Newly diagnosed sciatica ... what to expect ?

tenacioust123

pipkin71 wrote: »

When I was first prescribed oramorph, I was advised not to take it with tramadol [I had read in the patient's info leaflet the two couldn't be mixed]. They since decided it was ok but even then none of it was controlling the pain all the time.

Now, I'm taking gabapentin along with my other medications and the combinations are so far so good in keeping the pain under control for the majority of the time.

Prior to the new doses I could happily have chopped off my left foot due to all the pain I was in. There have been a few side affects but I'm used to the combinations now and I'm not relying on the oramporph so often

Of course, the problems I have with my spine haven't gone away, but the pain was affecting my mental health so I'm happier now. I still dread pain filled days but they don't seem to be happening as often and I think that's half the battle. I also have to make sure I don't aggravate the problems so no marathon running just yet

Hi Pipkin

I'm on similar meds Tramadol, Paracetamol, Gabapentin and Oramorph for break through pain. I don't get more than about 3/4 hours sleep, I pray for 7 hours. My legs are giving me awful pain at the moment. I'm seeing my surgeon next week, I'm really worried that the pedicle screws in my back have broken.

shykins

we all seem to have plodded thru the meds in different orders lol

i couldnt take amiltryptiline as i was a complete zombie,,, helped my back but then i couldnt feel anything on it lol

cant take anti inflams cos of my hiatus hernia so am stuck with tramadol etc but to be honest i dont find that does much either as i get spasmodic stabbing pains and u cant dose up in case of them

i stick to my acupuncture and cold compresses

pipkin71

baccyman wrote: »

another med that i have is amytritaline i take this at night it is a sedative that helps to relax the muscles and this helps to reduce the pain, but the only trouble with this med is that you feel like a zombie the next morning,
i have tried taking this early in the evening 8 - 9 but still feel the same in the morning,

I tried amitriptyline too but didn't like the side effects. Instead, I now take a low dose of diazepam. 2mg up to four times a day to help with the muscle spasms.

pipkin71

tenacioust123 wrote: »

Hi Pipkin

I'm on similar meds Tramadol, Paracetamol, Gabapentin and Oramorph for break through pain. I don't get more than about 3/4 hours sleep, I pray for 7 hours. My legs are giving me awful pain at the moment. I'm seeing my surgeon next week, I'm really worried that the pedicle screws in my back have broken.

I feel for you tenacioust.

I don't sleep much either and totally understand the desire for 7 hours. I take the tramadol slow release, diclofenac slow release, paracetamol, gabapentin, lansoprazole, diazepam, quinine sulphate and oramorph for breakthrough.

This thread is like a drugs directory lol!

Have you noticed that you're more prone to drop things since taking the gabapentin? My friend has recently started taking it and she has noticed the same sort of things I did. I also had hallucinations when I first started taking the gabapentin, but thankfully I was in hospital at the time because that wasn't pleasant. I have however become used to the medication now.

Fingers crossed the screws haven't broken. Hopefully though your consultant will be able to offer treatment to ease the pain you're in.

looby75

gp suggested I try amiltryptiline after my last fall a couple of months ago, but I was a bit scared to try it as MIL had it a few years ago and it really really didn't agree with her, she slept pretty much 24/7. She would only get up to have something to eat and then take her next tablet before going back to bed

Thankfully the codeine, paracetamol and 800mg dose of ibuprofen, plus the odd tramadol got me through the worst of it. I have really bad reactions to so many drugs it's horrible I'm even allergic to sticking plasters LOL

shelovestobuystuff

zappster1966 wrote: »

Hi peeps,

I've been off my work the last few weeks with severe back pain in the small of my back. Can't drive, difficulty walking any great distance, awkward sitting, awkward standing ... feel like I've aged 20 years in the last 4 weeks !!

Came on suddenly when I bent over one morning to pick something off the floor - agony, passed from being fit to a cripple instantly.

Umpteen trips to the doctors since, can't help but feel their fix amounts to nothing more than painkillers & medical certificates and a hope "it'll go away". Finally sees a doctor yesterday who diagnoses Sciatica ... but still they can't diagnose the cause, he reckons it could be a slipped disc, degeneration of the disc or nerve damage ... but they can't give me a definite cause.

Given I don't know much about the back & that this sciatica diagnosis covers a whole multitude of sins, what should I expect from my GP when it comes to further tests etc ? Many folk have suggested to me getting a scan or an X ray, which sounds logical ... but it's never offered.

All I've got on my medical line is "lower back pain" ... and I'm getting grief off my work for the vagueness of the diagnosis ... "what's wrong with your back ?", "why can't they tell you ?", "go see another doctor" ...

I just feel like I'm stuck in the middle.

What should I reasonably expect from my GP in these circumstances ?

Thanks peeps.

You have got to insist the doctor sends you for an x-ray.Or get someone to take you to A&E in agony and they will x-ray you anyway to check whether you have slipped a disc.
I had 4 years of agony with sciatica and all the doctors would do was prescribe painkillers saying there was nothing much they could do with backache.Some days I couldn,t move at all and had to stay in bed sometimes for days on end not even being able to sit up a bit for a drink without screaming in pain.
It was always painful but would vary in intensity.It came on suddenly too after lifting a heavy load at work.
I ended up losing my job and having to give up a p/t college course too because I could never tell when I would be able to walk or not to get there.
Eventually after looking into sciatica a bit I asked the doc if he could recomend me for chiropracty treatment,he said it was not available!He then referred me to phisiotherapy at the hospital which I went to for months,they basically gave me pelvic exercises to do and made me sit with a heat lamp over me for an hour a week?One of the phisiotherapists asked me if I had tried chiropracty and I said doc had said it wasnt available.She told me I may have to get it as a private patient.
A few days later it was bad again,I couldnt walk and OH looked up a local chiropractor and took me in for an emergency appointment.He had to carry me in and I was able to walk out.Chiro said my right hip was out of alignment and had probably trapped my sciatic nerve.He freed it within 2 minutes,maybe less.I couldnt believe it had been relieved so quickly after years of extreme pain.It only cost me £25.I got my first good nights sleep in years that night.
Chiro insisted I go back to doc and ask for an x-ray and was shocked it had never been done before.I got it within 3 weeks and it showed mild scoliosis and a slight twist in my spine!!!I have no idea whether I have always had a twisted spine or whether something happened perhaps during the birth of my last baby to do this to my back.Anyway now I am as good as new but do have to go back to the chiro to get everything realigned now and then.Its longer between visits each time,I started off having to go every 2 weeks and now its every 6 months or whenever I start to hurt.

pipkin71

looby75 wrote: »

gp suggested I try amiltryptiline after my last fall a couple of months ago, but I was a bit scared to try it as MIL had it a few years ago and it really really didn't agree with her, she slept pretty much 24/7. She would only get up to have something to eat and then take her next tablet before going back to bed

Thankfully the codeine, paracetamol and 800mg dose of ibuprofen, plus the odd tramadol got me through the worst of it. I have really bad reactions to so many drugs it's horrible I'm even allergic to sticking plasters LOL

I didn't like taking the amitriptyline, particularly as I'm the only adult in the house. It's also why the diazepam dosage is so low, but it helps for now.

I would definitely see the doc about taking something to cut the risk of an ulcer looby, since you're taking the ibuprofen. Better to prevent an ulcer than deal with it once it happens.

tenacioust123

pipkin71 wrote: »

I feel for you tenacioust.

I don't sleep much either and totally understand the desire for 7 hours. I take the tramadol slow release, diclofenac slow release, paracetamol, gabapentin, lansoprazole, diazepam, quinine sulphate and oramorph for breakthrough.

This thread is like a drugs directory lol!

Have you noticed that you're more prone to drop things since taking the gabapentin? My friend has recently started taking it and she has noticed the same sort of things I did. I also had hallucinations when I first started taking the gabapentin, but thankfully I was in hospital at the time because that wasn't pleasant. I have however become used to the medication now.

Fingers crossed the screws haven't broken. Hopefully though your consultant will be able to offer treatment to ease the pain you're in.

I didn't like the gabapentin at all when I first started taking it I felt totally spaced out, my brain would not work properly couldn't even think of simple spellings of words. Don't remember dropping things though. It has helped with the horrible sharp nerve pain in my legs. I was on amitryplene for a while and I felt awful could not function at all, at least with gab the side affects settle down after a while.

I've got everything crossed :rotfl:

PasturesNew

I had sciatica for 10 years. If I was lucky it only hurt when I walked... I remember one day being at work, it took me half an hour to get 100 yards to my moped.. but once I was on it, I could ride it home. Took another half an hour to get into my home.

Then one day, it just never came back. Been 20 years now since it just stopped.

pipkin71

tenacioust123 wrote: »

I didn't like the gabapentin at all when I first started taking it I felt totally spaced out, my brain would not work properly couldn't even think of simple spellings of words. Don't remember dropping things though. It has helped with the horrible sharp nerve pain in my legs. I was on amitryplene for a while and I felt awful could not function at all, at least with gab the side affects settle down after a while.

I've got everything crossed :rotfl:

Honestly, I really felt life would have been better if my foot was amputated before they gave me this new combination of drugs.

The side effects with the gabapentin definitely settled down after a while, which is a good job considering I home ed :eek: :eek: :eek:

I will keep everything crossed for you too