Sciatic Nerve problem??

Altho I have not been to a doctor, I think that I am suffering from sciatic nerve pain.

It started out as my usual chronic back pain and then "all of a sudden" my right buttock and right leg started having severe pain. Anti-inflammatories such as Ibuprophen doesn't help but Vicidin helps ease the pain so that I can sleep at night and nights are the worst times when I'm laying down.

Don't mean to moan and groan but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this sort of thing and what kind of Doctor would you go to inorder to get this fixed?

man mello, i was hopin that would go away.hahaha, im sure you wish it would.t j just told me to tell you to go to your primary dr. . he or she can get you an appointment with the rite dr. for that prolem.them antienflamatories worked on me but mine only lasted bout a week or so.best to you mello. thats a pain that you just cant get away from.the cooler weather aint gona help either.

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Originally Posted by MelloYello

Altho I have not been to a doctor, I think that I am suffering from sciatic nerve pain.

It started out as my usual chronic back pain and then "all of a sudden" my right buttock and right leg started having severe pain. Anti-inflammatories such as Ibuprophen doesn't help but Vicidin helps ease the pain so that I can sleep at night and nights are the worst times when I'm laying down.

Don't mean to moan and groan but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this sort of thing and what kind of Doctor would you go to inorder to get this fixed?

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll share what worked for me. If you can find a good chiropracter (one that doesn't try to pull you in for weekly/monthly "adjustments") he/she can help sciatic nerve pain, caused by that nerve being pinched. One thing that worked for me is to put the hurting leg up on something elevated, tilt your toe back towards your body, and try to touch that toe, stretching the achille's tendon. Another is to stand with toes on a step holding the rail so you don't fall, and let your heels drop down as far as you can, again stretching that achille's tendon. The stretching hurts, but often relieves the pinch if it is not too severe. Also, before you get out of bed in the morning pull your knees up to your chest, relax your lower body, wrap your arms around your knees and pull them as tight to your chest as you can. Helps to stretch those tendons before you let gravity compress things.

My years of chronic back pain has been all but eliminated by using an inversion table, where you hang from your feet for a few minutes occasionally and all of the leg/back joints stretch out. Self induced traction :D

I agree totally with RS.........had the same problem with leg and butt pains . Went to my wifes chiropractor. He did an adjustment and it felt better. Went back in a week for another..........I havent been back since and that was 4 yrs ago.

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Originally Posted by MelloYello

Don't mean to moan and groan but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this sort of thing and what kind of Doctor would you go to inorder to get this fixed?

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I had a touch of that once, on me it would all of a sudden "kick in" and suddenly I couldn't feel my right foot! And I mean, I'd be walking down the hallway and BAM! No foot! Went to a chirocracker and got referred to a specialist (sport medicine). Put me on some kind of steroid to bring down a swelling in a bone on my right side. 10 days later, all cured and that was 2 years ago.

I agree find a good chiropractor I go to one that only uses a drop table. my hips will get out of align and I can't stand up straight for the life of me. it feel's like one leg is to short to touch the floor. I tried the ones that twist and snap you and never has helped.
you can get back aid it's an over the counter muscle relaxer till you get some help .
good luck

I would advise you to go to your doctor and get checked out. While there ask about an excercise routine for your lower back. This will help. DONT just ignore it as you could do damage to the nerve. I am a retired RN

Mello That pain isn't going away till you get something done.. Like I told you before,, The last place I would go is to a bone cracker,, it was a caropractor that hernerated the disc in my back by doing all that twisting and popping with out knowing exactly what the problem is.
Like was mentioned,, find a good reputable dr,, or your regular dr that can set you up with a Orthapedic Dr,,
The longer you put it off the worse its gonna get,, pinching that nerve isn't good,, and hurts like hell.. Been there done that

The traction or so called inversion will help..

I wish I could offer you a good quick-fix, Mello, but I can't.

I had several bouts with sciatica and I agree. It will really keep your attention.

Chiropractic didn't help. The series of shots into the base of the spine (which I tried twice) is scary and helped only briefly. I then bit on that "spinal decompression" b.s. (which is still more chiropractic) and I felt better about as long as it took me to get home from the the treatments. Not only did it not work, but it's expensive as hell and I'll be making payments for it for months.

Finally, my lovely wife got tired of my moaning groaning and threatened to skin me alive unless I made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon in Fort Worth who fixed a ruptured disc in her back. Her operation was a great success.

Well (to shorten this long boring speech a little), I had surgery about five weeks ago, and while I still have some persistent lower back ache I no longer get those terrible pains in my left leg and my butt and, according to my wife, I'm a LOT easier to live with.

If it turns out that your best option is the surgery send me a PM and we'll try to get together and I'll share my vast knowledge orthopedic spinal surgery with you.

I hope you're feeling better!


Jim

I have a problem with a knee and hip in cold and damp weather so I keep anti informatory nappersen on hand and that works for that problem but a few years ago I had a problem absolute terrible pain so I went to see my fishing buddy who is a chiropractor it took him about 60 seconds to tell me to go my gp doctor ask him to prescribe a muscle relaxer well I did and he did and after about 3 hrs. after taking the muscle relaxer I felt fine and have ever since......ted

I have dealt with this same issue for over 10 years. Couple options are a physical therapist or a chiropractor. I go to a chiropractor on a regular basis to keep things...straight. It still hurs sometimes but not what i was with the pinched nerve.

WOW, lots of information and advise here. Let me say first THANKS GANG, I do appreciate it. I have just gotten an appointment with my primary care physician on Thursday to see what he thinks of all of this.

Today my pain is much less and easier to get around, however, I had to have some vicodin to get thru the night last night.

Once again, thanks for all of Y'alls experiences and suggestions,
meller

I have to chime in,having back problems for 30+ years and I had the same thing as you do. I also ended up with surgery 21 years ago and yes I still have pain and get the sciatic thing going again sometimes. I found thru some rehab, stretching the hamstring quite alot gets me out of it as long as I dont do a stupid thing afterward. Chiropractors also screwed me up-and wont usually touch someone with a bulging disc problem.:eek: Mine is so bad I havent worked since 1990,but get by.

All of the above. I think some people end up having surgery for this if the nerve is compressed and the pain is radiating especially down the butt and leg. Worth a trip to the doc(neurologist), and to get an MRI to see if it's a fixable condition. General practice docs will more than likely refer you to a Neurologist, or blow it off and proscribe pain killers. I sort of get the same response to my migraines. Kaiser docs told me to meditate to get rid of the headaches. I told him I'd sure hate to find out I've got a brain tumor for the last five years and you guys misted it. He took a deep breath and said I think it's time we did an MRI. Amazing what the power of persuasion can do to motivate your medical professional!:D

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Originally Posted by stovens

...Amazing what the power of persuasion can do to motivate your medical professional!:D

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:LOL::LOL:

Ain't it the truth, Steve, ain't it the truth.
Mellow,
You've received lots of free advice here, and you can see that different people have had different experiences, especially with bone crackers. I opened my response telling you what has worked for me, and not giving you any advice on a course of action that you need to take. I knew what had caused my lower back strain initially (helping 3 other guys lift a USN airplane tri-blade propellor from deck to stand instead of going to get the cherry picker, and one guy slipped when it was above shoulder level :() and that it was a chronic strain, not a rupture. On that basis chiropractic adjustments helped me deal with the pain for several years whenever I overdid on manual labor or bent over a fender too long. Along the way I had an old Quack Osteopath explain to me how I could pop my back by myself - it didn't work, but he gave me enough info to look at the physics and figure out how to do it my own way and that, plus buying my inversion table seven years ago all but eliminated the pain for me. I am fortunate.

In my experience a PC physician is going to be very, very conservative in apporoach, generally taking months to try paths of least action because the insurance companies pressure them (my opinion). If muscle relaxants do it for you then everyone wins. If not, and if your insurance allows you to go to a specialist without a PCP referral then a good sports medicine doc or, as Steve suggests, a good neurologist will probably take action and get to the root of the pain sooner. All in all, it's your body and your pain, and the right path is what's right for you in your situation. I hope you find a good doc that listens and understands.

UPDATE:
After two weeks of pain, I finally went to my primary care physician today and he pushed and pulled for about 10 seconds and sent me to Palestine (40miles) for X-Rays and an MRI.

Laying motionless on that hard surface for 25 minutes during the MRI took some reall praying on my part. By the time it was thru, my hair was wringing wet with sweat and I was hurting pretty bad but we "Got'er Done" as Larry would say.

He put me on Soma 3 times daily, Meloxicam (anti-inflammatory) 2 times a day and Hydrocodone (vicodin) as needed during the night. and wants to see me back in his office on Tuesday to discuss the results of the tests.

Don't mean to be Ps'n & Mo'n just passing along this info for Y'alls future reference which I hope none of you ever need.

Thanks again to "ALL" for the advise and personal experiences,
Mello

I'm just gonna wing it here.
I lost my right leg above the knee almost 12 years ago. Every morning and I mean every morning I take a hot bath and soak for almost 30 minutes. I do have a TV which helps kill the time in the bathroom. I do have hip and backpain,,,,but doing this makes me last all day without pain. I also take Osteo-byflex which is a pill. I'm only 52, but life can't get any better for me because life is good to me by doing this. I also see a back cracker every once in awhile. That is the last resort.
Soak in a hot tube. It's may be the answer. One never knows. Everyone is different.
The Gitchie weed does help some too.

yep i have a upper disc that needs a titanium cage and one in the lower back that could be fixed the same way. thats the last talk i had to the doc over 5 years ago .i gone to the bone crackers and they at times have help and hurt me so i do not go to them much any more. i been this way for 20 years just never got the feeling by talking to many doc s that the fix would be the end of some of my nerve pain so i walk it off and eat pain pills and know when it is time to sit down or take a day off .i can say letting this go i have some nerve pain that rapps around to the front of me .i have lost all feeling to my leg down to my toes but did come back .every 5 years it will nail me down to the floor .but i get up and keep going but nevers go,s all away for me. i think the nerves have re wired them self .after just getting back from burning my back shoulders down to my butt with 2 degree burns it s not on the top of the list like it us to be :whacked:

Since you all were so kind to relate your stories and advice, I thought I'd give Y'all a quick update.

I decided to go see an Orthopedic Specialist and after a couple of visits, it has come down to this. I have three options 1. see if it continues to get better each day 2. get him to give me a steriod injection at the base of my spine. 3. let him schedule me for reconstruction surgery and I opted for number 1 and he agreed with me. It has been getting better to the point that I can sleep without pain pills and walk without the walker. We can always go to steps 2 or 3 if necessary but surgery is a final option for me.

Once again, thanks to all of you for your input and support.

God Bless and have a Merry Christmas !

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Originally Posted by MelloYello

Since you all were so kind to relate your stories and advice, I thought I'd give Y'all a quick update.
It has been getting better to the point that I can sleep without pain pills and walk without the walker. We can always go to steps 2 or 3 if necessary but surgery is a final option for me.

Once again, thanks to all of you for your input and support.

God Bless and have a Merry Christmas !

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Well, I guess that is good news! At least your walking and sleeping and that means a LOT! And a Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!

To answer your original question, a neurologist is the specialist you want to see. I just went through this. Began having loss of feeling in my left leg and arm. No tingling, just a lack of feeling and some dull ache. I noticed it first on the bottom of my left foot when I brushed against the carpeting at my computer chair. Went to my primary care physician, who referred me to a neurologist, who ordered MRI's to scan my brain and spine. He wanted to see if I had had any mini-strokes that would show up as little busted blood vessels in my brain. Nothing conclusive. It was determined that I have nerve pinching at 3 locations along my spine. The doc said we should try an anti-inflammatory drug first and see what happens. He prescribed Gabapentin 300 MG 3 times a day. It does seem to help and so far, has no nasty side effects.

The doc said that I could be on this med the rest of my life or I could opt for spinal surgery to relieve the ports where the nerves come out of the spinal column. Right now, I'm pretty much convinced that I would rather take the meds forever. The other thing I have noticed is that my posture has an effect. If I slump, my leg goes deader than Walter Matthau's sex life, but if I sit up straight and take my meds, it ain't so bad. I'm thinking about getting one of those upside-down racks to hang by and try that. My buddy does that and claims it helps him.

i have had the steriod injection with some pain killer . they shoot in the spine under a live X ray so they know were to stick you. do not look at the needle :eek:. it never really did much but many have had good luck with it . they do them every month i think they shot me 3 or 4 times . i pass on this for my upper back when i was the only guy in the world that this stuff made me sick

MY - some more about the DW which you have heard much about here and elsewhere. The stuff they injected in her back was cortisone which worked well the first time and it lasted 2-3 months. The next set of shots - well let's say the doctor might as well have rubbed Ben-Gay on the area of her back. And the injection spot ....... a year later still itches and she says it occasionally feels like fire. And that was by the area's so called best neurological doctor.

I hope your series of shots work out well as most folks have relief.

Go to an Accupuncturist or Dr of Oriental Medicine. All western medicine Dr's will do is presrcibe drugs since they get paid by phamicutical companies. I had back pain for 20 years and all the Dr's did was prescribe pain pills and anti inflammatories. Had 6 months of accupucture and herbs and my back hasn't hurt since!

There are a lot of info of what works for various people and what works for one person may not work for another as is pretty evident in reading all of this. I have been to good bone crunchers and bad ones as well as docs. The bottom line is that you keep trying until the pain is taken care of. I had a parishioner who ended up going on disability about 2 years ago because of sciatic pain. I believe he had surgery before going on disability, but it really did not help. He ended up having surgery by another doc this year on his back which was a huge success. I think he goes back to the doc this week where he will probably be cleared to look for work again. I have had other people who have had the shots that last for months and others that last for days. So I guess that I am trying to say not to give up because constant pain can throw you into depression and just make your life miserable.

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Originally Posted by pastor bubba

There are a lot of info of what works for various people and what works for one person may not work for another as is pretty evident in reading all of this. I have been to good bone crunchers and bad ones as well as docs. The bottom line is that you keep trying until the pain is taken care of. I had a parishioner who ended up going on disability about 2 years ago because of sciatic pain. I believe he had surgery before going on disability, but it really did not help. He ended up having surgery by another doc this year on his back which was a huge success. I think he goes back to the doc this week where he will probably be cleared to look for work again. I have had other people who have had the shots that last for months and others that last for days. So I guess that I am trying to say not to give up because constant pain can throw you into depression and just make your life miserable.

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Your right Pastor Bubba. I've know good Docs and bad Docs. Locally, most of the Orthopods that are top notch, have crummy bed side manors, but they get the job done right the first time. Same with Chiropractors, etc...
A good massage shouldn't be under rated either! Who ever or what ever you try, if you aren't getting results move on, life is too short to live with back pain if there is a remody out there!

I had a similar problem. My generous daughter scheduled and paid for a deep tissue massage with a qualified massage therapist. It helped tremendously. You might try that. Not too expensive, and no drugs.

One more story. I had similar problems with L5 and L6, lower back. Got a MRI and had the surgery. It came out almost perfect, if I don't abuse it. No more injections and no drugs. Best thing I ever did for it. It was a tough decision thought, I have to admit. Can't wear my Spedo's with out my scar showing :LOL:
Ken