Sciatica pain - Visit the doctor?

Contact your surgery. They will get a clinician to call you back, assess for red flags which need urgent attention, and discuss best course of action which may include going to the surgery to be seen in person.

I was always told to take anti inflammatories and keep moving.

Look for some exercises online, it will help until you get an appointment.

I was sent to a physio to be shown exercises that are also online. From day one mine improved and within a few days had gone completely.

Now if I feel it starting I just have to sit straight on a kitchen chair and stops it developing.

Awful sickening pain, hope you find relief.

You should contact your GP if you have numbness especially in your saddle area (the area you would sit on if riding) that needs to be checked by your GP. Otherwise as others have said look for Sciatica excercises, I do them every time I feel a twinge and it works for me.

I had it, it all went pear shaped and I had to have an op.
Get it checked out by your GP.

Anita I’ve had sciatica since an acute back injury 6 months ago. Anti inflammatory medicines help with the pain. I found no benefit from rubs and gels etc.

I was about to embark on a course of physio pre lockdown but of course it’s on hold now.

Check a reputable NHS website for recommended stretching exercises. I got mine via a link on our health centre website.

The sciatica pain is caused by the sciatic nerve being nipped between 2 vertebrae. Stretching exercises can help ease that pressure. I do my first set before I get out of bed.

Don’t be tempted to sit for too long. Much more beneficial to keep active.

Be careful with the anti inflammatory tablets and take along with food as they are very unkind to the stomach lining.

Hope you feel better soon. It’s a miserable feeling ?

You have my sympathy. I had a flare up of recurring sciatica earlier this year. I was in agony trying to get shopping and essential appointments up to date before lockdown. It lasted about six weeks this time.

I take alternate doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen for the pain, use hot and cold packs and do basic yoga stretches. Luckily the weather was cold at the time so I was able to lie completely flat on the electric blanket for about twenty minutes before getting up every morning. This would help get me going.

I had 'flu' like symptoms this time as well. DH now wonders if it was CV but I don't think so as I was only ill for a couple of days whereas the sciatica went on for much longer.

Lie down on your 'good' side to rest or watch TV - rather than sit. If I do sit I tend to use a comfortable dining chair (or garden chair indoors sometimes) and do plenty of walking.

If it gets really bad I'll 'hang' my lower body from my door bar - bliss!

Try to find a good physiotherapist, they aren’t that expensive and will probably be accepting patients soon. DH has terrible pain in his one arm and couldn’t raise it more than half way. It was keeping him awake at night so he visited the GP who said it was probably arthritis. I persuaded him to go to a physiotherapist who diagnosed a Frozen shoulder, she gave him some Information about the disorder and some exercises and wrote to his GP Requesting a cortisone injection to help with the pain. He had the injection on the NHS after about three weeks and was able to sleep properly again. He still has pain when he lifts his arm but the range of movement is slowly improving. It was worth the expenditure just to know the problem was probably only temporary and to receive treatment which helped him sleep. It is important to find a good physiotherapist, fortunately we knew of one who had treated our son’s back pain as well as his brother-in-law’s. I agree it is a miserable thing to have and I hope you get some help soon.

you have my sympathy, unless you have had sciatica you can not understand how painful it ican be. I had it in 2017 and after 7 months of medication, x rays, exercises, traction accupunture my GP finaly agreed to an MRI scan which showed i have three herniated discs which were pressing on the nerve. How i lie in that scanner without moving i will never know!!! This resulted in a spinal injection of nerve block. Sadly that only lasted a few months. I am now on Gabapentin 300mg x three times a day. 2.5 years later i am in constant pain and the medication just dulls it down so i can walk with a stick and can do some exercises to try and help myself. Good luck i hope it resolves quickly for you.

I recommend pushing a car-------yes, absolutely true !

One morning, woke up for work, could hardly move as my left side had " ceased " up. Got washed/dressed best way that I could, lying on the floor putting my tights on. Hobbled to the front door to my lift and got to work.

It was the middle of December, snowy and icy then at hometime, friend's car decided it didn't want to go any further after the lights changed so three of us pushed it uphill into the near pub car park.

My pain and sciatica went as suddenly as it had come on and fortunately from that day to this I've never suffered since.

Merlot like you my DH had a nasty flare up at the beginning of lockdown. At one point he even had to visit A&E as the pain was unrelenting. It lasted 6 weeks now still not free of it but bearable. He was prescribed co-codamol and ibuprofen in prescription strength. OTC ointments didn't do anything, while a short walk if and when can help. He was told to watch out for any weakness in the leg, problems with passing urine or bowels. He has an appointment to see a specialist when routine visits will resume.

www.binghamosteopath.com/sciatica/
Hope this link works, from an article written by an osteopath which I found last night when searching for some help with my sciatica pain. It is important to find out the source of the pain. I guess GPs will not be doing many physical appointments yet and referrals will take forever, so if you can afford it, your best bet is to see a physio or osteopath, if they are open. Meanwhile apply alternate heat and an ice pack ( frozen peas?) and do exercises which can be found online.
Keep moving. Wish I could follow my own advice!

My GP refuses to prescribe anti-inflammatories except for very short- term use.
He recommends only paracetamol, 8 per day but I am not happy with taking that many longterm and stocks were impossible to obtain.

My sciatica is playing up at the moment too and I do have a supply of anti-inflammatories which help. Naproxen is the best, which is only available on prescription so I have no chance of obtaining any.

You have my sympathy. I am getting a bit better after having it for 5 months. I had to take medication, and do the exercises the hospital sent to me online. The pain was unrelenting.
Please contact your GP to see if they will prescribe medication.

It would be best if possible to see your GP. Exercises are excellent and can stretch the pain away, but you really need to know where the cause and where the damage is that’s causing the sciatica in order to know which way to stretch. Mine was caused by a slipped disc and the physio stretched me the wrong way and made it worse. In the end I had to have an operation to shave the disc.

What the cause is not where the cause is! I know what I mean!

I had it but when I changed my (comfortable) mattress it went away. If your mattress is 8yrs + old or too soft, albeit comfy, think about replacing it for something a tad firmer. Be careful of antiinflammatory tablets. They can cause gut rot!

A friend has sciatica and has seen a physio and an acuppucncturist, keeps moving but simetimes needs to lie on his back on a hard surface. His GP gave him strong AFs to keep moving through the pain. It's gone on for months but seems to be getting slowly better.

I’ve had it, quite badly a couple of times. Try Ibuprofen and Voltarol and exercises. Keep moving. If it doesn’t clear in a few days contact your GP. You will probably get a phone appointment, and stronger painkillers, and you’ll be asked to go in if there is a need to examine you. It does normally clear eventually but can take two or three months.

I had it for years, tried all sorts of remedies and it would sometimes let up for a few weeks, eventually I had to agree to surgeries, the third ‘cured’ me, I haven’t had any problems since. I wish I’d agreed to surgery earlier.

Thank you very much!

Go see your doctor first. Don't know about voltarol, maybe it could also help, I used acuraflex and it helped me a lot. I did not have it as long as you do and I did not went to the doctor.

Good luck ;)