sorta O/T but not, anyone else have sciatic nerve problems?

when you sleep on your sides, put a pillow BETWEEN your knees, if you roll to other side, roll with pillow.
On your back , put pillow UNDER BOTH KNEES

 

Surgery 2 times for bulging discs at L5-S1. Lost all feeling in my foot and was dragging my toe and tripping all the time. Not to mention the unbearable pain in my leg.

Most leg pain gone after 2nd surgery, but my lower back kills if I stand too long or bend too much. Makes working on the car tougher - I pay the price but it's worth it.

As bad as I am, some of you guys have had it much worse.

I wouldn't wish any of this on my worst enemy.

 

I also have a herniated disk in my lower back which causes a severe sciatic nerve pain. I have had two steroid epidurals and it has made a world of difference.

 

You must give Homeland Security fits when you go through a metal detector. When I was having sciata problems i took my wallet out of my back pocket andafter about 4 or 5 visits to the chiropractor, all is well.

 

I know I do - I get the "personal" treatment with the handheld detector and the pat down, even though I have an I.D. card that says I have an implanted medical device.

I never give them any grief though, just doing their jobs.

I also had to wear a 'bone growth stimulator' belt for a while (sounds kinky) that would set of the theft alarms at department stores.

 

Grits, Please tell me what is going on in those MRI's. Is it Lumbar, thoracic or Cervical pain?
And hat convinced you to have surgery? All my doctors are saying that's the last resort.

 

My only advise is to find a good doctor. Getting this kind of surgery is to risky to let some dumbass do it. I had a cadaver implant, a titanium plate and some screws put in my neck (c4)-5.

I found a sawbones here that is a consulting micro-neuro surgeon for the Dallas Cowboys. He came highly recomended. I couldn't figure out what the hell i had done to mess this shit up so bad. Then I started remembering all the things I had done growing up, and it all started making sense.

The way I understand it, the lower spine is a little easier than the upper neck area because the inside where the spinal cord is is narrower at the top. I had insurance, but it still cost alot because I went out of network for the Doc. That fuckin implant was like 5 grand by itself.

 

Basically the same here...started with sciatic pains, which was probably the first symptoms of the herniated disc I am now dealing with as well...never knew the true meaning of pain till the pinched nerves by the disc got aggravated ! Still waiting to see the specialist (1 yr wait here...) but my doc tried some different meds in the meantime, lyrica made the biggest difference in allowing me more movement. The wallet thing works as others have mentioned. I drive a shitty Yaris company car and use an Obusform back support but havent found anything for leg support. The sciatic episodes have lessened with the drugs ...but I do wonder if I am causing further damage but just cant feel it ?

 

Perhaps I shouldn't be on here at work. Everyone is staring at me for laughing...have to come up with an excuse for what I found so funny.

 

Sadly, I guess there is one advantage to not needing a very big wallet. I keep mine in my back pocket, but I guess since it is so thin it at least doesn't give me nerve pains. It is painful in a lot of other ways though. I need to look at the positive side of it. The stuff you learn on the Hamb, amazing. Thanks.

 

Wallet deal, I've kept mine in my sock the last 23 yrs. Have a true acupuncture pro work the needles. It works a little or a lot. TRY it. A deep tissue massage/therapist should give you a go.

 

I had it for the first time this summer. Happened after I was body surfing with my son. It was kind of a big day and I got my legs folding over my back/head pretty good.

I woke up the next day thinking I was having a stroke. The pain was unreal and the lower left half of my body was numb and useless.

Reason I go into this is for a number of reasons:

I truly didn't believe in any alternative medicine prior to this happening to me. The pain was so bad I look into everything. No pill or muscle relaxer even put a dent into the pain. I couldn't sleep, I could sit, I couldn't walk right. It flat out sucked.

Here is what I've found that worked for me:

1) Acupuncture. I know it's sounds nuts, but after the 4th treatment I'd say 90% of the pain was gone. The treatments did include an aggressive massage that helped to loosen up the muscle

2) Yoga and stretching. If you can't get into the yoga thing, you must stretch. The muscle that is causing the pain is deep inside your butt cheeks. You need to loosen this muscle so it will take the stress/strain of the nerve

3) Drive with a lacrosse ball under the part of your leg were the butt cheek meets the leg. When you drive, the ball will roll around and help to loosen the muscle while you drive.

4) Avoid sitting on any hard chair until you start feeling better. When your leg hangs over the edge, it is creating a direct stress point to the nerve and causing it to flair up again.

5) Walk, walk, and more walking. You have to strengthen your core and leg muscles.

6) If you can afford it or your insurance covers it, go to physical therapy.

I know this sounds like a crazy routine to do for this problem, but it's been about 6 months and I'll say I'm about 90% better. The remaining 10% is kicking my ass, but I'm hoping to be 100% by summer.

Most cases take 6-12 months to fully recover.

Reality is, if you don't do at least the stretching and strengthening part, it will come back without question.

Good luck.

 

i drove semi for 40 years the wallet was in the front pocket always it does keep the pressure off the backend. it will help you now a little but a good acupunturist would be my next stop good luck

 

I drive with my wallet out of my back pocket and it helps.

My sciatic pain is relatively minor,....so there's a stretch that I use similar to the one metioned back on the first page that makes it go away quickly. If I stretch once or twice a week I have no problems.

After reading the problems most of you poor guys are dealing with, I'm gonna count my blessings.

 

i second this
i had an instant relapse the day i put my wallet in my pocket.
worst thing for sciatica.
i was injured at work in june,my lower back and right shoulder are fighting for which one is a bigger pain. at least the lower one tapers off occasionally.
Frank

 

Herniated at L5 here - agree completely on the insane pain level as I've never felt anything remotely that bad. All the above tips are great ideas too - not sure if anyone mentioned this as I skimmed through a few of these posts but, in addition to the wallet removal, I try to never wear a belt while driving. This seems to help as well. As far as physio goes, my therapist uses a combination of focused deep tissue acupuncture, IMS and gives me a stretching regimen to follow as well.

Steve

 

Damn, we're a bunch of screwed up guys, my back L4-5 has been a problem for 25 + years as well. The wallet trick is the best, and good posture the rest of the time, it's just that you can not maintain good posture working/building a damn car. Thank God for Fentanyl patchs and hydrocodone. Driving can especially be a bitch, and all the good driving treatments have been listed, but, in my opinion, the wallet removal, lumbar pad yield the best results. A good bed works wonders as well.

B Outlaw

 

I'm young but I already have back problems that are hereditary. I've been to every kind of doc you can think of to get rid of the pain. It dont matter how many pills I take, which by the way is something hate, It dont put a dent in it. So about three years ago I got tired of havin a pez despenser and started talkin to my boss about what he does for back pain. Turns out he had been goin to a acupuncturist for years. Well I thought screw it, I'll give it a try. It's very rare now-a-days my back bothers me. Thats as long as I do my stretches. It will blow your mind when you walk out of the doc's office and you already notice a difference. Good Luck.LB

 

I had a nasty bout with sciatica about 15 years ago (although I always kept my wallet in my front pocket) and managed to heal up in about 6 months taking ibuprofen like M&Ms; also used one of those big round-headed electric massagers in the small of my back above my left butt cheek. Driving, I put the seat back as far as it would go and kept my left leg straight as possible (thank God for automatics). Had three relapses in subsequent years, one caused by simply leaning over a little (hit like a lightning bolt) and two caused by crawling under dashboards to install radios (delayed reaction of about 2 days). Kept as much weight off as I could and haven't had a flareup in about 10 years, knock wood...

 

yeh its a real pain in the ass. i take advil and set on a heating pad for two or three hours and it goes away for a month or so. good luck you guys

 

Chiropractic care can and will do wonders. also, do this stretch whenever you feel it coming on, the sciatic is running over your buttocks and the muscle swelling is putting it in a vise, this stretch really works man, I'm a sufferer of sciatic for over 30 years, chronic, but no surgeries yet. !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qZ517Rw7ME

 

If you have never had the kind of back pain described here you can not relate to these guys experinces. There is not a word in the English language that covers it. I started PT in April this year. I never did exercises till now. I am at about 85% and glad to get that. Can't even lift the grand kids but I don't hurt much anymore. The PT has been a God send to me. had one surgery in 2005 and a flare up two years ago that could have ended in me taking my life. To big a coward so here I am. My dear wife found me a doctor and he got the pain to ease. Take care of your backs guys.

 

LET ME CHIME IN. my dr told,rather ask me if i drove with my legs spread wide apart. left one against the drivers door, right one well just hangin out in space. told me to try to ride with my legs straight ahead/up and down. don't know if i'm sayin this right.or not. helps my back ALOT. said that he has a lot of cops with back/nerve problems from riding around with their legs spread wide open. know this sounds weird but damn it makes such a difference when i take my long trips . sometimes my hip/ leg hurt so bad,i couldn't enjoy my trip at all.prop something up beside you so they can't lean way over. try it. hope everybody gets to feeling better,anyone who hasen't had back troubles. has NO idea the pain and discomfort.

 

Had that same problems for years,it's enough to drop you to your knee's ,also have a pinched nerve at L4,L5 causing numbness on the front of my thighs,Dr.s wont do anything till I lose weight(easier said than done).this has caused years of not working on any of my projects.

 

Had to remove my wallet for back and leg pain and now have back and right shoulder,arm and hand pain and tingling. Got on the e-net and found spine and nerve x-rays. I located the nerve going to my arm between the c5 and c6 vertebrae.I used a little mechanics logic that if I moved my head and stretched the spine away from where the nerve exited the vertebrae it would take the pressure off. I also have my wife put a towel under my head and pull. I think that if I didn't do these things I would have to undergo surgery. I still have a lot of pain at times but usually can releave it. I can live with what I've got now.I don't want anyone cutting on my spine,I've seen too many wind up with more problems than they started with. FWIW good luck!

 

Get a laminectomy...you'll think Jesus himself has cured you.

dj

 

I'm not alone! I feel all your pains! Six years ago I blew out L4 and L5. They came shooting out the front. Pretty mental picture huh? My doctor, a good friend, got all quiet after looking at the MRI, turned to me and said, "I don't know how your walking." After a whole year in therapy I had no relief. The physical therapist actually aggravated the issue by moving me in the wrong ways. Idiot! That's another story. So, after living day-to-day in complete agony, hunched over from muscle spasms, sharp pain shooting down my leg, numb toes, foggy from the pain killers, and worried about burning a whole in my stomach from the anti-inflammatories, I was tipped of to the whole INVERSION TABLE thing. I can honestly say it saved my life! It may not be for everyone, so check with your doctor. Day one in inversion wasn't the most pleasant, but I could feel it was working. Day two was much better. Day three my hip popped with some relief. Day four the center of my back popped with major immediate relief. Ahhhhh! If you were in the room, you would have heard it pop, no shit. Finally! Normality! I did all this hanging just before getting into bed. An interesting side affect that must have been from the increased blood flow to the head, is, I slept like a rock. Great feeling after tossing and turning for a year. Since the first sessions of inversion I've used it maybe twice a year when things start feeling a little weird. Really I just need to keep using it on a regular basis to stay decompressed. Can't say enough about it. So, take it first hand from me, INVERSION WORKS!

 

I had a laminectomy and discectomy 17 years ago....worked so good that in a few days I was out and about doing things I hadn't done in 2 years, which aggravated everything and put me back in bed for a week. I had my surgery when I was 25 years old, and the Dr. told me he'd probably see me again in 10 years. I'm trying to double his estimate, 3 years to go. I have flareups every so often, usually from over working it, but so far, so good. I am not supposed to lift over 20 pounds for the rest of my life, so I try to lift correctly when I'm buying 50 lbs of dog food, or peeing

every so often I think about an inversion table, I might have to think more seriously about it.

 

I feel your pain brother! I injured my back as a teen and had sciatic pain for years. it would shut me down for several weeks at a time several times a year, felt like an ice pick stuck in my hip socket that someone would twist every time I would try to move. I consider myself to be fairly tough, pain tolerance wise but this shit will make a grown man cry!!!! I have been fortunate for the last few years and haven't had a flareup for some time. one of my best friends has the same prob. due to work related back injury and has had surgerys,dorsal pain block stimulator,killer pain meds, and can no longer work. totaly disabled try to find a good chiropracter they can sometimes help. the one that helped me has retired so hope my pain never returns. good luck and dont give up !

 

I have issues due to a life of motorcycles and bein 6ft 5 , I won't go into my injuries . First thing , Physio not chiro ... Also have you seen a Podiatrist ? Most cases of sciatica are related to your short leg , we all have one unless your an andriod ! I wear orthotics , and whenever my sciatica plays up , its usually a sign I need new shoes .
I may be biased on this opinion , but then again I own a Podiatry Lab and have been making orthotics for 20 + years , so I believe this would be your best course of action .