Sciatic Nerve

[blondie]

@mark I’m glad you saw your doctor. I hope drugs and PT help. I don’t know if this is helpful, but I was confined to bed for days in 2015 with excruciating bilateral lower back-butt pain. No injury or event prior; it just happened one morning when I got up, and over 24 hrs it got worse & worse til I could hardly move .. I had some relief standing but couldn’t do that all day & night. I put off going to the doctor for a few days. I was stiff, in bad pain by then. After the doctor visit, the tests (no injury, mild age related osteo changes in my lower spine), the strong drugs for acute pain, the PT visit, I was left “to rest”, and to do a few exercises & eventually a walking regiment. One thing also recommended, & I got, & still use to this day for flare ups is a Dr. Ho’s TENS unit. I was skeptical at first, but for me it worked. I just wore it, left the pads on, used it standing, sitting, in bed, whenever the pain was so bad. I’ve learned since, specific situational type anxiety seems to be a flare-up-trigger for me…this Dr Ho unit seems to relax the surrounding muscles just enough so I can get into a hot bath tub & soak, do these same PT exercises, get my head and anxiety in order to ward off another acute episode. ??Perhaps google it or ask your doctor, PT of it.. maybe it could help with sciatica too??

[George K]

TENS units can be very helpful.

I had forgotten that I have used them in the past as well!

[mark]

Wow blonde, that sounds exactly what I am going through. Thanks for the recommendation. I will get one to try.

George, as usual, thanks for the great info.

I actually got a little sleep after taking the drugs yesterday. Not great sleep, but maybe a total of 3 hours.

Last night was not good. Very sporadic sleep pattern. Would fall asleep for 10 or 20 minutes then wake up and not be able to get back to sleep.

I did find a couple of hours of "sleep" this morning. I will probably spend the day in bed again. So boring!

And 2 weeks to go until PT. I hope it's better by then.

[George K]

The TENS unit that Blondie linked to is pricey. There are less-expensive units available. I assume they differ in reliability and the ability to set various programs of stimulation.

You might want to go cheap before making a bigger investment.

We've used this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NCRE4GO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And gotten pretty good relief.

[mark]

Ordered! Thanks!

[George K]

@mark play around with electrode placement, pattern and strength of stimulation.

[mark]

@George-K are the electrodes one time use?

[George K]

@mark nope. They're reusable and arrive on a mylar sheet that you stick them back onto. YOu'll get dozens of uses out of them.

They will wear out, but replacements are cheap.

[blondie]

I hope this helps for you @mark

[mark]

@George-K good to know. thanks!

[taiwan_girl]

@mark WOw!! Get well soon!!

I want to see the @mark @Aqua-Letifer @Doctor-Phibes @klaus @jon-nyc bike riding relay race this summer

[Aqua Letifer]

@taiwan_girl said in Sciatic Nerve:

@mark WOw!! Get well soon!!

I want to see the @mark @Aqua-Letifer @Doctor-Phibes @klaus @jon-nyc bike riding relay race this summer

Would. So. Do. It.

[mark]

@Aqua-Letifer said in Sciatic Nerve:

@taiwan_girl said in Sciatic Nerve:

@mark WOw!! Get well soon!!

I want to see the @mark @Aqua-Letifer @Doctor-Phibes @klaus @jon-nyc bike riding relay race this summer

Would. So. Do. It.

+1!

[taiwan_girl]

Race Across America

https://www.raamrace.org/about

I will be the cheerleader and good mental support person. LOL

[brenda]

Feel better soon, Mark! Summer is coming, and you'll want to have all the fun!

[George K]

Update?

[mark]

@George-K mildly better? sometimes I think I'm getting better then WHAM! no you're not!

Freaking hate this.

[Ivorythumper]

Very sorry to hear this Mark. I used to suffer sciatica from auto injuries and lower back problems. I did a course of rolfing and other structural adjustments (myofascial release and chiro) which have helped immensely. Still a bit stiff and occasional flair ups, but not the debilitating sciatica I once regularly had. I hope your treatments fix you soon.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

[mark]

@Ivorythumper Thank you. Merry Christmas!

It's been a week now. Still in pain and unable to walk more than few steps without damn near collapsing from the pain.

However I think it's getting a little better. Last night was the first time since this started that I was able to sleep. A good 6 hours then I got up off the couch (only place where I could find comfort) and got into bed (Tempurpedic Memory Foam) around 6am and actually got 2.5 more hours of sleep.

So that is encouraging.

9 days until PT starts.

I am seriously considering an inversion table.

This one.

https://www.amazon.com/Innova-ITM6000-Advanced-Therapeutic-Inversion/dp/B0B3FBC4GY/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=inversion+table&qid=1672082663&sprefix=inver%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-13

[mark]

The TENS device arrived today. After a consultation with Dr. George, I have the first effective pain relief since this hit me.

Can't thank you enough for the for letting me know about this device and for the instructions on its use.

It's not 100% but it is enough that I can actually walk from room to room without the walker.