Sciatica

[steam_mill]

Guys:<br /><br />I'm really quite worried. My very, very active wife (gym 5 days a week, ER staff etc etc.) is now essentially house bound and can no longer walk more than 5 minutes. Also, she is my fishing buddy. She's only 31!<br /><br />She has been diagnosed with Sciatica. Has had x-rays and an MRI. She has been this way for the better part of 2 months.<br /><br />She is doing physio/chiro and is waiting for a surgical appointment. Also, she is a nurse so knows a fair bit about medicine.<br /><br />The worst part is she feels no improvement with her current treatments.<br /><br />Any suggestions or advice?<br /><br />I'll even listen to snake oil treatments because nothing has worked so far....<br /><br />Joe

 

[Stratosfied]

Re: Sciatica

steam_mill, I don't know about this but I found this forum @ www.yourmania.com/forum/ It is all about sciatica. Hope this helps you and your fishing partner.

 

[JoeW]

Re: Sciatica

Joe,<br />I've suffered from bouts with sciatica, one which lasted about four months. It's a real pain in the butt (sorry for the pun). The good news is that it will get better, but it does seem to take forever. If this is her first bout, it's probably not the last, but it is the worst and longest. Mine was anyway. <br /><br />Exercise helps a lot, but the relief is not immediate. It goes away very gradually. I was able to detect improvement only when I compared my condition to several weeks or months prior. Surgery is always the last resort as it usually involves shaving part of the disk away from the spinal nerve. <br /><br />As with any long term injury/illness, another thing you want to watch for, especially if your wife was very active, are any signs of depression. It's very easy to think that it will never go away, but it will. <br /><br />I'm sure your wife has already found out that you can't really medicate this condition. The only pain killers that can ease this pain will likely be very addictive. Best to stay away from them.<br /><br />Best things to do are to keep her spirits up and stay educated on this condition. I suggest that you get on google and search for one of the many sites that address this condition. <br /><br />Good luck and give your wife our best. <br /><br />Joe

 

[oddjob]

Re: Sciatica

I've had this for 20 years. Weight lifting accident. <br /><br />Before I knew how to mamage it, it was a nightmare.<br /><br />I'm now 41 still lift weights... and almost forgot I have it until you reminded me just now.<br /><br />Chiropractic care and exercise keeps mine at bay.<br />You may have go to several before you find one that can help. Dont give up.<br /><br />I think surgery would be a mistake. I'm glad I didnt..With help and good habits, her body can heal itself. It may take awhile to reduce the inflamation of the sciatic nerve and reduce the pain. It eventually happened for me 13 years ago. Right after I had my first adjustment from my current Chiroprator.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Sciatica

It is a form of inflamation, and very painfull, You can try this and I think It will help.<br /><br />20,000 Mg. of MSM twice a day. Search MSM on the internet. It is not a drug and concidered a food. (Sulfer) You cannot overdose on it as the body will only use what it needs. Most people are deficient of sulfer. You can buy it by the pound MUCH cheaper than pills, and it is much purer. I take it every day, but only 10,000 twice a day for my knees. Beleive me it helps me, and It will help her to. It works really well for a lot of things. Your hair and nails will grow faster too. Anyway, you might check it out, It cant hurt, and it may work for her. If you just want to try it you can go to GNC and buy a bottle, but you will use it up at 20,000 twice a day in just a couple of days and it takes about a week to notice a real difference. Best is to order a pound on the internet. If you want I will tell you where I get mine. I truely believe it will help.

 

[steam_mill]

Re: Sciatica

My wife actually deals with addiction everyday. She specialized in mental health nursing.<br /><br />I guess our frustration is that at this time last year I could not walk(hip replacement at 34) and now it her sciatica. <br /><br />We are both active individuals that actually enjoy being active together.<br /><br />We live in this country that seems to be under ice for 6 months and we look so forward to the spring to garden, fish etc. <br /><br />We just finished a huge reno at our cottage to have the perfect summer. Guess what, I don't even think I'm putting my '04 boat in just in case we can't make it up there often...<br /><br />It's a long weekend in Canada this week. We don't even know if we are going. She can't tolerate a 2 hour car ride....<br /><br />Sorry, I'm ranting..<br /><br />Joe

 

[oddjob]

Re: Sciatica

One time I couldn't stand the ride to work (25min). Had to pull over, get out, rest, get the will to get back in and finish the next (5 min)minutes of self torcher (sp).

 

[JoeW]

Re: Sciatica

I was the same way. I had to get a special chair to sit at my desk and I couldn't even use that. I would even stand up during meetings. Driving was the worst, but I did find that the lumbar support on my pickup helped after a while. At first, nothing helped.

 

[boatneck]

Re: Sciatica

I had sciatica surgery earlier this year (29 Jan) and now am back to normal--lifting weights, chopping wood, boating. Before, I could hardly walk, sit in a car, or do anything. My surgeon gave me four options: 1. Do nothing and hope it heals itself (After about 2 months of that, it only got worse)2. Try epidural injections (treat the symptom, not the cause). 3. Try physical therapy 4. Do surgery. I chose surgery cause my life was useless because of pain; couldn't sleep, couldn't work out, play or anything. I was concerned of permanent nerve damage and wanted to treat the cause of pain, not the symptom. The surgeon agreed with my choice since he does about 200 similar surgeries per year and thought that my case was a good candidate for surgery. I have no regrets and am glad I went for the surgery rather than mess with the other options. I realize sometimes you can go with the surgery and end up worse, or at least, not better. My surgeon was very good and explained what the surgery would do to relieve the pain and symptoms of the herniated disc (L6) . If I ever have the symptoms again of another herniated disc, I would opt for the surgery.

 

[JoeW]

Re: Sciatica

boatneck,<br />What did they do in the surgery, shave the disc or fuse the lumbar? I've heard that fusing only relieves the problem until the next disc up becomes herniated. How long did it take for you to recover? If I ever get it as bad as I had it the first time, I would seriously consider surgery.

 

[PW2]

Re: Sciatica

If it is a disc problem, there is an injection available in Canada that many times will remove the affected part of the disc without resorting to surgery. I forget now what it is called, but I looked into in at one point years ago, but it would not fix my specific problem. What has your orthopedic surgeon said?<br /><br />Most times these days, an MRI will detail the precise problem--most times when a nerve is involved, there is a specific reason why the nerve is being affected.<br /><br />Nowadays, they have lots better diagnostics than they used to.<br /><br />The problem with getting advice about back problems is that rarely are two people have precisely the same problem, and what works for one may not work for another.<br /><br />I had the surgery some 20+ years ago, before they had all the neat diagnostic stuff they do today, but it is fine today, and has been no problem whatsoever since.<br /><br />I had previously cracked my back without really knowing it, and as it healed it developed bone spurs around where the nerve comes out of the back and down the leg. They had to shave the disc a bit, and ground a bigger path in the bone for the nerve.<br /><br />I caught a 25 lb salmon off Port Angeles just a month after the surgery, with no pain.

 

[NathanY]

Re: Sciatica

Im 26yrs old, and have had this problem too, but mine was from a powerlifting injury when I was in high school. It seemed to heal itself, and didnt really bother me for a couple years, until I slipped and fell on some ice the winter before last. Then it was real bad. <br /><br />Those of you who know me, know that I used to work for the cable company, well anyways, I had an episode while gaffing a pole, and I fell all the way down it. That is when I went to the doctor, and they did an MRI, and found that I had a bulged disc that was pressing on the nerve. They put me on a regiment of VIOXX and physical therapy for about 4 months. Im not back to 100%, but I have not had any episodes in a pretty good while now.

 

[crab bait]

Re: Sciatica

been there an pray T L, i never go back..<br /><br />tuffed it out for along time.. i was drivin' by a chiro one day .. i hurt so bad that i just pulled in an begged the doctor with tears in my eyes to help me..<br /><br />an he did.. but took many vists,, onward 15 or so.. the oneday he 'WACKED' me an P O P ..!! felt it release.. an been fine for the most part since..<br /><br />if'n she's strong,, it'll take more 'WACKIN' .. docs gotta fight tite pain muscle over excersised muscle..<br /><br />the miricle drug ,, but have to get on an stay on is ibuphrofin (sp) (motrin)..<br /><br />not all chiro docs are good ..mine's great.. an he's 6' 5" 280 lbs an is a gental giant.. packs a whalopp without great force..<br /><br />can't help you with 'snake oil' but the best thing to ever cross my path an i use it daily is emu oil.. check it out..<br /><br />www.emu-oil.com

 

[kd6nem]

Re: Sciatica

That is a tough one. I've battled with it for 20 years, as has my older bro who is a physical therapist. The newer micro surgical technique is terriffic if it is not an old injury like my bro & I have. Those can truly do wonders without doing too much. I'd think twice about a full laminectomy/fusion. Doug has done a lot of rehab with folks who've had them. He's seen some come back for their second or third surgery because of the effects of the first on an adjacent disc. The folks I trust the most say go to a neurosurgeon instead of a sawbones, although the real bottom line should be how many a week does he/she do. If only a couple a month find a different surgeon. There are some new artificial disks now coming out here in the US, have been around 10+ years in Europe apparently with excellent results, though I'd avoid anything that major unless the disc is totally herniated and beyond hope. My guess is they may be more common in Canada, not sure. (Prodisc & Charite are a couple of the main ones)We're usually slow to let something new to go to market down here. Too many docs want to cut; go down that path cautiously. Time can stabilize it, I won't let a doc cut on me unless there is nothing left to stabilize.

 

[boatneck]

Re: Sciatica

joew94th, The surgery consisted of going in through the lamina and removing the herniated portions of the disc which were pressing on the nerves. The surgeon also removed some bone spurs, but did not do any fusion of the vertebra since stabilization was not necessary. It was not microsurgery or laparoscopic--regular old-fashioned macro-surgery. My scar is about 1-1/2 inches long, and my back and leg feel like great. BTW, I'm 65 yrs old so having my life back is really important.

 

[inlet]

Re: Sciatica

My goodness, this topic takes me back. Nobody understands backpain like a sufferer. In 1985, at age 33, I spent two years not being able to stand, or sit for extended periods. I was at the point where I felt I would never be normal again. I did the physio,the exercises, and everything else that was suggested,finally after a Cat scan, I met with a neurologist, his advice carry on, if it gets absolutely unbearable come back to see me. A change of routine, slightly different workload and eventually I returned to near normal, slight stiffness, blamed on advancing years now. My advice avoid surgery, get some gentle chiropractic help, avoid jarring activities. It is possible to recover , but It takes time.

 

[AK_Chappy]

Re: Sciatica

I hear all of you, I too have been there, done that, burned the T-shirt.<br />I hurt mine with a twisting injury. The next day, I had to get on my hands and knees to literally crawl out of bed. Pain Killers and Muscle Relaxants did the temp fix. Regular exercise and strengthing the muscles did the rest. It took me a while to learn this though (I was young and invincible then). I would let it heal until it was no more than a dull achy reminder, and then go play golf, or something else that involved the back muscles. It would flair back up after two rounds (not in the same day) or so. I finally let it heal completely and have been pain free since, well at least in that area. <br />Make a long story short, let it rest, muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatorys help a lot and don't overdo it when she heals. <br /><br />Get well soon,<br />Chappy

 

[teamstromer]

Re: Sciatica

i got great results from a chiropractor, it took several sessions but it does go away for me.

 

[Toad2001]

Re: Sciatica

I gave up trying to find a cure, and realized only time would heal it. The doctors gave me some exercises that certainly helped. Now, several years later it has pretty much has settled down.<br />I still remember the day I injured it. loading firewood into the back of a station wagon (twisting and lifting a at the same time while crouched down-ddddumb). I literally felt my back "sproing". <br /><br />You gotta take care of your back, particularly to avoid a relapse.

 

[12Footer]

Re: Sciatica

Originally posted by steam_mill:<br /> Guys:<br /><br />I'm really quite worried. My very, very active wife (gym 5 days a week, ER staff etc etc.) is now essentially house bound and can no longer walk more than 5 minutes. Also, she is my fishing buddy. She's only 31!

31 is pretty young for such a problem, but she must've been predisposed to the condition, and therefore, it was ineve=itable at some future date....It's just time to slow down a little,albeit, earlier than most.We (those of us who have been around the back-pain block),all had to do that. <br /><br />

Originally posted by steam_mill:<br /><br />She has been diagnosed with Sciatica. Has had x-rays and an MRI. She has been this way for the better part of 2 months.<br /><br />She is doing physio/chiro and is waiting for a surgical appointment. Also, she is a nurse so knows a fair bit about medicine.<br /><br />The worst part is she feels no improvement with her current treatments.<br /><br />Any suggestions or advice?<br /><br />I'll even listen to snake oil treatments because nothing has worked so far....<br /><br />Joe

Sorry, man...No snake oil for a ruptured or herniated disk.<br />I too, went -thru the werker's comp torture chamber called ,"Physical therapy"....Totally non-efective and made a root canal seem like a fishin trip!<br /><br />After 6months of playing the "doctor ping-pong" game, I literally went outside of the group, went thru my family physician, who refered me to a neurosurgeon, who did a laser-procedure one month later, removing the bulging part, and the relief was as soon as I came out of the anesthsia (N/S)....That fast. I actually came-to feeling no pain, other than the site soreness,which ,after 7 months of hell on Earth, felt like more fishin!!<br />I have been practically pain-free for 4 years, but can re-injure it very easily. I have placed myself in bed three times so far, for doing dumb moves.... acting 18, as it were (like pulling the boat the rest of the way up the trailer by hand,ect)<br />My best advice is to get a second, third,fourth opinion, until she finds someone who will give her a quicker appointment for laser extraction, if it is a herniated disc.<br />One other lingering problem....My leg never recovered full "feeling" after surgery, and sometimes falls asleap before I do....It's allmost normal, but not quite. And it took over one year to reach that level of recovery on the numbness. But the pain relief was immediate.<br />Her surgeon will inform her (no doubt), that she will have to be very carefull how she moves from this day forward. I'm sorry, but no snake oil.