Sciatica .... Help!

Well done paddyann on that amazing weight loss

Kazzi sounds like you need some form of traction. I had a herniated disc and related sciatica in 1999. The best advice I had was to hang from a door frame and gently rock your hips. Once or twice a day if you can. It worked for me.

Thank you. I will try and get an appointment this week. I hope I get some positive help, last time I spoke to a GP she wasn't interested and said GPs can't refer for scans. Sorry to hear of your problems.

Good ideas here, and glad they have worked for so many of you. I am 72 y/o and have a herniated and a ruptured disc, along with degenerative disc disease ( DDD) and sciatica on top of all of that. I have been on Norco 10 for over 2 years. It helps dull the pain, but when I walk, it is still present. Am trying now to locate a reasonably priced rollator or at least a rolling walker to use. I can no longer stand to cook or clean (cont.)

(cont'd)..house. For a while, spinal inj. helped. Doctors have told me surgery is out and that P.T. would not help me. I am so depressed over this. Not a pill taker by nature, but could not manage without something. After taking the meds, curling up in a knot helps some. Even turning over in bed is a chore. God help you all who suffer with this stuff. He always loved to clean/cook, and this stuff has ended all that.

Jean3 I feel your anguish.

my teeter works via traction. I tether it so it only goes back 60 degrees and I lay back, feet are secured and I wiggle a bit. About a minute later I go up to horizontal, roll forward and step off. This always works. The teeter is something I have had for over 20 years, gave the first one to a dd and bought another with an easier strapping in method. When I first lay back I can never feel the carpet, then after a few wiggles I can feel my spine lengthening and I can quickly move my hands back and forth on the carpet. Youtube will show you
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnoY3fs41mI

I never fully invert these days, there is a tie system underneath

You will find some useful videos on YouTube giving you stretching exercises to relieve sciatica. I did the same one for 20mins every day - a bit boring - and within three weeks the pain had almost gone.

this is my teeter inversion table
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhcn_uPZ38A

I suffered for years until it got to the point where I could hardly walk and had difficulty standing long enough to clean my teeth. I had injections in my spine and various drugs which didn’t help, I then had 3 surgeries in 14 months, the first and second didn’t work. The third was a TLIF, where they fitted rods and screws, it provided immediate relief and thankfully I haven’t look back.

After having sciatica for over 3 months finally it was almost getting there then tweaked my back at the weekend and it's started down my other leg. So painful it feels like it's back to square one. Has anyone else had it down one leg and then go down the other?

Does anyone have a creeping/crawling sensation over their upper back? I am beginning to wonder if it is connected to lower back pain and sciatica (I also have a prolapsed disc)

HootyMcOwlface i would certainly go to your GP about this, it sounds like something may be happening to your nerves in your back.Better to be safe than sorry.

Funnily enough I was waiting in the chemist today and saw a leaflet on Back Pain and it mentions “neuropathic back pain” and a “crawling or tingling sensation”. I’m going to look it up on the internet! Never heard of that before.

Anyone experienced any numbness with sciatica? I am waiting for an appointment with the MSK Service but am on a waiting list. My leg pain has improved (though it is now down my right leg!) but I've noticed a slight numb patch on the left of my heel and my thigh. Should I be worried about this or will it go?

Kazzi7 sadly my foot is still numb after sciatica in 2017. I had a nerve block injection into my spine which resolved some of it but the outside edge and the heel are still numb. But i can feel my toes now and when walking at least i can feel the ground so am not so unsteady.

Yes, i had a prolapsed disc (about 3 years ago) with severe sciatica down my left leg, which thankfully has eased lately. I still have numbness in my lower left leg and foot. Mine is down the lower outside leg, then crosses over my foot on the top and then mainly into my big toe. It was painful walking but it has improved a bit over the last year (or maybe I am just used to it?!) The consultant at the time said it may resolve but I presume the nerve damage is permanent now as I have had it so long.

I ended up in hospital for 5 days after a terrible bout of sciatica which consultant said was due to my job sitting all day i then had 2 ruptured discs and have never experienced such terrible pain,it was a good 6 months before i felt anywhere near better but have been walking every morning 5 days a week for an hour and can honestly say the sciatica and back ache has never come back.I would say it is all down today simple exercise.

Having had sciatica for over 4 months now (it is now down my right leg too) the pain has eased a bit. I am walking very slowly but my right leg feels a bit weaker than the left and my calf feels stiff. I noticed yesterday I can't stand on tiptoe on my right leg. Has anyone else experienced this and should I be worried? I am waiting for a physio appointment and was told it will be at least 6 weeks and up to 3 months. So I have made an appointment with a private physio who has been highly recommended tho that is over 2 weeks away.

I suffer from sciatica too. It doesn't affect my legs though. Such a shooting pain in my lower back, that I can't help but yell out! It's crippling! (And very frightening!) I have a prescription for painkillers, and, (in a emergency situation) Diazapam which work well. My doctor told me that when I feel the first twinge coming on I should take Ibruprofen, which is an anti-inflammatory. This definitely works to stave off a full-blown attack.

Daily exercise (when you're not suffering) which takes only about 2 minutes - get on your hands and knees, then stretch your bum down towards your feet. Repeat a few times, feeling the stretch.

I've been doing this for some months, and so far, no repeat attacks.

Don't lift anything heavy. Don't strain your back.

Good luck!

Some advice on physiotherapy needed. My sciatica has improved a lot. I'm not in much pain, am walking better but can still feel it in my left thigh after walking a bit and my right calf feels tight. I have a physio appointment coming up but my hubby feels it may make it worse again. Now I'm not in pain as such should I go to the physio or let it carry on healing on it's own?

I have had sciatica for a few months and nothing seems to help long term,having mri soon, but de eloped vertigo from
Co codamol so put me back a bit any suggestions

Physios are very good for dealing with symptoms but in my view it's the cause that needs to be addressed. Once the cause of my sciatica was found I was given appropriate exercises and if I get a twinge I now know what to do.

I should have posted earlier to thank HootyMcOwlface for suggesting the leaflet about Neuropathic pain.
I googled it and matched my symptoms perfectly.
I have had Sciatica diagnosed a year ago, but have been left with a numb/tingling/ pins and needles with weaker calf muscle along with ankle and toe. At least I now know I’m not imagining it!
I did a three mile walk on Sunday with my husband at a slow pace and boy did I suffer on Monday.