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Sciatica, pain relief??

  1. Hi all!

    I have been diagnosed with spinal disc herniation on L4 and L5 on my back + spondylolitshesis. I was relatively pain free for about a month until all of the sudden the pain came back a week ago, now stronger than ever. It's typical sciatica pain, shooting down pain from my right lower back all the way to the right ankle. When I sit down it helps but I literally can't walk for more than about 100metres at a time,the pain comes too much. I've already been out of work for the whole week and really can't afford more so I'm desperate for some relief.

    I've been to the doctors a couple of times this week. So far they have given me: Arcoxia 90mg (tried that twice, no relief), Naproxen 500mg (no relief), Co-codamol 30/500mg (took three of these one day,no relief) and now I've taken Amitriptyline 25mg at nights. I've slept fine but it has not had any sort of an affect during the day. I haven't taken any of these together though, I mean I've just taken one medicine at a time.

    If anyone has ANY idea what could help in this acute pain, I'd really appreciate it! Has anyone tried seasalt with their bath, how does thatw ork? I've heard people have got some help of that. And next time I'm going to my GP (probably in a couple of days), any ideas what medicine I should ask for?

    Thanks a lot already, I really hope someone will reply!

  2. I have had a herniated disc for about 6yrs now in my case the contents of the disc have created a lump which is pressing on my spinal cord, i have been taking 70mg of mst (slow release morphine tablets ) every 12hrs since it was diagnosed, i get very little pain but it does not help with walking i can only manage a few yards and for the rest i use a powered wheelchair. Over the counter pain relief is like throwing cups of water on a forest fire .......... Sam.

  3. Hi Merlin,

    I'm so sorry to hear your disc problem got that bad. Why didn't they operate it earlier?? Cant they not still operate the lump? I'm so very afraid of having to use wheelchair at some point too and I'm only 25 years old. This pain literally terrifies me. And I don't know what to do as nothing of those medicines have worked this far...I don't know do they give those pain injections very easily either.

  4. I have been a builder for most of my life and am now 59 and apparently mine was caused by years of carrying heavy weights on my shoulders. They could operate but the surgeon said that the operation could do more harm than good because of the location and that it could leave me paralyzed or suffer horrendous headaches for the rest of my life, i do have an open invitation to surgery but while i have a reasonable amount of mobility his advice is to make the most of what i have, and i too am afraid of it getting worse and leaving me with no mobility at all. I will keep taking the tablets for now and i sincerely hope you find some sort of relief for yours......Sam. ps there are fentanyl patches that work as well if not better than morphine.

  5. I was diagnosed over 25 years a go with 2 "blown" discs in L4/5 but must admit I am fairly lucky and only get very infrequent sciatic pain, I have taken lots of different types of pain killers over the years varying from paracetamol to morphine. I have found that some medication will work one time but not another, though I must admit I don't really like taking medication and only take it when absolutely necessary. Have you tried Tramadol? When I was first diagnosed ( and 4/5 times since ) and my back went into spasm I have had a epidural done. This ( for me ) was the only way I got full pain relief..

    The one thing I have found over the years that is very important is to make sire that when you are bending down to pick ANYTHING up is to make sure you keep your back as straight as possible I.E bend your knees not your back. I remember years back being told by a doctor that if the human skeleton had been something that had been designed it would never have got of off the drawing board as it actually is designed to bend backwards not forwards.

    Hope this is some help.

  6. Have you tried drlf-acupuncture? For me it was great help with my sciatica. There's a good video showing how to do that here:

    http://www.5-minutes.net/sciatic-pain-relief/

  7. Hi, I suffered everyday from Sciatica for years and last last I had one session of accupuncture - problem went away immediately - and thankfully has not returned - worth a try. :-)

  8. Hi everyone and thanks for your replies! Hopefully you will start to feel better too... Two weeks after when the pain started, mine hasn't got any better =( Still pretty much the same, possibly a little worse. I was given Tradamol 50mg now, so far I've taken two but haven't noticed any help...does anyone know if these take a little while before they start to work? I even went to accident and emergency during the weekend in hopes to get some relief but they just gave the Tradamol. They put me through to a neurosurgeon as an urgent but as I'm situated in London, I'm sure it's gonna take at least a couple of weeks before I'm seen there either. Surely the situation is pretty much the same in other cities as well though. I just really don't know what to do at the moment, I can't even go to get groceries or anything. Acupuncture sounds like worth a try as well but to be honest I'm not sure how to get to any practises now and I'm a student so I'm not exactly bathing in money either =/ At least my GP is really nice and actually listens what I'm saying and is trying to get things rolling =)

    Have any of you tried Tramadol with muscle relaxants? Any improvement?

  9. Hi if I remember correctly it does take a few doses of Tramadol before you will get the real benefit. I take it you were only given a small amount as they can be addictive and if you take them for to long you possibly need weaning of them.

    The last prescription I have is for 30 50mg capsules. The dosage is 2 capsules 4 times a day ( So only enough for 3 1/2 days if taken at full dosage ) I usually take 2 capsules 3 times a day for a couple of days and this usually is enough to help with the pain and make me more mobile.

    If you get on well with your GP then I would suggest you talk to them about any medication that they would prescribe for both pain relief & for relaxation

    If your worried about the effects of any medication then best to say something to your GP when they prescribe them otherwise they will presume you are taking them to the dosage prescribed & wonder why when you go back you are not getting any better.

  10. Hi I am suffering quite badly with spondylolitshesis and wondered if the epidural pain relief injections would help.

    Please be careful with Tramadol as it is addictive and not very nice to come off

  11. I was perscribed amatriptile for my chronic sciatica, rhematoid arthritis and muscle spasams caused by sciatica . I didnt feel the benifit of it for six weeks, but it helped numb the pain alongside tramadol.

  12. Also baclofen is a good muscle relaxant for sciatica i'm on 10mg three times a day and combined with my tramadol and diazipan it takes the edge of my pain.

  13. Also baclofen is a good muscle relaxant for sciatica i'm on 10mg three times a day and combined with my tramadol and diazipan it takes the edge of my pain.

  14. Putting all the drugs to one side , why not try sleeping on memory foam. It can work wonders for spinal problems. It may take 2 or 3 nights to feel the benefits. Worth a try !

  15. I have memory foam and it is not helping me sad I wake with pain on the side I am lying on several times a night

  16. Ok. Sorry. It was worth suggesting, just in case. The only other thing I can think of is adjusting sleeping positions, for instance sleeping on a sofa to see if there's any benefit. Sometimes the spine reacts with cyclical symptoms when we always rest it the same way...i.e in a bed. Adjusting from a bed to a sofa for a coupkle of nights can sometimes make a beneficial difference. It can also help break the cycle of the same symptom re-occuring, and then return to sleeping in bed. I think that, with spinal nerve problems, how we sleep is all important. If we find the most comfortable positions, which suit the problem, there's a good chance that the intensity of the symptoms can be lessened. The drugs, although much needed at times, are not a solution in themselves.

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