Help please, sciatica and amitriptyline

[Pixie1771]

Hi, hoping I can get some help...been having crippling sciatica for 6 months now . Have tried numerous pills etc and had a spinal nerve block last week (hasn't worked)
Most days I can't get out of bed, the pain is literally horrific.
Just been put on amitriptyline....started really low 5mg a night, got the usual dry mouth and sleepy etc.
Has anyone had a good response for sciatica on amitriptyline? I just need some hope as I honestly can't go on like this. Desperate.
Hoping someone can give me some reason to carry on. Thanks

@Pixie1771 take the damn pain relief!!! Honestly….it’s not some illegal stash - it is what it’s there for. Some doctors (definitely not all) have got very iffy about prescribing because of abuse, largely in the US, but as I mentioned upthread, your need could not be more legitimate and I honestly think it’s appalling your doctor has put you off.

As you say, amitryptiline takes time to build up in your system so if it helps you to say ‘ok I’ll take this for 5 days (or whatever)’ do so. Also one a day is barely anything.

Young....thank you.
My husband shares your views. I am always iffy about these drugs and for the first few months of this I took nothing for that very reason. Then the pain ramped up and I had no choice but to take them , then I speak to the doc and she scares the crap out of me....like I feel like I'm in some crack den lol
Anyway thanks for your messagenim gonna go take one now.
My.mum (bless her) has got holdof consultant secretary and she said she will have a word with my consultant and see where we go next, she's going to call me back later with any news.

My husband had 2 slipped discs and unbearable sciatica and had the spinal nerve block done too.

After three weeks of absolutely no difference he woke up one day and the pain was halved. And is now pain free.

Apparently it DOES a take a few weeks to kick in so the end is in sight. Fingers crossed for you.

Also he was taking a drug called Gabapentin which made him feel drunk but took the edge off.

Big...well is a possibility I guess but my block was steroid and anaesthetic and the anaesthetic part should have worked immediately. The guy who did it was asking how's the leg etc and I was saying no different etc and he said this was "disappointing" as that part should work straight away and is indicative of them finding the right spot....the steroid part takes longer but hey who knows...
Thanks for giving me hope, every post is helpful to me at this point so thanks everyone x

@Pixie1771 I'm another one for saying about the steriod and anaesthetic was a waste of time although it apparently takes a while to kick in. When I had mine done they messed it up and when the nurse said okay, you can get dressed and home now, I got off the bed and collapsed in a heap because they'd anaethetised my whole leg! I spoke with the surgeon who is going to do my fusion surgery (but wants to do this bloody injection first) about it and he said he'd never heard of that happening ever before. It's a nightmare, isn't it??

Nightmare....I have heard that sometimes it can affect the whole leg when you have the injection.
I understand why they do these things first, they don't want to rush into surgery. But the timescale of things wears you down too.
If I hadn't paid to see a consultant initially I would probably still be waiting for first appt! My oh keeps saying come on you're further forward, you've seen consultant , had 2 mri an xray, a spinal block etc etc but it's infuriating when nothing works and time ticks on, its been 6 months since I first went to my gp....and I find it so hard with your old life vanishing and living in constant pain
It's rubbish!! I never knew sciatica could cause affect like this thsrs for sure

This thread has been both helpful and scary for me as I am currently going through a really bad bout of sciatica. It's been 3 weeks so far of absolute agony, I was in bed for a week and couldnt get comfortable even lying down, couldnt sit on the toilet, couldn't sleep more than a few hours. I couldn't bear the thought of going anywhere for physio.
So many of the resources I have looked at don't seem to recognise how bad it can be and make me feel like I should be improving much quicker. So it's nice to talk to people who don't dismiss that side of this condition. The pain is just so hard to deal with.
Last time I had this problem some years ago, it healed up after about 6 weeks so I am hopeful it will get better but your stories of it not improving have been scary and as I have found out it can heal then flare up again.
OP I definitely think you should have more pain relief my doctor has prescribed codeine 60mg x4 a day, paracetamol, naproxen and I have just started on Amytriptaline which I didn't find much improvement from yet but hoping it will kick in after reading the thread. Even with all this I am still in a lot of pain and discomfort so it would be even worse without anything, plus the naproxen also helps reduce any inflammation which can make the pain worse so it is in some ways a treatment.
I know it hasn't been long compared to others but my family have found it a difficult time so far, and I am concerned how it would be if this continued a long time.

@Pixie1771 I had the steroid I je tin I to my hip two yrs before my hip replacement and it did absolutely nothing. I had the same Injection into my shoulder last week and it's worked really well!
Sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes they site it incorrectly, sometimes it feels miraculous.

Injection!!

Gluten...sorry the thread has worried you. I'm sure if yours has cleared up quickly before then it will again. I'm sure not all bouts of this end up like mine.
I feel your pain, I know exactly what it's like.
Honestly at times I have felt like I don't want to carry on and thsts not something I say lightly.
My mum called the secretary this morning and she spoke to consultant and he said I had to give it another week as sometimes the injections take longer to work. Not sure about this tbh as per my previous post but guess I have to....
I guess it also gives the amitriptyline another week to work.
I must admit 8 had about a couple hours thus morning where it was a little better but this came and went...trying to be positive that maybe the amitryptiline have started to work but not enough to last long.
Trying to keep positive but uts just so hard living like this , no one understands how excruciating this condition can be.
Like you say its very helpful on this thread tp hear from others who understand.

Ps can I ask anyone who's been on amitriptyline long term can you drink?
I'm not worried about it now but if I end up on this for a long term thing......

Pixie - I've been on amitriptyline for nearly ten years 😳 and will probably be on it for life. I decided quite some years ago that I wasn't prepared to never drink again! I now have the odd glass of wine, but never more than two. It definitely has more effect on me than pre-amitriptyline, but not massively so. When I say 'effect' I mean that it sends me to sleep!

I know it's not advised but I think it has to be a personal decision.

Pixie so sorry you're having to go through this.

I've developed what the GP thinks is a mild case of sciatica. It's nowhere near as bad as yours but is still driving me nuts and having me feeling sorry for myself, envying everyone else in the world for being able to go on long walks or cycle rides etc. I can only imagine what your headspace must be like with that level of pain.

I'm not sure what to do next about mine. GP says wait 4 weeks then referral to physio, but he already gave me physio exercises to do at home and they all make my pain worse (or start it up again if it's died down). I tried an osteo but what she did with my leg made the pain worse too. I've seen other older MN threads where people overcame sciatica with exercises and I don't understand why my own gets worse with the recommended exercises, especially as my case is quite mild.

Hopefully, you will get proper help soon, with surgery if that's the route you go. Try and hang on to that thought if you can, that you won't feel like this forever.

Do you do anything like meditation or listening to podcasts to help take your mind off feeling miserable and stuck? Last summer I was bedbound with a trapped nerve in my neck and I found meditation and podcasts helpful to distract me a bit.

My mum takes amitriptyline long term and still has the odd drink every now and then.

Lucie....I don't drink often but like a few say at a bbq or a sat nite or something. The thought of not drinking again is awful tbh. Its just adding to my what has happened to my life thoughts.
Could you have a few on an evening and not take that nites meds? Or is it the amitriptyline is in your system anyway?

Sunglasses....thats the thing though, I think in my head I feel I always will be like this . I think I have got stuck in a mindset of pain, pills and helplessness, it's not a good place to be. The days are sooo long and actually hoping the weather turns rubbish so I don't feel so crap about not being out enjoying the summer.
Sorry I sound like a right one . But uts good to get it off your xhest I guess.
As for osteopath etc I have finally learnt my lesson and will not be seeing anyone like that again. Firstly every person has a different opinion on what's causing it, what they can do to help and how much its going to cost!!
In the early days of this I had a couple weeks where it died down ( this doesn't happen anymore) If I did anything like pilates, physio, exercise it would set it off.
If I hot a pain free spell now I def would not let anyone near Me!
I'm sure your sciatica will simmer down, most cases do .
I now have to wait till next week before contacting my consultant again as he wants to give my spinal nerve block more time to work, personally I don't think it will.
Everything takes time and in the meantime u seem to deteriorate mentally. But just keep saying to myself if this lasts a year till its all settled its just one year out your life, just one year.

Pixie - I don't know, I've never tried that! I know that if I accidentally forget to take my amitriptyline, it often leads to breakthrough pain over the next few days, so I'm fairly strict about always taking it.

Definitely good to get it off your chest Pixie! What you're going through is horrible, and these issues are a well-known cause of depression. Last year when I was at my worst and couldn't sit down because of my trapped nerve sensations I honestly had times of feeling suicidal. And it was definitely worse with it being the summer and knowing everyone else was out and about having fun.

BUT this year I am not in that same situation, it has changed. I still have a load of unresolved health issues, sciatica now being one of them (and even then I'm not 100% sure if it's true sciatica or something wrong with my hip that refers pain into my butt). I definitely go through patches of feeling sorry for myself when some of my health issues flare up (am in one of those now), but it isn't even close to the doomy, desperate headspace I was in last summer.

Hang on in there please. Keep telling yourself just one year, just one year, not forever. Have a countdown calendar until you can contact that consultant again and focus on that (I'm sure you already are focussing on that). In the meantime has your GP explored all the possibilities with you for decent pain relief? Apologies, I'm supposed to be working and can't quite remember the details earlier in your thread re pain relief, but remember from here or other threads that there are a few different options. Something called gabapentin or similar seems to come up a lot.

Also, have you tried TENS? Not sure that would touch the sides if you're in severe pain. What support do you have? A good partner? Friends or family who will listen to you or visit you? Tough as they won't truly understand how you feel.

What are you able to do at the moment to pass your long days?

Lucien...well will just have to wait and see how long I'm on this.
My consultant just called, bless him, I have to have another root nerve block at L5 now as L4 didn't work. He doesn't want me to have massive back surgery until he can pin point exactly where the nerve is being pinched.

Jeez is this ever going to end ....

Hi sunglasses, thanks for your long reply.
I'm on amitriptyline but only 5 days so far and takes a few weeks to work so that's ongoing...if it works.
Up thread I mentioned my gp not wanting me to take tramadol but that's the only thing that helps so I'm continuing with one a day to tske edge off.
Today and yesterday I have managed to get up and do a tiny couple of things as there is a small improvement.
I'm lucky I have a semi rural house with nice views etc and thsts a life saver. My sons both live locally and my oartner although out at work everyday is helpful and supportive as is my mum. So I'm lucky on those fronts.
Mu consultant has just called me as I have been hassling his secretary. I have to have another root block, yikes it was bad enough the first time, in the next vertebrae down. What he's saying is I require huge surgery and he wants to avoid that if possible.
As I had no reaction to the one in L4 that worries him because I could have had all those issues on the mri scan for years and never had any issues. If I had had a positive response from the block he would know that's the area for sure where the nerve is being pinched. Bit if he did all the surgery and I still had crippling sciatica then I would be gutted and the nerve could be being pinched at another level but not clear on scan as you're lying down.....if you see what I mean by all this..
It's a long road, 6 months already but I would rather he was sure before inflicting a big op on me.
Hes doing the right thing not rushing in I guess.
It also gives the amitriptyline time to work as I won't be called for this for a while.
I'm glad you're in a better head space, I totally know how debilitating long term pain is.
I get your suicidal thoughts too, apart from last 2 days I have been lying in bed unable to move really and you do begin to wonder if it's all worth it. I never would but I think in some crap way it gives you hope there's a way out if that makes sense.
It's particularly hard for me as both my sons moved out this year and I had been carer for my eldest for 3 years due to life threatening illness and watched him close to death in hospital for months.
So I feel like he's better now thankfully and moved on to some degree, I was looking forward to my life again and now this!
Sorry to whittle on...you need a medal if you've made it to the bottom!!!!

Oh and the other rubbish thing is putting on weight due to being unable to do anything. Can't bring myself to weigh but think it's a fair bit and I was bit overweight to start with!!

I took Tramadol for a hip injury and sciatica for 18 months and had no issues when I stopped taking it. I reduced the dose to half and then just stopped and if I needed it again I would have no hesitation in taking it again. I took that along with Amitrip, which I still take at 30mg per night.

I drink wine, probably too much, and have no side effects from that. Honestly I was in so much pain that I would have taken anything which worked - sciatica is the worse pain I have ever known and you have my sympathy.

Five.... you're right there...its the worst thing I have ever known. You feel that you would cut your leg off if it would help.
It's too much in honesty.
I'm glad you had positive things to say about tramadol.
My doctor refused to give me any more but I have about 30 left. She painted a dark picture about them. But I have taken them when desperate.
I'm not in the mood for wine right now but I don't want o not be able to have any , so your story gives me hope I could have a glass or two...or...three lol.
Have you seen what happens with your psin if you come off the amitriptyline? Has your pain been fixed or are the pills just allowing you to carry on as usual? How long will you be on them?

Glad the consultant has a plan and as you say, better to make sure he's operating in the right place. Hope the next nerve block does work and gives you relief and gives him certainty about where the issue lies exactly.

That is blooming unfair that you were just getting your life back after caring for your son and now this. And with them moving out too, it's a time when you could have been doing things for you again (and/or distracting yourself with fun things if you're feeling upset about them leaving).

My sons are 18 and 14 and the eldest is now rarely home anymore and I'm finding it quite hard to deal with, having been used to the dynamic with four of us. I think I will take it quite hard when youngest goes too!

I'm glad you've been able to do a couple of small things today and I'm glad you have the nice views, sons nearby and supportive partner and mum.

Hope the amitriptyline starts working soon, and I'm glad you have the tramadol for your emergency non-GP approved use!

Really hoping for you that this time next year you're updating this thread with how you're about to go on a lovely holiday pain-free!

Sunglasses...thanks for your kind post.
Still feeling very sorry for myself but maybe in the coming weeks the amitriptyline will work.
I think it maybe a while before my next block.
Dreading that too, nearly fainted last time, sweated enough to fill a bath, and breathed like I had just run a marathon!!! What a baby! Lol
Onwards and upwards...what else can you do, maybe one day I will wake up and it will be much better or gone.
Sick of being an overweight crying mess who can't move. Its not me and I don't like it.