Sciatica - any helpful advice please

DD sees an osteopath £75 for first session then £ 55. That's East London.
Cost me £95 to be told by an engineer that our fridge freezer wad beyond economic repair.
That was not helpful of your gp Franbern.
Hope you find some of these suggestions help.

Franbern
I was like you Re pain killers until my Dr explained I was doing more damage by trying to walk with the pain. You’re putting strain on other joints by trying to alleviate the pain.

annodomini there is 'preview' button which is useful BUT I find that although I frequently use it i then forget to press the 'send'. I agree 'edit' would be useful.

Had to see my GP about something totally different, mentioned that I had sciatica and did it need to be reported in my medical notes, etc. 'No', she said, nothing that can be done, just do the exercises!!!

I am doing the stretches recommended by NHS site. Love the way someone on here states it is just £50 to see someone privately (JUST fifty quid!!!).

It is mainly up the right hand side - will continue with the stretches. I am reluctant to take any more regular pills, even pain killers, but will see how things go.

Many thanks for everyone on here who has given helpful suggestions. Suppose I am fortunate that I have reached 82 years of age with this being the very first time Ihave experienced this condition.

sent to rehab for2 months 3x aweek
was good for year until was stuck in hospital bed for a week
so going back to rehab

I’ve suffered from this too for many years 2 x totally bed ridden for days until it wore off. I too though have now been diagnosed with Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome which caused extensive pain hip, groin and thigh area. Have had ultrasound guided injection which did help but now need another higher and deeper. Can truly sympathise however, I use a product called Chiro Ice available online (and do get from my Chiropractor - who has helped my pain a lot). Physio did help to some extent but Chiropractor has been of more use. TENS machine has also helped as I cannot take ibruprofen.

Sandelf
Those are the stretches my chiropractor showed me. Saved me £100s 😉

I saw a physiotherapist, magic hands, bliss

I would just pay & see an osteopath, I take a friend of mine who is 85 for a similar problem, should be no more than £50 & at least you will be seen more or less straight away. Maybe see Gp for pain meds.all the best getting it sorted.

My sympathies. I have had severe sciatica in the past and I found physio exercises the most helpful thing. It took a long time to get better but always do stretches now to ensure it does not come back.

Some good ideas here. The piriformis stretch is the one that works for me. Should NOT be painful - stop straightaway if it is. You should feel a gentle pull, and the feeling lessens after 20 seconds or so. Anything you can do via physical therapy and reducing drugs is good - the drugs all come with some downside. Hoping you find a way to be more comfortable. www.spine-health.com/conditions/sciatica/piriformis-muscle-stretch-and-physical-therapy

I may not work .... IT may not work

why is there no editing facility on Gransnet?

I had a very bad bout of piriformis syndrome (much the same as sciatica) about six years ago. I'd been going to a Bowen therapist (who is also a well qualified physiotherapist) for various aches and pains, but this was more debilitating than anything else. She had me walking normally after just one treatment. Bowen's uses gentle pressure on points throughout the body, like acupuncture but without needles. I don't know why it works, and I may not work for everyone, but it worked for me. I can't take opioids (or are they opiates?) without repercussions, so alternative therapies are worth trying.

Franbern there is an article in The Telegraph about the 10 best things to do for lower back pain. It also mentions the NHS are making available exercise sheets which you have and also video tutorials. Once again I do suggest the back stretcher and massager which has really helped me.

Thanks to eveeryone who has replied. I am doing the exercises from the NHS sheet and I am sure they are helping me,

INterestingly, I had an emergency appointment with my GP yesterday afernoon with regard to a totally different, more serious problem. Before I left her, I did mention that I had sciatica and was there anything other than the exercises that she wuld advice me. No, she told me, nothing she could do, just do the exercises,

Do not think she even noted it down in my notes.

When I had sciatica years ago, acupuncture was the only thing that worked at all, I was surprised because I wasn't expecting it to work. It didn't last a long time, but it provided some much needed relief from the pain. It cleared up eventually.

I have had good results from McTimony chiropractor for sciatic pain.... also given exercises to do. For knee trouble and later achilles tendon, I attended a physiotherapist who also does acupuncture. Sorted both instances and exercises to do. If you are going to a therapist, Franbern, it might be good to get a copy of xray to show where you had a fracture?

Franbern, I am very sorry to hear of the pain you are going through with sciatica. I went through a terrible time with it. It started first on my right leg then moved after a few weeks to my left leg and then back to my right leg. I could not stand or walk on leg without shooting pains up my leg, thigh and buttocks. I was in daily agony. I had physiotherapy, and acupuncture and my GP put me on very strong dosage of co-codamol which helped ease the pain but caused many stomach problems & mental fog. Eventually, I was referred to the hospital's neurology department and had a CT scan with a steroid injection. The steroid injection helped enormously with the intense pain. I was told by the consultant to have one every six months but thankfully I did not need to do that. Although I still have spasms and twitches every now and then in my lower spine, right buttock & leg it the pain is certainly not as bad as before the steroid injection. Having the steroid injection was a lifesaver for me. I do recommend it.

Going through this myself at the moment. Started in mid August and then just got worse. Never felt pain like it.
Now on paracetemol and codeine phosphate. A week or two ago the visiting physiotherapist prescribed weekly patches of morphine and I feel as though I am getting somewhere and some sleep at last.

Hope you soon get some relief Franbern.

For FRanbern, you 99.99% have sciatica. And yes it's a bl**dy nuisance, in my case a buggered disc (I believe the correct term is herniated) with what should be the middle bit pressing on the sciatic nerve. My case sounds very similar to Omaoma57. There's a body diagram somewhere on the i'net where you can link the pain to the actual disc?

Exercises should help, try a physio, or these days investigate via Google? I'd suggest a chiropractor, not an osteopath, who might be able to get you realigned if needed?

As several have said, painkillers and/or anti-inflammatory can help, BUT -- DO BEWARE using anything with Codeine in it, as the side-effects can have dramatic consequences for your toileting arrangements?!

Some people have had major benefits from a TENS machine, quite cheap and sends pulses into your back to ease the muscles which have seized up.

Sciatica pain is hideous to put it mildly. When I had it a few years ago I persuaded my doctor (in the good old days when you could actually get to see your doctor) to send me to see someone who specialised in sciatica and he gave me some injections (now can't remember what they were called) but they worked and about 6 months later I had more injections - and, touch wood, have had no more trouble since. The injections altered the neural pathways or something like that.....!

sorry, mistyped, "fell down the stairs".

I had sciatica this time last year, for more than three months, after falling down the stains on my bottom. I couldn't put my shoes and socks on, any bending was very painful and I had trouble sleeping as I couldn't get comfortable at night.
My GP wasn't much use so I went to see a physio who recommended that I try osteopathy. The first session did help a little, though I was still in pain most of the time. The exercises were similar to those in the message from 62Granny but also included lying on my back, pulling my knees up and hugging them. I did them every day.
Around Christmas I had flu and spend a week taking it easy, lolling on the sofa. This actually did more for me than any of the exercises or painkillers and I suggest that you try taking the weight off your back with your feel up.

I have sciatica a lot, two things help me a lot. Sports massage and using a hard tennis ball to massage top of buttocks, sounds weird, you position it behind your buttock right on the nerve and then sort of wriggle around so the ball presses and massages your nerve. Also there are some great stretching exercises on the internet.

Try the yoga exercise PIGEON. Find it on Google
I have found this very helpful
If unable to do it on the floor try leaning on a wall and move the affected leg across your body supporting it from below
Good luck