Sciatica nightmare

@richardfrancine I'm just curious. So glad you found something so inexpensive that has actually helped you. I plan on looking into it. Did you by any chance visit a clinic called Disc Centers of Canada? I went to something similar here in the States that wanted thousands of dollars for several sessions on a decompression table. Fortunately, I checked into it and saw many negative reviews, so I opted out and saved myself thousands of dollars.

Hi there

I’m happy to hear that you checked into that outfit and saved yourself from monetary grief. I should have done the same! Honestly, I don’t remember what the name of this place was, only that it definitely wasn’t Disc Centers of Canada. The decompression belt really worked wonders for me and, if you get one, I wish the same results for you! Take care and Happy New Year minus the sciatica!
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Hello Joy.

Have you tried Tramadol? (UK name).

I know exactly how you feel having went through years of utter hell with sciatica. I had to resign from my last job due to it. I've tried too many drugs to mention none of which helped at all because my doctors were reluctant to prescribe opioids or synthetic opioids, so I'll keep this short without getting into the saga of my own experience.

The only thing that eventually worked for me was Tramadol. It was total relief, amazing.
I found my dose for pain loss was initially 2x 50mg capsules around 6 hours appart which can be increased if needs be.

They can make you feel a bit "woozy" when you first take them but that only lasted a couple of days and was replaced by a warm relaxed feeling and total pain relief.

I'm sad to say I built up a high tolerance during a sciatica bout of almost a year and no longer take it hoping the efficacy returns one day.

I currently take Zomorph for an undiagnosed chronic abdominal tenderness and pain problem (perhaps some form of fibromyalgia) I picked up last year so taking that helps with the sciatica as a side bonus. It's not total relief because of my opioid tolerance via the Tramadol but helps turn the pain volume down.

Good luck.

@jason321 I, too, started Tramadol for lower back pain. I was also put on Diclofenac K. The combination worked well to help control my pain. Just like your experience, I have developed a tolerance. Three 50 mg tablets do virtually nothing to help me. It's too bad that the pain docs are so afraid of prescribing something stronger. I wish you well.

@heisenberg34
Thanks "Walter" 🙂
and I hope you find a better solution soon.

I was in agony for months before given Tramadol, I'd even resorted to taking very hot baths for a few mins of worth of relief. The intense heat just overwhelmed the nerves. I also used ice packs a lot. I'd had virtually no sleep and by then so the Doc could actually see how bad I looked and relented.

Yep that's the problem, I've now built up a tolerance with opioids and upping the dose just makes me itch like hell if I take any more than 4x10mg Xomorph per day.

I actually fear for having a severe injury or an operation as most of what they'd give a "normal" person would work on me now.

All the long term drugs like Pregabalin ( horrendous side affects...just weird felt like I was trying to wade through water and was dropping things), Amitriptyline caused bad headaches, didn't get any side effects from Gabapentin or Duloxetine but they didn't work at all. I've also tried Nefopam which lead to excruciating pain trying to urinate.

All the best.

@jason321 Has anyone suggested a spinal cord stimulator? When my meds began to lose their efficacy, I did a trial which went very well. The permanent implant gave me my life back for a couple of years. Unfortunately, the paddle lead shorted out and it stopped working. It doesn’t help everyone but it helps quite a few.

Hello, everyone...

Please forgive me for not coming back and replying to all of you who so compassionately reached back to me.

I pray you do not find me rude and ungrateful, I just simply, again since I posted in initially have been in the grips of such unrelenting pain and fatigue ( I suppose that is for another board, forgive me, just needed to let you all know I have been so incapacitated by both of these afflictions that I am barley functioning...and yet I feel terrible, as so many of you are still suffering but made the time to be so kind as to reply to me. Please know how much I appreciate the support and empathy and suggestions....I am a little overwhelmed right now and I hope you all understand that while I would like to be gracious as I ought to be and reply to each of you individually, no word of a lie, here at 12:15 AM after sleeping almost half the day, I am still exhausted and my back is completely seized up, so will attempt to make some sort of sense...)

As far as opioids go, there is no way my doctor will prescribe one to me, even if I tearfully plead with him that it is the only thing that gave me any relief...he is very dismissive of my pain, my "back pain" as he always says, even though I have tried to tell him it is the entire lower half of my body that is in pain...he is the one who prescribed the tylelnol, and always throws tylenol for arthritis samples at me, which I have told him do not touch my pain.

Wait times here in Canada for pain clinics are, like so many things here terribly long.

The neurosurgeon I saw is the best of the best and said he could not help me.

I have been looking at back braces, the ones specifically for sciatica I have seen are only for one leg, as apparently bilateral sciatica is rare.

I am sorry if I sound so very, "yeah, but, yeah but..."

I just feel so defeated.

And I know I am too hyperfocused on my pain, which probably only makes it worse.

I admire all of you for your being so proactive in dealing with your pain.

Thank you all again for caring.

I will try to be better as far as replying to you all individually, and lending my support to you all as well.

Thank you for your kindness and suggestions and prayers.

I feel less alone, however I wish that you all had no idea what I am going through.

God Bless you all.

Hi Joy and welcome. Most Americans, including me, still love our neighbors to the North.

I'm so sorry for all you're going through. (Although it's good you didn't get cauda equina syndrome. I had that over 15 years ago when my sciatic pain started. It's a serious complication from lumbar spine trouble, and can be very inconvenient. In my case it happened once, lasted about 4 to 6 weeks, and then resoved.

But I have had other bouts of sciatica, although nothing as bad as you describe.

IMO, the best thing you can do is ice your lower back (never use heat on the back) and make sure you get enough lumbar support when sitting or driving. It also helps to lay on the floor and put your feel up on a couch or chair to relieve pressure on the spine.

What is your surgeon's long-term plan? What did the MRI reveal? I wish you all the best and hope to hear from you again.

Joe

@heisenberg34

There has been an overreaction to prescribing opiates, or not prescribing them. And FWIW, opiates cannot be refilled without a Dr visit. But it's best to not use them long-term anyway.

And yeah, everyone should feel welcome on this forum. It's a sign of the hateful times we live in when someone from our neighbor, Canada, wonders if she would be welcome on an online forum for Mayo.

Joe

@twistedwillow

I've had this surgery on S1, L5, and L4. In a laminectomy, the surgeon drills a hole in the back of the vertebra and this allows more room for the sciatic nerve. It also allows the surgeon to remove any arthritic spurs (osteophytes). And because the vertebra is left pretty much intact, recovery is/can be short.

I may still need to have these vertebrae fused. I have stenosis, listhesis, scoliosis, and a lot of arthritis. I'm 71, normal weight and in the gym everyday. But I do wake up to a lot of back tightness and periodic cramping in ny hamstrings.

Has anyone reading this had lumbar fusion surgery? If so, what was the cause and what was the outcome?

I've had both knees replaced, right hip and left shoulder. I'm no stranger to ortho surgery. I would really like to avoid lumbar fusion. My surgeon tells me my well-conditioned core is literally holding my lunbar spine together. I'm 71 and it seems like fusion surgery is in my future, so any info people can share would be useful.

Thank you TW and thanks all!

Joe