Sciatica - how do you cope?

mumoftwins

mazza111 wrote: »

aww hon, good luck with it. Nothing worse than losing sleep due to pain.

Thanks maz, my family think I'm awful cos I sleep so much in the day ( maybe a couple of hours) but I just can't get by otherwise!

OliveOyl_2

Everything crossed for you MoT :A (except legs of course )

jenhug

Good luck!

tattoed_bum

hi ,with the tens i use the pads two on my lower back just at the bum and two on my ankles it does seem to help me ,i have been using mine on my shoulder as well lately as it's starting to effect my arms now ,
i tend to lean on my not so sore side a fair bit but have found sometimes sitting on a hard chair can help a little ,on saying that today has been hellish and i cant get comfy at all the pain is actually making me feel sick ,

hope you can get something to help soon

CFC

I understand from my osteopath friend that if you have sciatica you are far better either standing up or lying down than sitting, which can make it worse.

mumoftwins

Thanks all, been to Chiro this pm who said that I am very inflammed around the lower part of my spine and the muscles all around are really tense. She gave me some treatment which did help and has advised me to use an icepack for 20 mins every 2 hours for the next 5 days. I have another appointment to go next Friday.

She explained everything so well and I now understand what has happened to my back/hip.

There is still a long way to go but I have felt some relief already - just hope I sleep :mad:

robpw2

hope things work out for you ...

beedeedee

I'm so pleased you are pro-active in your sciatica and it gets sorted out quickly. Please let us know how you get on?

Merry_Gentry

mumoftwins wrote: »

There is still a long way to go but I have felt some relief already - just hope I sleep :mad:

Really hope you managed to get some sleep.

teachergirl

dear mumoftwins my sympathy goes out to you. I have been there done that got the t shirt and I know how horriable it is. The advice people have given you is all good and it is a question of what works for you. Tens never worked for me but you can pick up a machine on e-bay. Keeping moving is right but we all have to sit or lie down at sometime. In the end I had surgery and it transformed my life. I still get it back occassionally but nothing like as bad as before. Noone has yet mentioned memory foam matteresses. They provided a lot of relief for me. There is a very well known brand that we bought(we had to borrow the money off my parents) but it was worth every penny. It is still as good now 7 years later as it was then. They take a bit of getting used to because they can feel quite warm but go and try one out in a bed centre before you fork out. They can feel strange because it is harder to turn over but this also means you do not accidently roll onto the most painful bits which then wakes you up. If you suffer from a back problem you can actually get it VAt free but I do not know if I am allowed to mention where from.
Good luck and remember you arn't alone.