Wellness

[roster]

As others have suggested: PT &/or Chiropractor. Google for details.

[Pook]

@Trinity11  You might want to try massage therapy.  Look for a massage therapist who is certified in health issues and not just feel good massages.  I go to one for neck and shoulder issues regularly and  she does treat many with sciatica.

[Kachina624]

In my lifetime I've had one bout of Sciatica.  After a few days of misery, I went to my doctor who sent me to physical therapy.  I had 2 weeks of PT and the problem went away, never to return...knocking on wood.  That was 25 years ago.

[riley1]

Yes, I have suffered with sciatica. If you can't relief by doing back excercises and putting a pillow under your knees, try taking a slow walk (sometimes this will work it out). If that doesn't help, call a Chiropractor, mine was a tremendous help and eased the pain.

Also, try an ice pack - 20 on 20 off.

[ThinkOutsidetheBox]

While most people do not want to hear this, daily stretching, often several times throughout the day, is extremely effective in relieving back pain and sciatica in particular. Stretching to the point of discomfort but not shooting or burning pain, and then holding it, will often alleviate pressure put on the sciatic nerve by tight or atrophied muscles and connective tissues. Here is a link to one stretch in particular that is very helpful:

Piriformis stretch with towel

The above stretch can also be done on the go while standing. Just Google standing piriformis stretch for videos for that.

Additionally, if you do NOT have an addictive personality, and you can find a reliable source online, AND do not mind some constipation, Kratom is an herb that is a Godsend. I use Kratom about three to four times per month if my symptoms get out of hand from over-exertion. This is an herb that you must learn about before ever trying it though. Do your research before you purchase it, do not buy it in a local herb shop unless you know for a fact that it is a non-adulterated product, and buy only the whole herb, not something that has had an extract added to it to make it more potent. This is a controversial topic for many, so I only mention it in case you are not aware of it. I have had great success with it, but I never rely on it. The herb has even seemed to provide long-lasting benefits for me for some reason. Since I first tried it about two years ago, my pain has improved on its own, even without daily use of the herb (which I do not recommend simply because of the constipation...sorry if TMI). I did not have this long-term benefit with any other medication provided by a doctor...not from injections, not from other treatments, and not from medicines.

Since we never know what will cause some people to be addicts while others are not, and since all substances that remove pain and make you feel better seem to be able to trigger certain people to become addicts, I mention this herb with reservations, but also with the hope that it will help somebody else as it has me. Many people just do not know about it. I order mine online from one source, and I have never had anything but great results with them. I do not think I can post that source here because I do not want to get into trouble or deleted. I am not on here often enough to know if we can PM each other. If so, send me a message if you need to know where I order mine from, and I will respond IF you have a long history on these boards. I hesitate to provide info to people with no long-term history here for various reasons.

Take care and good luck!

P.S. I am editing this because I read further in the post and saw the OP mention heart attack. Of course, no one can take anything herbal unless they themselves are educated in the use and contraindications of those herbs or unless their doctor can clear them for such use (most docs have no clue on this topic though). So, I leave the Kratom info here for anyone else who may be interested in researching the topic more, but OP, I cannot recommend any herb for you due to your conditions and any medications you currently take. Stick with the stretches! 

[ALRATIBA]

When I went to physical therapy - the therapist gave me some moves / exercises that relieve the pressure on that nerve.   I won't take any of the pain meds they suggested because of possible side effects.

It's almost miraculous for me ... I can actually feel "cooling" of the pain/burn in a few seconds.

Definitely see a physical therapist.   Too complicated to describe the moves here.

[Nightowlz]

I thought I had that but think mine was probably the piriformis muscle after reading about it.

I did some of the stretching exercises I found online. If you Google sciatica exercises & click on Images you will find a lot of them. If you need to do them sitting in a chair search sciatica exercises sitting to see those images. They do help.

I also have those Goosebumps Massage Balls Q sold years ago which are no longer being made. They have others on the market but the points on the Goosebumps are not as Spiky. I would put it under the area that hurt & press a little. It also helps. I use those all the time. The bumps on one ball are wearing down from so much use. LOL!!!

If you have Tramadol go ahead & try it. I took it for a couple of months when I had Shingles. While I was still in excruciating pain it did help so I could get 3-4 hrs of sleep. I only took one before I went to bed & suffered in pain the rest of the day.

They say its not addicting. I can say after taking 1 per day for a couple of months I did not feel so good for about 7-10 days when I stopped taking it. I would suggest if you take it daily when you stop to start taking it every other day to every so many days etc to wing off of it so you don't feel like I did when I quit.

Hope you can find something that works for you. Nothing worse than suffering in pain & can't figure out what to do to get some relief.

[labloverrr]

@Nightowlz  A friend has sciatica pain, she said her chiropractor told her to get a tennis ball, place it under her thigh/butt area, she said it helped.  Nightowlz'' post sounds pretty much similar since a ball is used.  Good luck to all in finding relief from the pain, I don't have sciatica pain but my dad does and I see the pain it causes him ☹️

[sfnative]

@Trinity11 

@hckynut 

Hi Trinity,

I'm really sorry to hear that you're having to deal with the pain and disability of sciatica.  It's the pits, isn't it?

If, indeed, it has caused your life to stop in its tracks, please consider that it's time to determine the root cause of your sciatica, before seeking some kind of treatment or going off on your own doing exercises.  I don't want to come back here to read that you've gotten much worse!

So, tomorrow, Monday, either get an appt with your PCP in order to schedule an MRI - or - ask your PCP for a referral to an ortho spine doc or neurosurgeon.  I'm not indicating that you need surgery; what I am saying is that these types of docs are best at putting 2+2 together, painting the best picture for you regarding causative factors regarding your sciatica.  Plain films will also be taken (x-rays...anterior/posterior and lateral).  With an MRI plus films in hand, one hopes for an "A-Ha" moment from the new doc, when he/she has a visual on the origins of your sciatic pain.

Also, it's actually good that you're 3 weeks into this.  I say as much, because most docs will say, "We need to wait to see if this will calm down," which is always very disappointing for the patient, but a valid approach in most cases, not all.

I'm nearly 3 months into an extreme case of sciatic pain on the right, which is new to me.  Yes, I know you're wondering why I haven't seen a doc yet.  Good question, as I'm in utter misery and hampered by rods, screws and a plate at L5-S1, so know options will be limited.  Because I worked for years in ortho, I knew I had to give this a chance to clam down, so gave it 6 weeks.  It did not calm down one iota.  Actually got worse, by involving a branch of the sciatic nerve going deep down into the groin, so now my pain is worse.  Also, the 10 mg of oxy I've taken hasn't even touching the pain - that's how bad it is.  I see a neurosurgeon a week from tomorrow.  (He has a humongous wait list for new patients.)

A recliner:  I placed @hckynut at the top, because  of this subject.  In 2011 I sustained a totally blown disk at L5-S1 due to a work injury and had to have a cage fusion + lamenotomy with hardware.  Before the surgery, I came on here and asked what I needed to have on hand at home after the surgery.  Hckynut (John) mentioned one thing:  a recliner.  I won't go into all that he said about it, but we went out and purchased one.  It wasn't the one I would have purchased, as it was really cheap.  However, John said that I must get an electric one (with a push button to raise and lower the part of the chair that supports the lower legs and feet).  After surgery or recuperating from an injury or great pain like sciatica, what you don't want to be doing is bending over to the right side to grab the chair's handle, then yanking it forward or backward.  I'm actually sitting in that cheap chair we purchased in November of 2012, but expect it to fall apart at any moment. LOL!  It sometimes makes huge creaks and the wood frame moves and clunks with me in it!  Uh-oh!  I'd highly recommend spending more than the $325 my husband did, with me at his side gritting my teeth, on a nicer and more sturdy chair.  Also, take your time sitting in the chair, asking the sales person how long the floor model has been on the floor for people to try out.  I say this because the chair I sat in and did purchase had a relatively soft seat, which I deemed good, as I did not want to be sitting post-op on a hard surface.  So...when the recliner was delivered, it was the right recliner, my husband set it up and I sat in it for the first time.  Bam!  Hard as a rock.  It's still hard as a rock.  I do believe this chair company pulled a "bait and switch."  The chair in the store had a much softer seat - more forgiving - so as first flush, I thought it was just hundreds of customers trying it out.  However, now I think it was a bait and switch.

Also, John indicated that he sleeps in his.  I didn't think I could ever do this.  Well, with this sciatic pain, going to bed every night is the last thing I want to do because the pain is made all that much more worse.  Last night went to bed at 1:30 a.m., woke up at 5:00 a.m. on the dot and could not get back to sleep in that bed, so came out to the living room and after a while, with the tv on low, went back to sleep.  (I did end up buying an egg crate to place on the seat of the chair, over which is the chair cover and a double folded bath towel the same color as the chair.)

This ended up being a tome and am sorry if it was too much.  I really hope you're able to learn the cause of your sciatic pain and have a healthcare professional develop a treatment plan for you.

[Trinity11]

---

@sfnative wrote:

@Trinity11 

@hckynut 

Hi Trinity,

I'm really sorry to hear that you're having to deal with the pain and disability of sciatica.  It's the pits, isn't it?

If, indeed, it has caused your life to stop in its tracks, please consider that it's time to determine the root cause of your sciatica, before seeking some kind of treatment or going off on your own doing exercises.  I don't want to come back here to read that you've gotten much worse!

So, tomorrow, Monday, either get an appt with your PCP in order to schedule an MRI - or - ask your PCP for a referral to an ortho spine doc or neurosurgeon.  I'm not indicating that you need surgery; what I am saying is that these types of docs are best at putting 2+2 together, painting the best picture for you regarding causative factors regarding your sciatica.  Plain films will also be taken (x-rays...anterior/posterior and lateral).  With an MRI plus films in hand, one hopes for an "A-Ha" moment from the new doc, when he/she has a visual on the origins of your sciatic pain.

Also, it's actually good that you're 3 weeks into this.  I say as much, because most docs will say, "We need to wait to see if this will calm down," which is always very disappointing for the patient, but a valid approach in most cases, not all.

I'm nearly 3 months into an extreme case of sciatic pain on the right, which is new to me.  Yes, I know you're wondering why I haven't seen a doc yet.  Good question, as I'm in utter misery and hampered by rods, screws and a plate at L5-S1, so know options will be limited.  Because I worked for years in ortho, I knew I had to give this a chance to clam down, so gave it 6 weeks.  It did not calm down one iota.  Actually got worse, by involving a branch of the sciatic nerve going deep down into the groin, so now my pain is worse.  Also, the 10 mg of oxy I've taken hasn't even touching the pain - that's how bad it is.  I see a neurosurgeon a week from tomorrow.  (He has a humongous wait list for new patients.)

A recliner:  I placed @hckynut at the top, because  of this subject.  In 2011 I sustained a totally blown disk at L5-S1 due to a work injury and had to have a cage fusion + lamenotomy with hardware.  Before the surgery, I came on here and asked what I needed to have on hand at home after the surgery.  Hckynut (John) mentioned one thing:  a recliner.  I won't go into all that he said about it, but we went out and purchased one.  It wasn't the one I would have purchased, as it was really cheap.  However, John said that I must get an electric one (with a push button to raise and lower the part of the chair that supports the lower legs and feet).  After surgery or recuperating from an injury or great pain like sciatica, what you don't want to be doing is bending over to the right side to grab the chair's handle, then yanking it forward or backward.  I'm actually sitting in that cheap chair we purchased in November of 2012, but expect it to fall apart at any moment. LOL!  It sometimes makes huge creaks and the wood frame moves and clunks with me in it!  Uh-oh!  I'd highly recommend spending more than the $325 my husband did, with me at his side gritting my teeth, on a nicer and more sturdy chair.  Also, take your time sitting in the chair, asking the sales person how long the floor model has been on the floor for people to try out.  I say this because the chair I sat in and did purchase had a relatively soft seat, which I deemed good, as I did not want to be sitting post-op on a hard surface.  So...when the recliner was delivered, it was the right recliner, my husband set it up and I sat in it for the first time.  Bam!  Hard as a rock.  It's still hard as a rock.  I do believe this chair company pulled a "bait and switch."  The chair in the store had a much softer seat - more forgiving - so as first flush, I thought it was just hundreds of customers trying it out.  However, now I think it was a bait and switch.

Also, John indicated that he sleeps in his.  I didn't think I could ever do this.  Well, with this sciatic pain, going to bed every night is the last thing I want to do because the pain is made all that much more worse.  Last night went to bed at 1:30 a.m., woke up at 5:00 a.m. on the dot and could not get back to sleep in that bed, so came out to the living room and after a while, with the tv on low, went back to sleep.  (I did end up buying an egg crate to place on the seat of the chair, over which is the chair cover and a double folded bath towel the same color as the chair.)

This ended up being a tome and am sorry if it was too much.  I really hope you're able to learn the cause of your sciatic pain and have a healthcare professional develop a treatment plan for you.

---

Hi @sfnative . Just back from purchasing a new recliner at the Laz Z Boy store. The manager told us the one I bought has a lot of lumbar support ...it is being delivered on Tuesday. 

I have already seen an orthopedist surgeon. X rays were done and I have scoliosis, neuropathy and he said spinal stenosis. I have been taking atorvastatin for cholesterol and he and my cardiologist think it is part of the culprit. It was pulled as labs were proving my joints were harmed from it. An MRI is scheduled for next week. 

I am so sorry you are also in pain. I hope it will be temporary and you recover quickly. Thanks so much for your detailed reply. It is very helpful.