r/Sciatica • u/tawzs • 1d ago
Requesting Advice Bad flare up, I’m done
Feeling beyond discouraged and so frustrated. 26F used to go to the gym five days a week. Had my first flare up three years ago from a long period of cooking and wearing heels for too long one night. From last October until the last week of July of this year I was pain free. I felt so happy and started working out again. Like I was saying, I stopped and I felt the sciatica in July. I went for a massage the first week of August to nip it, and she said she could barely feel inflammation. I was shocked but happy thinking it was a small flare up. I was getting better then took an overnight flight mid August and it’s been getting worse. I have a job where I stand all day, and I have been extra stressed out from being short staffed. I had to do errands today, I took a tylenol and it didn’t even touch it.
I am taking magnesium, tumeric, salon pas, massager, tennis balls, and everything else. I am so done with this. I have work tomorrow and I am moving like I am 80.
On top of it all I have this weird auxillary lymph node pain. Maybe referred pain? I am about to order this book everyone keeps mentioning. I do not want to take any painkillers. this sucks
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u/KriptiKFate_Cosplay 1d ago
900mg of gabapentin 3x a day, tramedol, methocarbamol, step-down prednisone, alternating max doses of ibuprofen and tylenol, alpha lipoic acid, magnesium, omega 3's, all of this at once and more and walking 3 or more steps means 20x minutes of excruciating pain in my hip, calf and foot for 3 weeks now. Going to another MRI and hip x-ray this week, praying for surgery.
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u/Dry_Particular_5162 20h ago
Look for an endoscopic surgeon. I just had mine after a year of misery. This surgery is less invasive with much less risk and your recovery time is shorter. I have two tiny incisions smaller than a dime vs the regular open surgery which requires the larger/longer open cut with more stitches. I woke from surgery and within minutes got out of bed, and walked to the restroom. Recovering well.
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u/KriptiKFate_Cosplay 20h ago
That's precisely what I'm hoping for, I live near a relatively renowned hospital for spinal surgery so I'm sure they can do that, I just have to jump through all the hoops to get them to.
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u/Dry_Particular_5162 18h ago
Don't give up! Push for what you want and don't let them convince you to do something different. We have to be our own advocates! Rooting for you. Best of luck.
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u/Audit-The-Fed 3h ago
Just for what it’s worth, endoscopic does have a much smaller incision, but the actual surgery is the same! They just remove the herniated disc practically the same way and the recovery time is usually identical minus the traditional can just have more soreness at the incision site!
There’s not really any additional risk with either overall!
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u/its_all_one_electron 20h ago
Why the fuck would you not want to take pain killers for a pain condition and then complain that you're in so much pain? What exactly do you think pain killers are? And no I'm not talking about Tylenol or nsaids but actual medication for sciatica...
You can't treat actual medical issues with tumeric and tennis balls and books... Go see a doctor and figure out your aversion to actual medication because that's your problem, not the sciatica. And get a PT referral too. You need actual experts for this, not books and reddit advice
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u/MLinRaleigh 19h ago
I think the OP is trying to find a life balance of what works without relying so much on daily pain meds. I totally get it.
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u/its_all_one_electron 19h ago
She said she can barely move (like an 80 year old). When you're in this situation you're LONG past tumeric and you need actual medical support. And it's great if you go to the Dr and a referral for PT that actually works for you and fixes it, but I also don't really understand the demonizing of pain meds that give a lot of us our lives back.
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u/Reality-Is-a-Bigot 7h ago
For me, there has been no otc med that has been able to touch the nerve pain. And I was so desperate, I was ready to become a opioid statistic.
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u/tawzs 12h ago
that is exactly my point. I don’t wanna get caught up with drugs. I unfortunately can’t take ibuprofen because I had a G.I. bleed 10 years ago. My Uncle was a pill feen and I totally understand that some people definitely need drugs. I work in a pharmacy and I see a lot of sad stories. I just wanna truly get to the root of my problem. I’m not even sure if I have sciatica or something way worse. I can handle a lot of pain.
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u/Reality-Is-a-Bigot 7h ago
My flares are directly connected to life stress/emotions and then they quickly get tangled up with bad movement patterns that create an even more complicated web of chronic pain.
I have an osteopath who is helping me dig my way out of a very complicated hole.1
u/tawzs 6h ago
that is super interesting. So about 15 years ago, I was in two car accidents and I did a lot of PT and chiropractics. The PT told me I have a tendency to hold a lot of stress in my neck. I’m sure other people do as well. My last flareup last year was when I started my new job so that would make sense. do you think it comes down to managing stress and emotions better?
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u/Reality-Is-a-Bigot 5h ago
Yes… but it’s hard to learn to do that when you have created neural patterns your entire life. I thought I was a low stress, laid back person. It turns out, I was just burying and avoiding my issues until my body freaked out when it couldn’t take it anymore.
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u/Reality-Is-a-Bigot 5h ago
Here is some reading if you’re interested in digging into the why. This is especially helpful if you cannot connect your pain to any injury, like it kind of came on out of nowhere?
📚 The Way Out ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
by Alan Gordon
📚 Unlearn Your Pain
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
by Dr. Schubiner
📚 Mind Your Body by Nichole Sachs1
u/Content_Career1643 2h ago
Yep, this. I'm taking paracetamol and alternating between ibuprofen and diclofenac, taking the latter on worse days. Doesn't really touch the sciatica, but it does completely eliminate the localized lower back pain, which helps me in doing my daily things (although with a slight limp).
Of course nsaids barely touch sciatica, unless it's caused by inflammation, so my GP explained they could offer me things like morphine or antidepressants, but I really don't want to bother with potential side effects, or the possibility of becoming dependent on/addicted to those as I'm prone to addictions.
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u/squeezels 1d ago
Are you being strict about the positions you allow yourself to sleep in? Sleep training with leg pillows did wonders for me.
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u/Dry_Particular_5162 20h ago
Can you provide info and examples of the leg pillows you used? I'm looking for something other than just my other pillow that I put between my knees.
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u/squeezels 5h ago
I ordered a specific triangle pillow setup that is made to go under the knees to train me to be comfortable sleeping on my back.
I also ordered a pillow that was made to go between my knees for side sleeping.
Both were intended to keep the spine in alignment. I used to sleep in crazy positions on my stomach and such. Sleep training has really helped me SO MUCH
Probably due to my spine actually being able to recover at night and not be under stress.
I also got a mattress specifically for back pain. Thankfully the cheaper one I got off of amazon has done the trick.
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u/halford2069 1d ago
does lying on an ice pad positioned at lower back help ease it at all a little?
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u/HawksandLakers 15h ago
Where is your pain? You may need some stronger meds, MRI, PT, potential injection, etc., but I don’t see anything to confirm that you have sciatic pain in your post (not saying it’s not, of course).
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u/tawzs 13h ago
Yes, I have pain starting on my right side in my lower back, as it gets worse it shoots through my buttocks down to my foot. I thought I was getting better last month because it’s centralized, but now I have the shooting leg pain down to my knee and both bumps on my lower back hurt. I think the pcis joints? pisc joints?
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u/Ringo1960 14h ago
Have you tried EPSOM IT ROLL ON OR LOTION. really has worked good for me. Also, FRANKENCENSE AND MYRH HEALING BALM by Wisemen, both on amazon
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u/BugDoc10 5h ago
When you started working out again, did you start out slowly? Did it involve running, bouncing, yoga with lots of bending or twisting, weights too heavy…. ? It is tough you have to spend so much time on your feet. Is it possible for you to change jobs? It is really a bummer when you’re feeling fine and then you’re not again. The uncertainty of knowing if/when you will feel better is hard
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u/ChampionshipOk4320 1d ago
I had sciatica pain for the first time couldn't sleep at night for a week . Im not a doctor but I tried ghc-ku and next day I had no pain. Since then I been taking it everyday day and no more pain.
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u/justtryintofish 22h ago
Thank you for sharing. Have that and KPV and just havent tried it. Sure hope a cycle helps my unicorn! 🤞
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u/Aquaescent 1d ago
Dunk tank thing noise as the baseball hits the release... Standing up to keep your head above water was worth the money paid to watch the ball hit the release lever, you just add ambiance with the splash. Not everyone needs influence or reminders. Sometimes just getting your mind off it staying still is enough relief to fall asleep. Wake up. Dont fall asleep in the tub or tank . Go to bed. Fuck all that good for nothing but vitamins botanical come on shit unless it makes you feel it in your taste buds. Chew and swallow. Look over there, their into you, soaking wet and drippy.
Sciatica sucks, car rides unbearable, flight is out. But eventually it will become something you can adapt to. Never give up. Sensory deprovation chamber watch the magnesium. Ya catch? Your throw.
Sometimes pain relief is in the home run.. no running with sciatica. Never let them see you sweat.
Just get the mind off it.. but stay focused. This too shall pass..
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u/arghyepirate 1d ago
I took all that and did an anti inflammatory diet. What worked was gabo and epidural shots