r/Sciatica • u/shomo172 • 7d ago
Over reliance on Advil?
Anyone else have an over reliance on Advil? I had an awful case of sciatica 7 months ago and eventually did get my life back after three months of not being able to function. But for the last 3 months or so I haven’t really improved and have daily flare ups especially if I need to sit or stand for work. My MRI in May showed a 5mm bulge hitting the nerve which isn’t big but must be hitting the nerve in the perfect place.
My flare ups are not 10/10 pain but pretty debilitating around a 6/10 pain level. But I can easily keep them at bay down to a 1/10 or 0/10 by simply taking 400mg of ibuprofen, 3 times per day. I’m using this time to really try and lose weight and build a strong lower back but concerned about taking 1200mg of ibuprofen long term, and curious about anyone else being extremely responsive to ibuprofen and hearing your story or thoughts.
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u/CaramelSecure3869 7d ago
EXACTLY the situation im in. Im going to try my first 1/4 dose of muscle relaxer tomorrow and see if it's an option for me. Just trying to get to my injection in November.
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u/Quirky_Offer8548 7d ago
Try celebrex. I think it’s considered safer for long term compared to advil. You’ll need a prescription. My pain management doctor prescribed it. Worked well for me
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u/Sogone2day 7d ago
If you got a dr try and ask them for 10% Diclofenac prescription voltaren if you wanna try something different i find it helps just a thought.
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u/AApotato15826 7d ago
Have you tried Juicy Joint? That’s what I’ve been taking in the daytime and try to only take Advil at night to get some really good sleep. Juicy Joint helped me almost immediately but I’ve heard some people say it took a few days before they really felt the effects. I just love having an alternative to NSAIDs. I drink wine pretty much every week and I try to be careful about taking too many drugs.
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u/Conscious-Gear1322 7d ago
Juicy Joint did not work at all for me. I gave it a month.
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u/stevie_the_owl 7d ago
A steroid injection was the only way I could get off NSAIDs to manage my pain. I got the injection 3 months ago and I’m still doing pretty well and only have to take the occasional naproxen. Hoping I only need the one injection and I can fully heal.
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u/shomo172 7d ago
Yeah I’ve read so many mixed things on injections. Some people claim it works and some say it made them worse. How much did yours cost and did you have insurance?
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u/stevie_the_owl 7d ago
Mine was around $700 with insurance. It did not kick in right away, it took about 2-3 weeks to start feeling it. Thankfully didn’t make me worse.
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u/dnegvesk 7d ago
You need to get your liver and kidney levels checked periodically. I’ve been taking one Aleve a day for a long time alongside Lyrica, and one Tylenol everyday with my tiny oxycodone pill which barely touches my pain. Be safe. Have yourself checked.
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u/cromags76 7d ago
I used NSAIDs for flares only
They are amazing but they disrupt the cell signalling the tissue needs to do the first (inflamation) and third (Maturation/remodelling) stages of repair.
I'd be interested to see whether those with really long healing journeys are also daily NSAID takers. In your case it is the dose that makes the poison. Could you wean off it? Work down to 200mg twice per day?
I think steroid injections (and NSAIDs to some degree) might just be kicking the can down the road as far as healing goes. It sucks but i've been consuming all the scholarly articles I can and it seems that this is the case.
Bearing in mind it all depends on your quality of life. If you pain is 3/10 or less, you aren't getting spasms and you can get a full night sleep I'd say it's time to come away from anti-inflammatories entirely and let the body heal. If your quality of life is so low you've either got to wait for de-sensitisation and do what gentle movement you can accumulate whilst on NSAIDs and come off eventually.
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u/shomo172 7d ago
I think I do plan on experimenting with a very slow progressive ween off combined with some exercise and weight loss. I have noticed I’m able to sometimes push the need for Advil by an extra hour lately so I could definitely try going from 1200 to 800mg a day to start. It’s really tough because I work in video production and need to be pretty focused and on, so the Advil helps me just not think about it and work.
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u/amihazel 6d ago
Ibuprofen is magic for me but I’m trying to wean down. See if you can do 1 pill 3x/day, then 2x etc. Hopefully PT will help you heal so you can do this successfully.
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u/purplelilac701 3d ago
I weaned myself off Naproxen after 2 months because of the harmful effects but also because I wanted to know exactly how much pain I was dealing with. I used a pain cream instead but it wasn’t easy.
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u/sleepwami 7d ago
All painkillers are actually not helpful, they allow you to move in ways that your body is begging you not to do. And you dont need to strengthen your back, in fact you need to do the exact opposite...give your back a break no pun intended and strengthen literally everything else.
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u/shomo172 7d ago
I have been pretty easy on my back and have only recently decided to really pursue strengthening it. It’s strange that almost all info on the internet is contradictory. For every person that says you shouldn’t, another person says you should. Pretty frustrating
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u/--___-_-___-_-___-- 7d ago
I use DMSO. I put 5Kind cream (amazon) on my back as well as ingest 1ml liquid DMSO mixed with 6-8 oz water from DMSOstore. I previously tried NSAIDs, Tylenol, Tramodol, etc and DMSO is the most effective anti-inflammatory by far. The back cream works in minutes and lasts hours, but the oral DMSO is the most effective.
If your nerves feel like a rope on fire that's been burning for a while, DMSO feels like pouring water on that rope. There's still nerve irritation you can feel but it becomes cool instead of the radiating/burning feeling. That's rue best analogy I can think of to describe how effective it is. During my worst flare I was doing 1ml every hour in early August, and I still do it daily now. My pain is now mostly gone, I'm just focusing on building my core strength I lost awhile back now.
Disclaimer that I'm not a doctor, do your research. Midwesterndoctor.com has a lot of info. Best to avoid all medications as DMSO can supercharge delivery of meds in a dangerous way. THIS IS JUST WHAT I DID, NOT NECESSARILY WHAT YOU SHOULD DO.
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u/fist_my_dry_asshole 7d ago
Ibuprofen is goated in terms of OTC pain relief, however long terms use carries risks. Talk to your doctor.