sciatica?

[Kitsichick]

I'd love from any of you who have btdt, some advice re sciatica.
I have had it since Christmas and it is getting worse not better. Can hardly sleep longer than an hour at a time and am on 8 co codamol (prescription) a day which has really screwed my tummy up and I feel like a fat toxic cottage loaf. I had a scan pre New Year and am wiating for results back this week as to whether there is something else wrong but in the meantime do any of you have any advice at all about pain relief as this co codawotsit is not touching it at all.
The only effect it has had on me was to make the Archers listenable!

You have my sympathy. I have suffered with it (not as badly as you) and I know sleep is the biggest problem. because every time you move you wake up in agony. A relative of mine has suffered it for years but he has found reflexology makes a different and eases the pain to some extent. Don't know if you believe in alternative therapies but might be worth a try?

My consultant recommended seeing a chiropracter and has referred me for physio. You have my sympathy too. Thankfully sleep is not an issue for me but getting up is

You have my sympathy too, I had it too but Thank God it resolved and has not come back since.

Can you take Ibuprofen or some anti-inflammatory painkiller? If you can you could take some of this along with or instead of some of the Co-Codamol which may improve your pain control and your tummy probs. (I am a pharmacist btw) CoCodamol eases pain but does not reduce inflammation so Ibuprofen or similar may ease pain and help reduce the pressure on the nerve if inflammation is aggravating it.

I found remedial massage helpful with mine but do make sure any complementary practitioners you use are properly trained and insured

This is something I get and the main thing that helped me was Physio which I now maintain with pilates.
You shouldn't really take co-codamol for more than 3 days as not only do they bung you up but as they essentially morphine they could lead to dependency problems if taken long term.

Where are you based?
GPs are generally not well educated about pain so I'd go back to GP, ask to be referred for physio and ask for an alternative neuropathic pain treatment. Ultimately if you still suffer then ask to be referred to the pain clinic for proper analgesia.

One stretch that I can recommend is 'sciatic nerve flossing - similar to

Physio is a good idea and the sooner it can be started the better.

OP does say her Co-Codamol is on prescription and it is often used for considerably longer than 3 days when on Dr's advice. Pain clinics and neuropathic pain treatments are very effective but would not, in our area at least, be used at this early stage but usually only if pain persisted for longer.

Can you take ibuprofen with co-codamol?

I have anti-imflammatories which I was told to take for up to 5 days at a time and to take the co-codamol ALL the time (when in pain) but I still get discomfort when taking the co-codamol.

I slipped 2 disks when giving birth (long story!) one of them was on the sciatic nerve and unfortunatly I had to have surgery in the end to get it fixed. In the 9 months I was waiting I tried EVERYTHING, my Dr even offered me liquid morphine (yeah, really sensible with a newborn!).
The thing that I found really helped was walking! The more I stayed still the worse the pain got. I went away for a few days with my DH and DD and we just walked all day one day and I had the best nights sleep in months. I tried to get in as much walking as I could. I know this isn't the best help, especially in winter, but it really helped me.
Also if you do take something that 'bungs you up' then most GP's prescribe lactulose (sp?) to take along side the tablets (the most disgusting thing in the world - but does help to keep things 'moving')

I get sciatica occassionally.

To relieve the imediate symptoms I wear a back support belt.

I also lay on my stomach using my laptop with a stack of pillows under my chest to arch my back for 30 minutes.

I also do a series of back strengthening excercises at the gym that stops it happening.

Cocodamol is not a good thing to take for more than a few days.

That belt looks good - does it put pressure on your back? That really helps me but no-one will agree to push on my lower back all day.

Grockle, Yes you can take Ibuprofen (or other anti-inflammatory) at the same time as Co-Codamol. Painkillers all reach a point where they are achieving as much as they are going to and the only way to get more relief from there is to add in another type of pain reliever.

You should not take painkillers you buy over the counter for more than a few days but that's not because they are particularly unsafe but more because any pain persisting should be checked to exclude serious causes. Painkillers given under medical supervision can be used safely for much longer, in some cases for years. Taking them properly is, in my book, far preferable to being in pain.

The belt stabilises your back and if well down on to the hips it presses right on the sciatic nerve spot wich is good.

I have a slightly different belt to the one in a picture that pulls really tights and has copper wires in it that transfer heat from my stomach to spine. The warmth helps as does laying on a hot water bottle or heated blanket.

I had it for years. Acupuncture was the only thing that worked for me. Make sure it's someone who is just an acupuncturist not a physio who hasnt had the full training.

This constant burning and stabbing pain has made me giddy and unsteady. I can't sleep have no appetite. I'm drugged up on IBurren. I can't concentrate and just have no motivation to do anything but go to bed. Nothing works. Cold spray from Boots gives a few minutes respite.

A TENS machine (mine cost about £40 from Boots about five years ago) helped a bit.

In the end I was prescribed mahoosive levels of painkillers and sedatives for a week, I slept each day for all bar four or five hours and was away with the fairies when I was awake. However it kept me still for long enough for the inflammation that was causing the excruciating sciatic pain to die down enough for me to resume normal life when I rejoined the world.