Please Help With Sciatic Pain - No Comfort , No Sleep Posted: 06-21-07 02:40am
Hi, I need help with my boyfriend's
terrible sciatic pain. It's been 2 weeks
since his symptoms started, he's been for
a CT scan and it doesn't show a herniated
disk, but is more likely arthritis
(osteo-fite?) or scar tissue from back
surgery 17 years ago that his putting
pressure on his sciatic nerve. He has
terrible pain in his buttock and down his
right thigh, his toes tingle and his skin
hurts to touch. He's waiting to get an
appointment with a back specialist for an
MRI but our medical system can be brutal
here (B.C. Canada) and wait-times can be
extremely long.
He is taking Ibuprofen, Gabapentin and
Hydromorphone and nothing helps, nothing
touches the pain. He can't get comfortable
lying down at all. He finds some relief
during the day when he sits upright but as
soon as he lies down the pain is terrible.
At night it's the worst and he spends the
entire night writhing in pain in bed,
getting maybe 30 minutes sleep total. I
don't know what to do for him. Does anyone
have a special "cocktail" that they
recommend for pain management? He went to
an accupuncturist today and after 2 hours
felt momentary pain relief but it was back
within the hour. It seems to be getting
worse, not better. He can't work, can't
walk more than 10-15 steps, can't stand up
for more than a minute. Please help.
|
Spirit
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 387 Location: Canada
Posted: 06-21-07 08:50am
You might want to try a
chiropractor...........consider this, the
sciatic nerve is pain resulting from old
injuries, surrounding muscle weakness
etc..............the chiro...........which
mind you, I never believed in either,
until the pain got so bad I had to do
something.............anything............
.....with just the first adjustment I did
feel better............it was like
something was blocking the nerve from
sending the proper
messages............once the adjustment
was made you can actually feel the
electrical impulses going thru your
body...............it isn't a one time
deal................you will have to go
back for further adjustments and periodic
maintainance.........
He should also try low grade
exercise............nothing heavy duty
yet............like tai chi or
yoga..............to strengthen the
surrounding
muscles..................supplements or
better yet juiced veggies(gets processed
by the body faster)..........those with
B1(Bcomplex is best) and magnesium act as
natural muscle relaxants............dark
leafy green vegetables, yellow veggies,
whole grains raw seed and
nuts............avoid caffeine, chocolate
and refined sugars................perhaps
the pain medication will work better if
he's in better condition
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sillyakchick
Supporter
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2688
Thanks: 5
Thanked:0
Posted: 06-26-07 13:18pm
Has his physician tried a medication
called Lyrica? It can be used in place of
the gabapentin and is sometimes much
better at controlling the nerve pain he is
having.
