Jst1mr
Member
There is usually no shortage of advice to be had here from sufferers of virtually any medical malady, so how about those unlucky enough to have experience with sciatica? Some background - I have a badly arthritic hip grinding away bone-on-bone, a twice-repaired knee following ligament tears, and several fractures, cracks, and dislocations from an enthusiastic youth, so I am no stranger to pain...I would normally place myself very high on any measure of tolerance to pain. Recently, however, while simply standing up, I was struck with a bolt of pure electrical raw scorching pain - seemingly originating deep inside the left buttock area and flashing down the entire left leg and foot with no less enthusiasm than a full-scale lightning bolt. A real attention-getter, I promise you.
Due to the previously mentioned maladies, I am normally fully armed with some of the most potent painkillers available, but NOTHING in my possession would touch this...I could rest comfortably, but virtually any movement brought the pain on the full blast -all or nothing it seems. I found a way to survive a couple days at home, hoping that a regimen of rest/ice/heat/etc would help, but eventually I gave up and had to be carted (literally) off to the hospital...couldn't even manage the 6 steps down to the garage or even think about driving - not even crawling into the back seat.
I do have some degree of previously-diagnosed spinal stenosis - a bony narrowing of the channel that the spinal cord runs through - that can create pressure points on the nerves and create numbness and tingling issues, but this seemed way too sudden and way too severe to be caused by that. (Surgery may be needed someday, but it has some risks I would prefer to avoid at this time). So, I have the experts tell me that the worst thing to do is sit - the body prefers to move. OK, but I can't even begin to move without unleashing this truly unearthly pain. After 4 days in the hospital I NEED to go home - despite receiving first-class treatment, I NEED to go home (this was just days before Christmas), just can't stand a hospital. I somehow manage to pass the test -(I had to prove I could negotiate a flight of steps before being allowed to leave) -with a hideous grimace and minus about 5 pounds or so of pure pain sweat, I managed an ugly circuit up and down a flight of steps, and off I go to home-sweet-home.
And, finally, along with some at-home physical therapy, something began to help. Turns out it was a stiff regime of the steroid Prednisone, creating some actual sweet relief and allowing me to begin making laps (with walker)around the house...I began to hope. BUT, they immediately began a "taper" - a gradual lowering of the dose of the Prednisone, and with each reduction of dose the symptoms began ratcheting back up. With the last of the steroid now gone, I was perilously close to being all the way back to square one, so I received an emergency prescription extension until next week's re-evaluation. Predictably, now even the higher dosage seems to be losing effectiveness, and any attempts to mobilize, with stretches or exercises, has begun to bring on that full-burst "flare" of truly memorable pain. I have also tried the TENS therapy (an attempt to block pain signals through electrical stimulation), so I guess the next step is some steroid injections directly into the spine... I can tell you, once having tasted some relief from this nuclear-level pain, then feeling it coming back, building and building up worse and worse by the day...kind of like a version of the "Flowers for Algernon" short story....
Assuming I can regain some mobility, does anyone have any experience with anything that might serve to help avoid a relapse? I have been told by more than one individual that yoga has proven helpful...any personal experience with that, or other alternative treatments? Chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, anything? Alternately, are there issues anyone is aware of with high doses of something like Prednisone over the long term? Thanks for sharing any experiences...
Due to the previously mentioned maladies, I am normally fully armed with some of the most potent painkillers available, but NOTHING in my possession would touch this...I could rest comfortably, but virtually any movement brought the pain on the full blast -all or nothing it seems. I found a way to survive a couple days at home, hoping that a regimen of rest/ice/heat/etc would help, but eventually I gave up and had to be carted (literally) off to the hospital...couldn't even manage the 6 steps down to the garage or even think about driving - not even crawling into the back seat.
I do have some degree of previously-diagnosed spinal stenosis - a bony narrowing of the channel that the spinal cord runs through - that can create pressure points on the nerves and create numbness and tingling issues, but this seemed way too sudden and way too severe to be caused by that. (Surgery may be needed someday, but it has some risks I would prefer to avoid at this time). So, I have the experts tell me that the worst thing to do is sit - the body prefers to move. OK, but I can't even begin to move without unleashing this truly unearthly pain. After 4 days in the hospital I NEED to go home - despite receiving first-class treatment, I NEED to go home (this was just days before Christmas), just can't stand a hospital. I somehow manage to pass the test -(I had to prove I could negotiate a flight of steps before being allowed to leave) -with a hideous grimace and minus about 5 pounds or so of pure pain sweat, I managed an ugly circuit up and down a flight of steps, and off I go to home-sweet-home.
And, finally, along with some at-home physical therapy, something began to help. Turns out it was a stiff regime of the steroid Prednisone, creating some actual sweet relief and allowing me to begin making laps (with walker)around the house...I began to hope. BUT, they immediately began a "taper" - a gradual lowering of the dose of the Prednisone, and with each reduction of dose the symptoms began ratcheting back up. With the last of the steroid now gone, I was perilously close to being all the way back to square one, so I received an emergency prescription extension until next week's re-evaluation. Predictably, now even the higher dosage seems to be losing effectiveness, and any attempts to mobilize, with stretches or exercises, has begun to bring on that full-burst "flare" of truly memorable pain. I have also tried the TENS therapy (an attempt to block pain signals through electrical stimulation), so I guess the next step is some steroid injections directly into the spine... I can tell you, once having tasted some relief from this nuclear-level pain, then feeling it coming back, building and building up worse and worse by the day...kind of like a version of the "Flowers for Algernon" short story....
Assuming I can regain some mobility, does anyone have any experience with anything that might serve to help avoid a relapse? I have been told by more than one individual that yoga has proven helpful...any personal experience with that, or other alternative treatments? Chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, anything? Alternately, are there issues anyone is aware of with high doses of something like Prednisone over the long term? Thanks for sharing any experiences...
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