Relief for Chronic Sciatica?
Since Sept. 1, I have been in pain…really AWFUL pain in my left hip, down the side of my thigh and into my calf. It doesn’t hurt very much when I am sitting, but trying to walk for any more than 30 feet is almost unbearable. My husband is already an invalid from diabetes. I am his 24/7 caregiver. We both don’t have any family to help us if we are both sick at the same time. I would more than appreciate any information from someone who is medically knowledgeable about sciatica or who has had success or failure with any procedures concerning it. I can’t take opiates for pain relief. Has anybody tried steroidal injections, muscle therapy or even surgery for this condition? I would ask that anyone answering truly have knowledge about this. Our future depends on what I can do to help myself. I am already taking Celebrex for the inflammation, but it doesn’t help very much.
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Hi, first let me say that I’m sorry to hear that your husbands health is not good and that you are experiencing back pain and sciatica. Also, I’m not a doctor but someone who has lived with back pain and sciatica since May 2005.
In regards to your sciatica, it is difficult to talk about your particular situation without more specifics such as MRI or CT scan findings, but I’ll make a few comments based on my personal experience.
I’ve dealt with back pain and sciatica since May 19, 2005 and can tell you it is very complicated to treat. I’ve had four surgeries, more injections than I can remember, physical therapy, and now have an Intrathecal pain pump.
From my perspective, based on how the doc’s worked with me, the steroidal injections are not a long term solution but provide temporary relief. Depending upon what is causing your pain, that is why the MRI or CT scan is important, if the injections do provide relief I would be working on strengthening core muscles. Hopefully by strengthening your core you can take some of the strain and load off your back and that will lessen the pain. I can’t stress this enough, based on the research I’ve done there is no silver bullet with back pain and sciatica. What works great for one person might not work at all for another.
In the end it’s you that has to make the choice as to how your back pain and sciatica is treated. However, as long as a nerve that controls bladder and bowel is not compromised, I’d try every conservative treatment available before the surgery option. The pain can actually get worse after surgical treatment, as it did with me.
If you would like to talk let me know and I’ll get you my phone number outside of this open forum. I do hope things turn out well for you and your husband.
November 14th, 2009 at 9:43 am