amount of time as this is a short term illness IYKWIM. Codeine based painkillers are not a lot of good either.

I also got from my Dr, some amytriptaline, only to be taken every now & then, but they work as a relaxant.

These things help me to manage the pain, but unless I lose weight, I guess, I will still get episodes of it every now & again.

i have pins and needles in the bottom half of my leg now, like a numbness_ is this normal with siatica!

My dp suffers badly from sciatica. He has a prolapsed disc which will probably need surgery one day, but in the meantime he's managing it "to give them more time to research the surgery!"
Things that help.
First -and most important. Every morning, he gets up, very carefully, walks around for a few minutes, then goes back to bed for ten minutes. A physiotherapist told him to do this because it apparantly helps the swelling round the disc that happens overnight to subside. Don't know whether this it true, but it really, really helps.
Second - never let your back get cold. A thermal lumbar support is a wonderful investment.
Third - never sit down for more than 30 minutes without a five minute walk round.
Fourth - accupuncture really helps with the pain.
Fifth - Chinses herbal medicines from a properly qualified herbalist/doctor really help, even thought they are really expensive and disgusting.
Sixth - an American over the counter pain reliever called Alleve beats all the others - including prescription ones - for his nerve pain.
Seventh -Avoid any offers of manipulation.
Eight - Alexander techniques really helps.
Hope some of this helps - I could go on, but I won't!

Oh and yes, the pins and needles in the feet is quite normal - try a hot water bottle.

I get sciatica and after 10 years of physio, accupuncture, osteopaths, chiropractors, painkillers I got an MRI scan - have a prolapsed disc thats causing it. So now looking at surgery.

I get it badly if I have to sit in the car for more than 20 mins. Makes long journeys a nightmare. I also have a sitting job... medical secretary... my colleagues are used to me jumping up and stretching every 10 mins!

Interesting comments on accupuncture. I will be looking into that now. How do I find a good practitioner? Is there a qualification/chartered/register thingy I should be looking for?

I get it too. We're doing a 5+ hour drive tomorrow. I'll be a bloody cripple when we get there!