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.

@AnxiousRose I'm three months in now and feel like I've aged ten years. Consultant said three options and one was watch / wait, or injection or surgery but said that he doesn't do injection THEN surgery and would rather go straight to surgery if he thinks it is needed
@lovegoodlovegood it's reassuring to hear a successful story
For now I've had my relaxant meds and a sofa snooze (wild dreams !) and off to Google acupuncture

Hope you get some answers soon @tattoonewbie I'm sorry you're still suffering 😔

I opted for watch and wait/conservative treatment but my symptoms were different. They were going to do a microdiscectomy straight away but then gave me the choice as my main symptom was foot drop and numbness/weakness rather than pain and surgery wasn't guaranteed to cure that. They did say it would be good for leg pain though so if you did manage to get it in the future it will hopefully help! I do a LOT of physio and swimming/pilates/yoga, and a lot of walking. I appreciate a lot of that may not be possible but would swimming be worth a shot? When I was in the acute phase of injury it was great to get in the water and feel weightless.

Have you tried acupuncture? I've not, and it might be a load of rubbish but I've got friends who swore by it for sciatica.

@FeelingSoOverwhelmed yep tried to swim and did half a length and had to get out as it hurt so much. Mind you- I'm not a great swimmer, form wise so my head being out didn't help. I can't do the breathing thing but can hold my breath and go flat it is better but then coming up spluttering isn't a good look. 🤣
I'm searching for acupuncture therapist now !

Ah I can imagine you need to be able to do the aquatic breathing to keep yourself a bit flatter. Maybe even just floating around in a pool will help!

I'm really no expert on it at all and my experience was completely atypical in that it involved a disc herniation with numbness and loss of function and minimal pain so I've not tried acupuncture for this but I have tried it for muscular back pain in the past.

Yes my consultant offered me an injection or surgery. I opted for the injection first but the wait for the injection was 3 weeks and by the time it came around I had improved a lot so actually decided not to take it.
Well over a year later I feel I am still traumatised by the whole experience. I lay on the floor for a week unable to do anything at my worst.

I read a lot of medical research papers when I was laying down which said that it's actually the 6 weeks rest after surgery that helps a lot of people rather than the surgery itself. This is totally against most current advice.
One thing I found very difficult was all of the conflicting information.
But rest during the acute phase absoutley helped me. I pushed through with physio exercises and trying to do all my normal things for months and months and just got worse. When I rested I started to experience a lot of improvement. I have talked to a lot of others on Facebook groups who have experienced the same. But I fought it for months and months.

Rest is good but not moving much can lead to inflammation. Although I haven't read any medical papers, just going by the specific advice I had. I definitely didn't push through and do all my normal things but I did persevere with physio and a lot of walking. But I also have axial spondyloarthritis and being immobile leads to absolutely agonising flare-ups so I had to make a real concerted effort to balance rest with movement!!! Although as I said the pain was secondary to the loss of function for me. I suppose it's one of those cases where everyone's different.

I have some incontinence which GP suspects is to do with the trapped nerve. It's bloody annoying on top of everything else. I did Lidl again today. Managed a bit better again managed four aisles got everything I needed.

People are lovely I've noticed when they see you struggling. Today I got back to the car put the bags in was dreading walking the trolley back when the man in the next car offered to take it back for me. He brought me the coin back too.

Yes absoutley lack of exercise can increase inflammation in the body and it is not a long term solution. But aggraving the sciatic nerve when it is already inflamed leads to further inflammation of this nerve and pain and does not aid healing. Even now I am careful that my movements and exercises do not aggravate the nerve.

Your axial spondyloarthritis obviously makes your sitation a lot different and and I am sorry you have to deal with that too. I can and have only commented on sciatica caused by a herniated disc because that is what I have done extensive research on and it is by far the most common cause of sciatica.

@justasking111 yes! The Aldi man on the checkout took me to the car as there was nobody behind me and his kindness made me cry
@AnxiousRose funny you mention resting as actually, one weekend I stayed in bed until 4pm and was much better
I'm toying with calling in sick or asking for reduced hours at work as I'm lying here with tears rolling down my face just dreading work and willing the amitriptyline to work and knock me out

@justasking111 That's really nice how you were helped today. People can be so good.

@tattoonewbie the physiotherapist pulled me about on Friday. I was in serious pain yesterday, did very little. Took painkillers and a glass of wine. Slept all afternoon after a bad night of pain. Woke up pain had eased so vacuumed hall, bedroom and bathroom. Mopping bathroom floor.

Pain waxes and wanes. When it's bad I stop. Take the pills and rest.

I think you need to rethink your work schedule.

@tattoonewbie

I used to work lying on my sofa, I ate lying on my front, watched tv lying down etc. I read a lot. I got up and walked around the kitchen table every hour. I got a grapper from amazon to pick things up from the ground so I didn't have to bend down. I was like this for a few weeks and I very gradually started walking more, doing more etc Luckily my kids are at an age where they are more independent and my hubby and mum were very understanding and helped me a lot. My mum had sciatica many years ago and at the time bed rest was the recommended treatment. I know this is not possible for everyone.

@AnxiousRose I lie on my stomach on the sofa and in bed. Physio said most people hunch forward with pain to ease the discs. I have to lean back. Down dog I think they call it in yoga? Whatever it's called it does help.

@justasking111 the cobra pose can be very good for sciatica. I lay on my front on the floor for a week because it was the only pain free position.

Thanks that looks great for me

@lovegoodlovegood we’re back twins! Have you been ok since your surgery? I didn’t have it at the time (pic is 2019). I did have IDD therapy which took the edge off it but I’ve got pain/numbness flaring up again and feel I might end up going down the surgical route eventually.

Sorry you are still feeling rough, OP. It’s a slow process sometimes.

Fi find these scans fascinating. I have woken in pain again. Will try lying on front now. My favoured position is on my side, memory foam wedge cushion thing between knees.
How did you work on sofa? Lying on back ?

Wow, that's a big one!

She said lay on her front I think.

I lay on front and back, i had my laptop propped up on cushions

yes I’m ok, I have some residual numbness in my foot and leg but from what it could have been I’m very grateful
Mine went from maybe you’ll need an op to calling a neurosurgeon very quickly, but I knew I had cauda equina and told a&e I had

A wee update from me. I've had a cancellation slot MRI this morning. After waiting with no news for my scan I rang to chase and they say it would be end of May I said I was desperate and would take anything and drop anything to get m there. They rang an hour later and said "can you come now". DH was wfh luckily and took me so now begins the wait and for me the dark anxious thoughts of it being something sinister. I have health anxiety mostly well controlled but this is freaking out as it went so much worse so quickly. They said 48 hours for the report to be written then have to wait for my next consult. Unless "anything untoward" was found. Do the people doing the mri know ? Will she have seen what's wrong ? I'm now imagining all sorts. Talk me down

Delighted to hear you got your mri. I remember being extremely anxious waiting for the results too but remember that it would be extreme rare for your sciatica to be caused by something untoward.
Hopefully you will get your report really quickly to put your mind at ease.

Hopefully you'll see the consultant soon 🤞