Wellness

[Trinity11]

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@cherry wrote:

@Trinity11  I have read some people use medical MJ to help with pain. I have never used pot in my life, but, if I was suffering I would try it

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@cherry...it is not legal in my state. I wouldn't even know where to get it.

I really think if narcotics for pain are so frowned upon than doctors should have more ways of treating severe pain. Marijuana (Like yourself I am probably the last of my generation who never even tried it) should be made available with a prescription.

[Trinity11]

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@KathyM23 wrote:

@Trinity11   It's me again!  I just saw in your post your doctor prescribed Tramadol.  That is a very powerful pain med.  It was given to me in the hospital after a surgery.  It did put me to sleep but when woke hours later, I literally could not force my eyes to open - very scary feeling.  My doctor told me not to take it at home.

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@KathyM23... I have never needed a strong pain killer except with my 2 heart attacks. This is a first for me and I am limited in what I can take because NASAID's are contra-indicated because of my heart disease and meds for Type 1 diabetes.

Thanks for you assessment of Tramadol. It helps to hear other people's experiences and I appreciate it.

[nada54]

My husband and I have an inversion table.   He works in Construction and suffers from sciatica ,   you don't need an expensive one,   we ordered ours thru Amazon.   He does 3 times a day for about 5 minutes.   I also use it.   It really works.

[Trinity11]

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@nada54 wrote:

My husband and I have an inversion table.   He works in Construction and suffers from sciatica ,   you don't need an expensive one,   we ordered ours thru Amazon.   He does 3 times a day for about 5 minutes.   I also use it.   It really works.

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@nada54, I asked my doctor about it and due to hypertension and heart disease it was contraindicated. I wish I could use one, though.

Thanks, though, for your suggestion. I am glad that your husband has gotten some relief.

[gtx]

I was having sciatica pain so bad and couldn't sleep. A friend gave me the "Pain Free" book by Pete Egoscue. There are some simple movements that move the pressure off the nerves. It was a miracle for me.

The first one that I did was pllow squeezes. Sit upright on a chair with a pllow between knees. Squeeze knees together 10 times. Do 3 reps of this. Wait a while and you will notice the pain lessen. There are other moves but you can start with this. Do it only once a day. Your pain will come back some but eventully it will go away and stay away.

I highly recommend you find a copy of his book and study it. I took some dangerous drugs and they didn't help. 

Blessings to you for renewed health.

[hckynut]

Hello @Trinity11 

Sorry to hear you are having this type of pain. Wish I had something to suggest for this terrible type of pain. Since it is the biggest nerve in the human body the pain pretty much matches it size.  

I went through this for a few years back in the early 1970's. Between playing hockey and the heavy lifting job I had at the time, I finally ended up in the hospital, pretty unable to move my lower body.

Spent 3+ weeks in the hospital, in traction, having Physical Therapy Treatments done twice every day. Also was getting Demerol injections every 4 hours. Confined to the bed during most of this long stay.

My Orthopod finally decided surgery was my only option. He removed both my ruptured L-5 and S-1 spinal discs. He told me much of my sciatic nerve was so damaged that I may not have full sensory feeling in my right leg again.  

As you know I returned to all the things I loved to do, and also to that same job at the then, Western Electric Plant. There are still times when ice skating that I lose sensation that leg, which is pretty much the same feeling as when you have an arm or hand "fall asleep" on you.

I no longer have any sciatica, but am left with the occasional thigh biceps(hamstring muscle spasms) when I make quick contraction movements of those specific muscles. Keep those pretty much at bay with my regular lower leg stretching program.

For me surgery was the only way I ended up with relief from the very painful sciatic that I was suffering. I hope you can find some way to lessen your pain.

hckynut(john)

[Trinity11]

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@gtx wrote:

I was having sciatica pain so bad and couldn't sleep. A friend gave me the "Pain Free" book by Pete Egoscue. There are some simple movements that move the pressure off the nerves. It was a miracle for me.

The first one that I did was pllow squeezes. Sit upright on a chair with a pllow between knees. Squeeze knees together 10 times. Do 3 reps of this. Wait a while and you will notice the pain lessen. There are other moves but you can start with this. Do it only once a day. Your pain will come back some but eventully it will go away and stay away.

I highly recommend you find a copy of his book and study it. I took some dangerous drugs and they didn't help. 

Blessings to you for renewed health.

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Thank you so much @gtx . I will most definitely find the book.

[Trinity11]

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@hckynut wrote:

Hello @Trinity11 

Sorry to hear you are having this type of pain. Wish I had something to suggest for this terrible type of pain. Since it is the biggest nerve in the human body the pain pretty much matches it size.  

I went through this for a few years back in the early 1970's. Between playing hockey and the heavy lifting job I had at the time, I finally ended up in the hospital, pretty unable to move my lower body.

Spent 3+ weeks in the hospital, in traction, having Physical Therapy Treatments done twice every day. Also was getting Demerol injections every 4 hours. Confined to the bed during most of this long stay.

My Orthopod finally decided surgery was my only option. He removed both my ruptured L-5 and S-1 spinal discs. He told me much of my sciatic nerve was so damaged that I may not have full sensory feeling in my right leg again.  

As you know I returned to all the things I loved to do, and also to that same job at the then, Western Electric Plant. There are still times when ice skating that I lose sensation that leg, which is pretty much the same feeling as when you have an arm or hand "fall asleep" on you.

I no longer have any sciatica, but am left with the occasional thigh biceps(hamstring muscle spasms) when I make quick contraction movements of those specific muscles. Keep those pretty much at bay with my regular lower leg stretching program.

For me surgery was the only way I ended up with relief from the very painful sciatic that I was suffering. I hope you can find some way to lessen your pain.

hckynut(john)

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Thank you so much @hckynut . Surgery would be difficult because my cardiologist wants me to stay with the Plavix. I do have a prescription for physical therapy but I can barely walk at this point.

I remember your posts about sleeping in a recliner. My husband is waiting for me to come with him to the Lazy Boy store and purchase a new one. I am really hoping it will work!

As always, thanks for all the info. I truly appreciate it!

[hckynut]

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@MUNCHIE wrote:

Hi, I totally agree with KATHY M23 as for seeing a Chiropractor. That helped a lot. First I went in therapy,,they showed me exercises,,stretches that work..Still to this day if I feel something I go back to those exercises.. Had seen a doctor for shots to begin  with..However shots do not last long and only mask the problem,,plus some are dangerous. I go with therapy and chiropractor to keep things aligned.

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@MUNCHIE 

Why did you/do you quit doing those exercises?  

hckynut

[Havarti]

I feel your pain!

When I had it it was so bad I could barely walk to the bathroom.  I had neuropathy down the right leg all the way to the toes.  I tried everything and the only thing that helped me was physical therapy.  They had the right exercises that allowed the numbness to work its way back up the leg until it was gone.  The most important part was to stop bending - which is very difficult to do because so many things require bending in a normal daily routine.

PT taught me to keep my back straight, bend only at the waist and fully extend one leg behind you (think like a ballerina) when ever I really needed to bend.  I used that position frequently - especially for the washer & dryer.  There was to be no sweeping, vacuuming, lifting (groceries, pets, kids or grand kids, etc.) for 6 to 8 weeks. I could not bend to shave my legs in the shower, or trim my toenails, or put polish on them.  I had to change my purse to a small crossover bag and give up my shoulder strap bag with everything I thought I needed.  Now is the time to buy a new purse, hire a cleaning lady, have your groceries delivered (if you have no one to help you) and treat yourself to pedicures.

You can Google exercises for sciatica - nothing was very hard.  The key is to strengthen your core and by not bending you are allowing the part of your spine that is swollen/inflamed to rest and restore itself the best it can. The doctor told me to think of the discs in my spine as being like Oreo cookies;  the stuffing in the middle is what cushions each disc and mine had the stuffing puffed up and spilling out, leaving the hard dry cookie parts rubbing together and pinching the filling and pushing it out.  It all needs time to settle back into place.

The exercises that helped me most were things like: while reclining, elevate one leg about 6 to 8 inches and count to 20, then do the other leg hold it straight.  Repeat 10 times for each leg and do that 4 times per day.  Another one was to stand on the very edge of something like a very low step, or the edge of your patio/driveway or a brick, with your heel elevated and your toes lower (sort of at the angle of very high heeled shoes.  Just stand and hold that position for a few minutes to stretch the leg muscle.  This helped me so much and made me fell better so I actually bought a "slant block" like the PT uses.  They also had me walk through sand a lot (barefoot) to get a more rolling motion (verses a solid flooring) and that worked different muscles.  I spent time on a treadmill, too, but it is nice outside so even short walks that build a small amount of distance could be beneficial.

I know how bad the pain can be, and I was also worried about the pain killers, but I found I needed them occasionally.  I would cut the pill into quarters and take only 1/4 or 1/2 (if the pain was really bad) - just enough to take the edge off the pain to make it more bearable while the PT process worked on my body.  It took about 6 weeks for it to work its way totally back up my leg and be gone.

I hope this helps in some way and that you find relief soon.  Once you do, keep up the exercises for the rest of your life because it can easily come back if you don't.