Sciatica hell. What might help?

[tattoonewbie]

I saw the e chiropractor last week and he diagnosed trapped nerve in three places Pain is in my bum, spreads down my leg and currently my outer lower leg is throbbing and my foot is fizzing.
I cannot get comfy. Back at chiro on Thursday but it's worsening. I've got GP tomorrow and will ask for some pain relief as it's awful. I've done my exercises tonight and it feels even worse.
It's so horrible. Just relentless.
Has anyone any top tips ? Please. I'm so miserable and can't see me being able to drive tomorrow to work. I can WFH but even the thought of sitting is making me want to cry. Sorry to sound pathetic.

Naproxen is a game changer. Wish you well with it, horrendous pain and you get little sympathy from anyone.

If you can get to a swimming pool, swim. If you can't swim, walk up and down the pool.

Naproxen and codeine. Heat under the pain, a heated blanket might help. I usually use hot water bottles. You can also try that rub in pain killer and heat patches.

My sciatica is the result of scar tissue from endometriosis and got considerably worse when fibroids grew while taking HRT.
Since giving up HRT ( breast cancer) and taking Anastrazole, the sciatica has almost gone but I still have lower back and hip pain , a side effect of Anastrazole.
Keeping moving helped sciatica, I had it chronically from when endo was treated.
If you can’t determine a traumatic event that could have triggered the sciatica, push for X-rays or mri. We lost my DSis last year to pancreatic cancer. He only symptom was sciatica. She had a large abdominal mass pressing on the sciatica nerve. Sciatica can be a common symptom of abdominal masses such as fatigue broods or tumours. Osteopaths and physios tend to assume disc problems, your GP will probably check for other possible causes.

I think Naproxen wrecked my stomach lining and took two years to fix. Be careful how you take it, if you do.

God I had this for two years, it was hell when driving. I used to keep a tennis ball in the car because I found putting it under my right buttock helped a bit.

Long term though, yoga nipped it in the bud. Haven't had a recurrence for years. Maybe look at yoga or pilates-based physio to improve core strength?

@Angrymum22 I'm so sorry for your loss. I've got GP appointment tomorrow. Will see what they suggest.

God that's awful, so sorry.

Something similar happened to the comedian Matt Forde—he had what he thought was terrible sciatica, but it turned out to be a tumour on his spine. Had surgery and had to learn to walk again, according to his podcast, but the cancer is gone now.

Not to scare you OP, I'm sure yours is just bog-standard horrible sciatica!

Sleeping with a pillow between my legs helped at night.as did alternating heat and cold on the areas during the day

Are they exercises from GP/physio or chiropractor?
Either way, sometimes I find they agrivate it more when mid big flair up, and it needs time to calm down along with just keeping moving generally, and avoiding movements that make it worse.

The Alexander Technique and some yoga poses just to take pressure off. Lying on my back with calves on a chair so knees are at right angles helped for short term relief

Physio, Pilates and walking.

Try not to take painkillers too much it’s not sorting the issue it’s just numbing the pain.

I'm now panicking like mad that its something else more sinister

I found that muscle spasms triggered the sciatica after back injury. I now take Baclofen, it was a game changer for chronic lower back spasm.
It is becoming more popular since it is not addictive and has less side effects than other muscle relaxants such as diazepam.
It does cause drowsiness initially but you get used to it quickly.
I was on 3 a day in the acute phase but just take one a day and increase the dose if necessary. For example, I worked today so my back often spasms after sitting in odd positions ( I’m a dentist) so have taken an extra tablet to stop the muscles going into spasm. By tomorrow I will be out of pain. It’s a bit of an occupational hazard but much easier to manage now. I only work one day a week which is a problem, it’s much better if I move more. The underlying problem is the affect of Anastrazole on my joints but I am likely to need to take them for another 3 yrs so I have learned to manage the problem. I can cope with the lower back discomfort as long as I don’t have sciatica on top of it.

Tens machine, yoga, building back and core strength.

Sitting on a swiss ball, using an inflated cushion when having to drive/sit on a chair.

Time.

Pilates. It's been a game changer for me. I go to a class but you could do YouTube videos

Cocodamol for pain relief, ibuprofen gave me gastritis. Gabapentin for nerve blocker. Heat pad when sitting down from Amazon. Pic attached. Keep moving. I need a walking stick. Start with a new physio on Friday he's better than the last one I hope. Chiropractic and osteo couldn't help.

@user1471538275 I've got a TENS Do you put on the back or the leg ?

It really won't be, don't worry.

Sinister causes are rare but you do need to rule them out. I only found that I had fibroids when I lost weight and could feel them. TI was referred to gyni who was happy that the sciatica improved when the fibroids shrank after I stopped taking HRT. They don’t warn you that the majority of women develop fibroids and that HRT can encourage them to grow quite large.

@Angrymum22 another menopause delight hey? I will get checked of course. I do take HRT

With tens you need to play around with positioning. Really helps me with nerve pain.

Don't worry, it's unlikely to be anything worse than sciatica.

The way you describe it is exactly how mine feels when it's at its worst, that awful throbbing down the side of your shin and spiky foot feeling. Exercise and stretching is the best thing for me, and I have to stick with it even though all I want to do is lie in bed with the electric blanket under me. Walking, rowing, swimming, lifting weights, aquarobics.

My GP thought mine's caused by an irregular gait developed after a bad knee injury many years ago. I'm inclined to agree with them, it makes sense.

Look for yoga videos specifically for sciatica. Kassandra does a great 5 minute video which seems impossible when you first do it but seems to sort me out in a matter of days.

@tattoonewbie I worry about all sorts of things & I have had the thought it could my symptoms be something more sinister
I don't recall anything traumatic happening to me but I did have a lifestyle change...going from a reasonably active job to a desk job so I think that was my trigger for my back
Mine was occasional shooting pain down my left side that would cause me to nearly fall when it happened as it was so shocking. That alongside being like a 90 year old woman trying to get out of bed. It was so painful.
I was referred to physio and it helped but it's really pilates that made such a difference in just 6 weeks I can't believe it. I'm still a bit achey in the morning but the massive improvement has really surprised me at how quickly it has happened.
I don't think there's any harm getting checked at the docs but try not to panic. Hopefully it's just a case of finding the right treatment.