Sciatica

[jimmie 48]

one of our members, maybe more, has Sciatica. i thought making a post and perhaps getting some of the afflicted members to offer some chat on this subject and how they deal with it might be helpful to future members.

i guess i would like to question of the members who have this disease, have you dealt with the danger signs that are listed below and what helps you?
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Sciatica -- pain, weakness, numbness, and other discomfort along the path of the sciatic nerve -- often accompanies low back pain, which afflicts every adult from time to time, costing billions of dollars in healthcare and lost days of work. Low back pain and sciatica can baffle physicians and other medical professionals, arising without warning and continuing for long periods of time.
Sciatica is a symptom of a problem at some point along the sciatic nerve rather than an ailment in and of itself. A herniated disc in the back, spinal stenosis and piriformis syndrome are medical disorders that can cause sciatica. Individuals who have sciatica are often crippled by it, and are driven to seek relief from conventional medical treatment, alternative therapies, and "miracle" cures.

http://www.sciatica.org/

DANGER SIGNS:
Seek Medical Attention At Once If You Experience:

• LOSS OF CONTROL OF BOWEL OR BLADDER
• INCREASING WEAKNESS IN THE TRUNK, BUTTOCKS OR LEGS
• NUMBNESS THAT ASCENDS FROM TOES OR FEET
• ANY OF THE ABOVE, WITH FEVER OR FORCEFUL VOMITING

[dotsamantha]

Re: Sciatica

I have sciatica. It's miserable. Mine comes on immediately. I have to lower my self to the floor. My left lower back will tighten up over a few minutes and I have to take all the pressure off my bakc and the only way for me is to lie flat on the floor. I go with muscle relaxers and heat for about a day or 2 and then I can usually get myself up. I've had to crawl to the bathroom because I couldn't put pressure on my legs. It usually fades away over a few days.

[jimmie 48]

Re: Sciatica

oh my goodness, sam, i didn't know you had it, sal has it (sallyseachange).
she has spoken of it in our goalie thread.

how does this affect you as far as your exercise goes? obviously you can't do anything for days but does the pain linger on long after the initial attack? and is it really tough to get 'back in the groove'?

do you know what brings it on in the first place?

how does this affect you as you get older? will it worsen or get more frequent?

i am hoping sal will come in here and chat a bit about it too. thanks for the reply, sam.

[sallyseachange]

Re: Sciatica

Thanks Jimmie for starting this thread!

Oh boy! Sam, you're so right... sciatica is plain miserable! So sorry to hear you're a fellow sufferer. Hope you don't get bouts as severe as you describe too often.

My pain usually goes along with my back pain. I have two slipped discs which affect the sciatic nerve. In hot and humid weather it always seems to be worse. In the past I've had bouts that lasted weeks, but the back pain was worse than the sciatica. A couple of days ago though I had the sicatica on it's own, without the back pain. Odd. Was hobbling around and going up stairs one step at a time (I mean using only one leg to go up all the steps, if that makes sense). If I stood up suddenly after having been sitting a while, my leg wouldn't take the weight at all... far too painful. Driving is also pretty bad when it's like that.

Though this latest bout was quite bad, without the back pain it only lasted a day at peak. Now it's tailing off, thank heavens!

Two things have helped me a lot: 1) My weight loss which has improved my back and consequently the sciatica...hooray for Atkins! 2) Exercise. Particularly stretches at the end of my routine. Bending forward as though to touch my toes but letting the weight of my torso sort of stretch the backbone really seems to help me.
Drugs don't do much for me apart from taking the edge off the pain.

Sciatica is a real pain (in every way!). Wouldn't wish it on anyone.

[jimmie 48]

Re: Sciatica

all the sites i have looked at say that stretching is a very good thing for this condition.

i think i am surprised that it peaks at such a rapid speed. it sounds as though it comes on quickly, intensifies quickly and then tapers off. do i have that right?

in regards to our atkins activity and exercise, it sounds as though for a few days at the very least, you are not really able to do to much.

have either one of you, sam or sal, ever been so bad as to have those danger signs?

[sallyseachange]

Re: Sciatica

Well Jimmie... when I get sciatica along with back pain, I usually have the back pain slowly increasing over time, until it gets so severe the sciatica kicks in too. This time, without the back pain, I did have very mild discomfort in one leg for several days before it really hit. I put that down to the muggy weather though, and probably overdid the exercise or something, 'cos suddenly one morning it was just like WHAM! Pain plus plus. Glad it didn't last long though.

I think it affects people in different ways really...

I know that before Atkins, whenever I'd get a chronic phase, I'd swear I was going to go get surgery done. Have had too many friends having to have repeat operations though, so I tend to battle on. Now that things have improved with weight loss, I'm ok to go on like this...

[jimmie 48]

Re: Sciatica

it all sounds like another reason to lose weight. not that losing weight will keep you frome getting this or back pain but if you are dealing with this, then losing any extra pounds woudl certainly help and should be done proir to considering surgery. is that a fair statement?


i wonder how many folks get sciatica without the other back pain? doesn't sound like many. i guess the two kinda go hand in hand? not a hard fast rule but it's normal?

btw, i have a new found appreciation for your stair climbing, sal.

[dotsamantha]

Re: Sciatica

I've alway shad some sort of lower back pain. That comes and goes. I have to mindful of how i twist my back. The sciatica will act up when I'v ebeen treating my body expecially badly, doing physical things without stretching and so on. If I'm in pain i can't even really stretch until it lessens a little. It doesn't happen very often thankfully. I haven't had it happen at all since May.

[sallyseachange]

Re: Sciatica

it all sounds like another reason to lose weight. not that losing weight will keep you frome getting this or back pain but if you are dealing with this, then losing any extra pounds woudl certainly help and should be done proir to considering surgery. is that a fair statement?


i wonder how many folks get sciatica without the other back pain? doesn't sound like many. i guess the two kinda go hand in hand? not a hard fast rule but it's normal?

btw, i have a new found appreciation for your stair climbing, sal.

Right Jimmie... definitely another reason to lose weight. ANd yes, the two often do go hand in hand, though not always.

As for my stair climbing... well, sure it's been slower than usual the last couple of days... but then, I'm really taking it slowly not having a step machine or anything. I mainly use the challenge to encourage me not to take the elevators whenever possible. Sometimes, when sciatica is dormant, I even carry shopping bags up four flights. Hub thinks I'm weird....

[jimmie 48]

Re: Sciatica

[[[[[[[[knocking on wood for sam]]]]]]]]]]]

let me ask this, did either of you have a back injury when you were younger? like a fall or something?

[jimmie 48]

Re: Sciatica

Sometimes, when sciatica is dormant, I even carry shopping bags up four flights. Hub thinks I'm weird....

wierd and skinny is a good thing. lol

[dotsamantha]

Re: Sciatica

I don't recall having a back injury. i remember having intermittent muscle soreness from adolescence, but not resulting from an injury. It's weird.

[sallyseachange]

Re: Sciatica

No... no injury as such... but I reckon my herniated discs stem from my scuba teaching days. Lots of bouncing around on inflatables on choppy seas when kitted up with tanks and weights... too much jarring the spinal column. Probs seemed to stem from then, then worsen with age. Can't be too sure though.

[jimmie 48]

Re: Sciatica

thanks for the answers, girls.

i wonder if women get these more than men, vise versa or if it even matters. i think it really wouldn't matter, but look at how some races of people get different kinds of diseases. the body is some kind of machine.

i'll have to read the article again to absorb some more information since you girls have done an excellent job of posting.

[Tired of Chub]

Re: Sciatica

I just found this post today. I too have sciatica. I just turned 30 and my first time remembering it.... I was in college around 20 or 21. I dont remember an injury per say. My back used to "go out" and my vertebrae actually tilt when its out instead of slipping to the side. (weird weird weird). Now... I stretch almost daily. I can tell today that Im tight so I will spend some time stretching tonight. I do get the pain all down my leg when it gets bad. Thats rarely though. There are days that Im not bothered at all. And others, Im tight and sore and have to make myself stretch out even though it hurts. Ive found that I do best laying on racquetballs with them placed appropriatly. They help get the muscles to release and ease their grip so that I can stretch more effectively.


Did I answer all the questions? Anything else I can help with, give a hollar.