Sciatica

[Sarge]

Started out innocent enough last week with what felt like some tightness in my right calf area. A week later and I was in the ER last night getting a shot of Dilaudid to control the excruciating pain from my buttocks to my toes!

Also pumping me full of prednisone to lessen the inflammation of the nerve.

Hard to describe the pain if you have never had it.

A combination of, broken bones, shin splints, charlie horse, pins and needles, you name it.

Trying to get an MRI scheduled for the Doc to look at next week.

[Chris Keen]

You said it all when you said 'excruciating pain from my buttocks to my toes'. I had it when i was about 29 and it all stemmed from a ruptured disk. No fun whatsoever. Not much you can do about it either. Just be glad you got some meds. My doc would only tell me to try some ibuprofen or asprin. The only real fix [for me] was to have back surgery, and that fixed the problem right away .... of course I had to take 4-6 weeks off work after the surgery too, so lets hope you dont have to resort to surgery.

[mda]

Started out innocent enough last week with what felt like some tightness in my right calf area. A week later and I was in the ER last night getting a shot of Dilaudid to control the excruciating pain from my buttocks to my toes!

Also pumping me full of prednisone to lessen the inflammation of the nerve.

Hard to describe the pain if you have never had it.

A combination of, broken bones, shin splints, charlie horse, pins and needles, you name it.

Trying to get an MRI scheduled for the Doc to look at next week.

Yep!! it Sucks.

Had mine about 12 years ago, Heck still have it. Was at home getting ready for work and just bent down to pick up a coin off the floor and it felt like someone stabed me in the butt with a knife. Luckly for me I did not have surgery just went through physical therapy and relearned how to lift things correctly. Still flairs up once in a while, mostly just starts as a dull pain and numb right big toe and that is when I know I have over done it. Pop some ibuprofen and take it easy for a few days and is goes away.

Good luck Kevin hope it does not get any worse or require surgery.

MDA

Edited July 28, 2011 by mda

[sfchorn]

Had mine a few years ago the night before the family left on a two-week trip to Italy!

Had no idea what it was. Went to the ER, was told not really much they could do. Got home about 2am, left again for the airport at 4:30 for a 6am flight. Got to the airport (wife drove) and tried to get out of the car. I couldn't walk! Literally had to get a skycap to scrounge up a wheelchair.

The plane rides from San Antonio to Dallas and from Dallas to Milan were unbelievable painful. There is no position that mitigates the pain. Spent the first day in Italy in bed. Gutted through the next few days. Milan, Verona, Venice, Florence, Rome, Pisa, even up to Innsbruck, Austria - I've never had a vacation I enjoyed so much but hurt so much.

I still get twinges every now and then. I fear the day it comes back with a vengence.

[Graham Smith]

I still have mild cases of it from time to time, but I had a lot of trouble with it when I was in my 30's and it can cripple you.

There are a number of things that are called Sciatica ranging from simple muscle strain to herniated disks, which is why it's important to get it checked out. It may be as simple as a swollen muscle pressing on the nerve where it passes over the sciatic notch, in which case cold followed by heat will pretty much alleviate it. But it can also be a warning sign of something much worse.

[want2race]

I was hit with something very similar in Feb. I couldn't bare weight on my left leg without severe pain. Went two weeks on pain meds and motrin just to be able to walk. Riding in a car was horrible. Doc said no more pain meds after the first two weeks. I didn't like them but they made it possible to survive day to day. MRI in April showed a ruptured disc. I could barely put on shorts, shoes were impossible. Two consults with surgeons, one said yes, the other said no to surgery. I tried the Mckenzie book for stretches, made it worse at times. I've considered epidurals. I've tried about every homedic remedy. It's now July and I'm just now to the point and can function at 90%. Before surg or epi's I want to try a few rounds of traction PT.

It definitely interferes with shooting.

[Merlin Orr]

Back problems for years with debilitating pain then I finally went to a chiropractor. It was literally the best thing I have ever done for my body.

Won't heal a ruptured disc but it will take the pressure off and it may keep you from ever having one......

[twodownzero]

That sounds really terrible, Kevin.

I'll 2nd the chiropractor, though. They really helped with my knee pain when I got out of the army. The orthopedic doctor couldn't ever find a tear or anything, but the pain and swelling was pretty intense. Chiro helped a lot.

Edited July 28, 2011 by twodownzero

[Reshoot]

Started out innocent enough last week with what felt like some tightness in my right calf area. A week later and I was in the ER last night getting a shot of Dilaudid to control the excruciating pain from my buttocks to my toes!

Also pumping me full of prednisone to lessen the inflammation of the nerve.

Hard to describe the pain if you have never had it.

A combination of, broken bones, shin splints, charlie horse, pins and needles, you name it.

Trying to get an MRI scheduled for the Doc to look at next week.

I feel your pain, Sarge! I suffered with those same symptons for three years, before I finally found real help. Had a disk removed in '01 but, the probelm returned in '03.

I did my own research finding a company called Medtronic, manufacturer of neuro stimulator implants. Using their doctor reference list, I found a doctor in Lancaster (Ohio)who had me nearly pain free by the end of '03. He had to cut me open again in '07, to replace the battery, and I look for a flashing light on my controller any time now, indicating my battery needs to be replaced again. It has been the best thing to happen to me in my life, second only to a woman named Ellen.

Oh, and he is the coolest doctor I have ever met. We became friends, and whenever I have an appointment (which I always make late in the day) he will ask if I want to go up. You see, he has an MD300C. A helicopter that was shot up in Nam, returned to the states for refurbishing, but never made it back over there. From the inside you can see the patched bullet holes!

Anyhow, the implant allowed my to continue working right up until I retired in January of this year. In place of pain, I feel a tingle all the way to my toes. Most of the time I fell no pain, but on bad days I still have a bit of discomfort. There are two wires laying along side the spinal cord and a "volume" control buttom for each. This allows me to block pain in either leg, or both.

[BBBB]

Had it about 10 years ago. No fun at all. Still have occasional issues due to some arthritic spurring. My experience is that the different professionals are not always good about recommending each other. I saw a chiropractor, a GP, and an orthopedist. In the best case I found they each failed to recommend I consider another form of treatment and focused only on what they could do. In the worst case I found they would outright disrespect each other to me as a patient. I would recommend that you keep that in mind as you see each one (and you should see more than one in my opinion).

Unless there is a MAJOR issue warranting surgery more conservative options (chiropractic care, physical therapy) make sense for a lot of people. I would personally consider surgery a last resort.

[TecheTitan]

I had surgery 5 years ago for ruptured discs in my back for that same reason. At times the pain was intolerable and would literally bring tears to my eyes, especially when going fron sitting to standing. Before the surgery I tried the chiropractor and physical therapy all to no avail. It would stop the pain momentarily, but it would soon return. Definately get an MRI to check for ruptured discs.

[Heckler]

Fought this for about 6 months, 10 years ago. Sitting and driving were murder. On a 45 minute commute to work I would pull over 3 times to get out and walk around.

Being hard headed and needing to work it took awhile before I went to the doctor. Doctor gave me the run around.

Everyone recommended a chiropractor which I had never been to in my life. I felt great when I walked out of the office. Drove about 10 miles and had to call my wife to come pick me up from the side of the road. Absolutely could not drive another mile I was in so much pain.

Wife took me to an old family doctor and she gave me Darvocet, Lortab, and Vioxx. Did I mention it was my 30th birthday? Surprise birthday party, 13 Jack and Cokes later I was finally feeling NO PAIN!

3 days after taking Vioxx the pain was gone and has not returned. Too bad you can no longer buy Vioxx.

[Sarge]

Well, so far so good. They have me popping a lot of prednisone and it appears to be working. Pain level is about 15-20% of what it was at its worst. It actually only hurts at all when I sit or drive. Walking and bending today was nearly pain free. I hope it was a flare up that I can avoid in the future. And yes, surgery on my back will be my very last resort.

Thanks guys! And did I say how great the shot of Dilaudid was. Second time in my life I have had a morphine shot. They never disappoint!

[Sarge]

He had to cut me open again in '07, to replace the battery, and I look for a flashing light on my controller any time now, indicating my battery needs to be replaced again.

I'll never complain about changing a Cmore battery again!

[Reshoot]

He had to cut me open again in '07, to replace the battery, and I look for a flashing light on my controller any time now, indicating my battery needs to be replaced again.

I'll never complain about changing a Cmore battery again!

It's not so bad. Simple outpatient procedure.

[NewColonial]

Kevin, I can empathize. That's got to be the worse pain. Had it some 25 years ago. Chiro, pills, epidurals, nothing helped. I left a fist sized hole from frustration in the wall of the rental house we were in. Finally spread to BOTH legs and surgery couldn't be ignored. Surgeon actually suggested I try whiskey to numb the pain in the weeks before the surgery. Back in those days we were sill biting sticks during the procedure. :-) After all these years, the legs are generally okay, but my lower back reminds me frequently. I still get twinges from time to time.

My advice is DO NOT ignore it if you don't get better quickly, hoping things will change. I came close to not walking again due to scar tissue build up. Serious stuff to ignore.

[lmccrock]

I have sciatica but looks like it is caused by a muscle wrapped around the nerves. So I am missing a few matches while the physical therapy kicks in. I thought the sciatica symptoms and hip/back pain were unrelated. Nope, but it took X-ray and MRI and some PT to confirm.

3 days after taking Vioxx the pain was gone and has not returned. Too bad you can no longer buy Vioxx.

Meloxicam works the same and is $5/30 day supply at my local pharmacy.

Lee

[Canuck223]

Wow, remind me to never complain about mine again. I rode right seat in a friends pick-up to the 1999 Bianchi Cup, and we did the return drive in a single 16 hour session, stopping maybe 3 times for gas, food, and de-fueling.

The night I got home I woke up to numb toes and a throbbing pain up my leg to the cheek of my ass. It was my constant companion for 3 months. Annoying, but compared to the stories above, clearly trivial.

[jordonhurd]

I had to deal with that about three years ago. The only place I could sleep without pain was flat on the floor for about 6 weeks. No surgery for me, just a few months of physical therapy and a lot a pain meds for the first few weeks.

It's hard for someone who has never suffered from this to understand the pain.

[Sarge]

I had to deal with that about three years ago. The only place I could sleep without pain was flat on the floor for about 6 weeks. No surgery for me, just a few months of physical therapy and a lot a pain meds for the first few weeks.

It's hard for someone who has never suffered from this to understand the pain.

Thank God. I was afraid I was going to get accused of having Girlie parts for whining about it!

[diehli]

I've been on NSAIDs for 5 years and 3 months due to herniated discs at 4 levels (and resulting osteophytes at some levels), spondylolisthesis, and DDD. Started with a pretty standard herniation at L4-5 back in 2006 (which likely was brought on by a Smith machine not being bolted to the floor and ~500 lbs shifting on my shoulders as I moved the whole machine rather than just the bar), then a motorcycle accident led to the other issues (aside from the DDD).

I might be able to function without the NSAIDs, but the resultant homicides would make that undesirable.

[Sarge]

Just realized I had not posted the requisite update.

MRI showed very clear L5 herniated disc squishing the sciatic nerve.

Taking NSAIDS (Naprosyn) with two Tylenol every twelve hours.

Getting Physical Therapy scheduled within the next week or two.

Also prescribed me some seizure medicine to try to quiet the nerve down some

The Docs all are in agreement that I am not a candidate for surgery, at least as things stand right now. The pain is under control with the worst being at the end of the 12 hours for each dose but even then the pain is in my hip right when I stand up from sitting. Hurts for about 2 seconds and then its gone. As a matter of fact I shot a match today with absolutely no pain but after driving home for an hour and a half it hurt like hell getting out of the truck.

All in all I'm doing better but I'm keeping close tabs on it for sure.

Thanks everybody for letting me whine a little.

Edited August 6, 2011 by Kevin Sanders

[Joe L]

Kevin--no one mentioned it above, but, if you continue to have problems, disk pressure on the nerve can be relieved by arthroscopic surgery. Procedures were developed 10-15 years ago and I had my L4/L5 disk partially removed in 2002. At the time, I was nearly paralyzed, so there were no other options for me. But, I had the surgery one morning, and was able to walk out of there. Next day I was able to spend 2 hours in a car, and went to work on the 3rd day. Not bad. I still have some problems because the material is nearly gone and the bones will eventually fuse together. Symptoms have been very manageable. If you have any more problems, find a doctor that is experienced in the procedure and discuss with him.

Joe

[kz45]

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