Sciatica.

See quack!

My sympathies, Crimson. I was climbing the walls with sciatica a few years ago as a result of shingles. I found alternating sitting on a bag of frozen peas and a hot water bottle for a few minutes each (be sure to wrap them in a tea-towel first) quite helpful. I also did some gentle yoga excercises every morning. I had a course of accupuncture as well as physio but it was almost a year before I could finally say it was over. I hate taking tablets as well but had to carry on working so relied on ibuprofen to get me through the day.

Hope the doc can sort you out.

I was advised that one should use ice for a new injury, but heat for an older one, so would use a heat pad or hot water bottle rather than the frozen peas.
I hope you get some relief from the pain soon.

Sciatica is a real bugger! For some, ibuprofen tablets can also upset the stomach, so don't automatically blame the codeine.

Personally, my sciatica starts in the back (obviously) but then results in pain shooting down through the buttock and leg.

I have started to use ibuprofen gel, rather than tablets for various aches and pains (my shoulders used to get really painful if I spent too much time on the laptop, felt like someone pushing red hot skewers through them).

The gel can be applied directly to the source, no need to buy Ibuleve, both Boots and Lloyds do their own brand versions much cheaper. However do check the strength, as both 5% and 10% versions are available.

Hope this helps,.

Treat yourself to a massage. I think relaxation might help.

I buy stick-on heat pads which last for 12 hours and do wonders for my twingey back. I get them at the 99p shop and stock up when they have them. If it's really bad I take Voltarol which works like magic but sends me to sleep. Worth trying Crimson - you have to find what eases your particular pain. Different strokes for different folk! Hope you soon feel much better.(smile)

Felt fine doing the garden [which, after all this rain looks like an equatorial rain forest; I've got the biggest weed I've ever seen in the front garden..I think there may be a giant at the end of it] then it all kicks in when I stop. A friend of mine had really major problems after taking ibuprofen but, as my partner used to work for a firm that produced them I've got cupboards full of them so I thought I'd take them for a few days, if only to get rid of some of them. May try a few exercises tonight; did a few press ups the other night and something clicked..not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but I haven't felt any worse. Darn it; I'm going to have a hot bath, hit the codeine [it's calling to me; I'm not addicted...honest ] and watch Tom Petty on BBC4. jeni; the problem is that I work for my doctor, and was reliably informed several years ago that, if I got really bad I wasn't to worry, because they'd just step over me ...

My physio showed me an excercise that always helps my sciatica.. its just a gent le stretch but it works every time.. I can probably find a utube of it if you would like to try . But maybe best to ask your GP first..

I think your experience of sciatica must be very different to mine, crimson!

Visit the friendly GP! Need to be sure what's going on first before trying to treat.

I slipped a disc a few years ago and life has never been the same for me - my femoral nerve was squashed, so the pain and tingling go down the front of my leg rather than the back as in sciatica. They wanted to operate, but physio insisted that we should be patient and stick with the traction. The acute phase resolved, but it has never really gone away and I have trouble bending - what with that and hopeless hip I do not leap about much!

I use voltarol (like ibuprofen) suppositories occasionally when I know I am going to need to be able to stand for a long period (e.g. singing in or conducting a concert) - but I do try and avoid taking pain killers too often. Using suppositories avoids the indigestion - but I still would not want to use them too often.

Mishap any thoughts on topicals, i.e. ibuprofen or voltarol gel?

It's wierd because it's different every day. I think what's really bothering me is that it might be coming from my hip and not my back, and, when I finally start thinking about retiring I'll spend the first few months having a new hip.

crimson Make sure your hip is checked out. I have a friend who had a knackered hip but the problem was undiagnosed for ages as it was masked by sciatic pain. She spent a fortune on osteopathy sessions which were useless.

I do not think that topical ibuprofen (or any other NSAID) is much use at all for deep-seated pain in hip or back, but might be helpful with muscular pain. If some of the back pain is muscle spasm (which often happens when a disc goes) then it might be of some help. I have never found it makes a whit of difference.

Good diagnosis to start with is what is needed, so that you know exactly what you are dealing with.

Steer clear of the osteopaths - I have seen them cause lots of trouble and they just make your purse lighter while tinkering with what is usually a self-limiting condition anyway.

I've had too much experience of sciatica and the last time was very bad. I was on Tramadol for 3 weeks. Once when I had it I met a GPs wife while at the physio's. We got chatting and she said that actually the damage to the nerve usually takes 12 -15 weeks to mend and finally go away. She said most doctors don't like telling their patients this as it depresses them.

I have found this to be true so you might as well take what you need to free you from pain and just wait for it to ease off and gradually stop hurting.
You don't need an OP if you can go to the toilet without trouble.

Anyway crimson you have my all my sympathy.

When you think about it, sciatica isn't medical condition as such, it's a more a symptom, because it can be caused by several different things. I tried ignoring it and that didn't work, and then I tried taking ibuprofen and codeine and resting as much as possible, and that didn't work either. However today I've worked in the garden, digging and lifting heavy pots and I'm now sitting down and nothing hurts. Maybe it's because it was warm today, and I've spent the past few weeks feeling permanently cold? Hypochodriac that I am, I found a piece of paper on my desk and on it I'd written a few things with the intention of keeping a record of what hurt when and how so I could tell the doctor, and it says Tues night; dull ache in calf, cramp, pain outside of hip, ankle and knee; next day, ached all night, knee hurts [more when lying down], cramp in calf. I also did a load of press ups today as well. Most peculiar, it is. Maybe I'm entering the magic twelth week! This all started years ago when I fell off a stile when walking in the Peak District. I was so lucky not to have done something far more serious. Sometimes think the healthiest lifestyle could be that of the couch potato .

Sciatica is kown to be one of the worst pains people can suffer from. If you can work in the garden then there is hope it is going away.

In today's society people expect to bounce back to work in a few days but the truth is that many things need a lot of time. People used to be in bed for weeks with bronchitis and in those days, especially in cold weather, old people went poorly to bed and soon became bedridden and died. Probably from lack of movement, so don't take up a couch potato lifestyle just to lengthen your life

Where in the Peak district were you? Was there no one to help you over the style. or at least on your next hike.

crimson When I suffered from a very bad bout of Sciatica, I was given a tens machine at the surgery. It gave me blessed relief. The relentless pain made me cry. I wish you a speedy recovery.

It was a long time ago; @ 8 years I think. I was just swinging my leg over the style and either had a dizzy spell or my ruckscack pulled me backwards but, whatever caused it I fell flat on my back [and it was quite a height as well]. I seemed to miss the path and land on some grass, and the rucksack cushioned my fall, although it made my neck click backwards. The first thing I did was wiggle my toes and breathe a sigh of relief, but I remember thinking to myself that I'd got away with it but it had jarred every joint in my body. I was with a group of walkers, and laughed it off [felt really embarrassed!] but I hurt for ages afterwards; strangely enough suffered with dizziness for a while afterwards, probably due to my neck clicking backwards, and I've got that now. That's when I had physio for the sciatica I then had for a while afterwards. It's a difficult thing, pain; difficult to describe and, as I said before once it's gone the brain blots it out. I've certainly never had the crippling sciatica that you and phoenix had. And it's sometimes more the fear of the pain itself that's a problem; what's causing it, will it get better, should I ignore it or rest it etc. I'm in awe of people that cope with crippling chronic conditions, because I'm a complete wimp! If I'd carried on doing the back exercises I was given at the time I wouldn't have a problem now so, off to do some more press ups.....

soop;it's funny you should say that because I was thinking of tens machines. When I had physio [and then saw a chiropracter with my knee] they both strapped something to my back that sort of pulsated, and I guess that was a tens machine? It was strangely addictive, although it was horrible if I coughed while it was switched on. My daughter swears by them to use during labour, as well. If I was rich I'd have a personal physio to attend to my every ache and pain [like a footballer]. It must be a really rewarding job to have.

I had sciatica on and off for donkeys years since I fell badly after being thrown in judo! In those days I was slapped into a steel rodded corset for 2 years with the odd physiotherapy session thrown in for good measure. It did go away but came back big time with my pregnancies and then again when I was very ill a few years ago. The answer for me was Pilates led by a physio. It has been an absolute boon. Part of the problem was that I compensated because of the pain and my posture went awol so I had both the original problem and additional problems because my spine was out of alignment. Taking painkillers masks the cause. Do get it seen to otherwise it can rule your life.

crimson Give one a go. It was a great help to me, especially whilst I slept.

I have chronic on going everbloodylasting sciatica after a slipped disc and now arthritis in my spine. Its misery at times but made worse by my bad posture at the compueter (hanging on the edge of the chair) and by the new expensive leather recliner sofa!!! I can only carry really light shopping bags - you know the ones that have new clothes rather than groceries in. I have to stop and rrest in pubs and bars a lot too. Co-codamol helps - when I remeber to take it!

I too sufferered with pain in my back & leg for a few years especially if I lay on my right side in bed. My old docter in Britain told me to get a new mattress which I duly did . It didn't make a jot of difference!! When we got here in Italy my docter sent me for an x-ray and mri scan and it was found to be sciatica (which I had suffered with many years ago when pregnant with my 1st baby). She sent me for a course of phisio which I'm in the middle of at the moment. I have been for 6 sessions and have 4 more to go. It consists of stretching excercises which can be quite uncomfortable followed by a divine massage and then 20 mins with a tens machine. Fingers crossed it seems to be working and I am sleeping better without tossing and turning all night. Only time will tell!!