My husband developed a bad case if sciatica just before we were about to embark on a long journey overseas last year. He was in quite a bit of pain and our trip was looking dodgy.
Our Dr put him on Gabapentin, starting at 400mg per day and moving up to 600 within a couple of weeks. My understanding is it’s an anti seizure med that works by calming the sciatic nerve, interrupting the pain signal. (She did have an X-ray taken!)
It took a little time for him to see results initially, a couple of weeks while it built up in his system. And within a couple more, he was fully symptom free.
By the time we returned home he was ready to go off the med and hasn’t had any issues since. And he works a pretty physical job!
Update: it’s getting worse daily. Pain doc says microdiscectomy is my best bet. That was Monday. I worked Tuesday light duty but had trouble sleeping. Yesterday and today are 8/10 pain.
Left multiple msg with ins, surgeon, and workman’s comp. surgeon won’t see me until wc gets claim. Got that this morning but you can only leave it on voicemail and they never return call.
Pharmacy says I can’t have any more Vicodin till the 19th. I have maybe 4 days worth left. Honestly those aren’t even helping anymore so I guess I’ll just keep missing work.
My SO has what he calls sciatica. It was debilitating enough for early retirement. He’s said he had no success with chiropractors, PT was painful, massage therapy did nothing, drugs were eventually useless, and surgery was an option - discs are involved - but not something he considers a good option, so he never did it.
So we made up a thing for when he’s in pain, like a mashup of massage and stretching, with me doing the stretching, not him. There is no additional pain involved for him. I generally start with the piriformis, which requires thumbs, and my fingers can just reach to his hips enough to get a grip there, and I pull downward (toward his feet) at the same time. Not sudden, not harsh, but definitely a pull. It proceeds from there, mostly leg and foot work, I’ll spare the details but the end result is that he’s stretched out and feels decompressed and he can move again. The change is amazing.
I have no formal training at all, so I can only imagine what an actual practitioner could do for him, if it wasn’t already in his head that they’ll make the problem worse. It is though, so that’s how we deal with his sciatica and he’s happy.
If you run out of Vicodin you are probably gonna go through some withdrawal. That will no doubt make your pain worse. You will be retching and who knows what else. You better get ready to go to the ER, that’s an emergency.
I feel bad for you. No one asks to be in that situation. IANAD, but I think you’re looking at surgery, soon.
You can’t know if he’ll have withdrawal symptoms. Some non-addicts have very mild ones or not at all.
MikeG, I’m so sorry you have to deal with all this. I’m experiencing mild sciatica right now so I have an idea of the pain you’re having. Unbearable. I hope you get things squared away soon.
No, I don’t know. That’s why I said probably and not surely. He has stated he’s been in the meds for awhile. It’s not that he’s taking the drug for jollies, he’s taking it because he needs it. That doesn’t make him immune to its addictive qualities. I hope he’s not addicted, but it’s better to be prepared.
In my case I have to stay active and physically working. I am certain some form of exercise would work as well or better. If I become inactive and spend too much time on the computer within a couple of weeks I am crippled with pain. Keeping the back strong as we approach middle age is really important for a pain free back. My back is shot and I can’t lift heavy anymore or carry things certain ways but I can still stay busy in my shop and do yard work with moderate lifting. I try to stay below about 50#.
So after making it to the doc on Friday I’ve had a downturn. I’ve been bedridden since sat morning. I made it to the washroom with great effort and excruciating pain.
I lie flat and the pain subsides. When I stand I get a tingling pain from my foot up to my hip which increases quickly until I can’t stand it and collapse onto the bed. Lather rinse repeat.
I skipped the norco today, it didn’t help the pain yesterday and I’m going to need it if I hope to make it to the pain doc tomorrow morning. Apparently pain meds have to b handwritten so I have to be able to make it all the way there then to cvs then home. I am dreading the journey already.
You poor thing. That’s awful. Do you have someone to help you get there? You can be in wheel chair when you get to the doctors office. And maybe drive through at the pharmacy.
I had appt with doc for this Friday. There was a cancellation so I got in today at 11. Doc saw me at 11:45, took one look at the MRI and told me he was surprised I could walk and admitted me to the hospital immediately.
I’m lying in a room waiting for surgery in the morning.
Doc says he has high confidence he can remove the herniation with micro discectomy. Fingers crossed.
The first thing I would start with is backtracking your recent history maybe back a couple of months before the pain started. Are you sitting more than usual, any new chairs or beds or cars in your life? Have you altered your usual activity levels more or less exercise especially walking? New bed? New bed partner? Anything at all. I recently got over mine by walking about 30 minutes a day. It hurt like hell when I started but the pain cleared up quickly, within a couple of days. I have been fighting it for the past 3 or 4 years.
0115: hospital “beds” are not in fact designed to allow a person to slumber. That’s the only explanation for this contraption of air bags and plastic arms right where you want to put your own are
Before taking any drastic medical action, ask your doctor to prescribe physical therapy. It’s not the solution to every case, but it worked wonderfully for me. It took several weeks, but the pain subsided and now I’ve had not a twinge in more than five years.
PT determined that the muscles were too weak my lower back to form a firm saddle, and my bones were resting on my sciatic nerve. Or something like that. So PT exercises strengthened that musculature and relieved the pressure.