This is quite lengthy but I hope someone will read & help!!
I had my first incident with sciatica over a year ago. Started off with an annoying pain in my left butt cheek. I didn’t think anything of it, until after I went bowling and I was in the worst pain of my life. Pain radiated down my left leg, even felt tingly and numb. I couldn’t stand up straight. Went to numerous doctors, had MRI’s and x-rays and they concluded I have a herniated disc at L5 S1 which pinches my sciatic nerve, and arthritis there as well. I am only 21 years old and don’t understand why I’d have arthritis, other than an incident 4 years ago where I fell down the stairs, injured my back and never went to the doctor for it. It was hard to walk, but in time I thought it healed on its own. They talked about surgery to cure my sciatica and herniated disc if it doesn’t get better after 6 months. Well, I thought it was fine and haven’t had a problem in months until the other day I had a major cold with intense coughing that ended up triggering my sciatica once again. Every time I cough, my sciatica gets worse. I cannot stand completely erect, but then I cannot lean over to wash my face brush my teeth, anything. I walk like a hunchback. I tried naproxen which did not work at all. My spine doctor prescribed me Choline Mag Trisal 750 mg TCAR…2 tablets every 12 hours. I have yet to take it because 1500 mg of aspirin 2 times a day seems like a lot to me. Is this normal/safe, and what other pain relievers, home remedies or natural cures can I try? I am female, 21 years old, 5’7 and weigh 115 pounds. I live a moderately sedentary lifestyle. Would working out my back muscles help? Thanks!
I forgot to mention. I went to physical therapy for a few weeks which did nothing. It was almost a joke to me because he made me use an eliptical for 30 mins then sit on a table and do stretches that I did not feel anywhere near my herniated disc at all. Maybe researching a better physical therapist would help? Any success stories with the use of physical therapy? I live in South Jersey.
#1 by CAT on October 6th, 2011
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you can ask for physical therapy, that would help loosen up the muscles, but to be honest with you, it’s not going to get better. I had the same discs herniated, and this past november I had to have surgery. I did the physical therapy, I was on vicodin, percocet, and muscle relaxers. I had epidural injections. I had lumbar spinal fusion. They removed my discs, put in bone grafts, 2 metal cages and 6 screws, I was out of work for 3 months, in a back brace for 2 months and couldn’t drive for 1 month. I’m now 5 months post surgery and the most pain I have is some muscle stiffness at the end of the day. I don’t need pills for it, a hot bath and relaxing helps that. Whatever you do, don’t go to a chiropractor, they will make your herniated discs worse, once they herniate to that point manipulating your spine won’t put them back, it will push them out more. Find a good spine specialist, if you live in the Baltimore. MD area I know a great one. Hope you feel better soon.
#2 by Tufgie on October 6th, 2011
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In case you’re willing to explore options other than medications and physical therapy, there are minimally invasive procedures that can help treat many conditions that cause back and sciatic pain.
If you are considering surgery, a minimally invasive procedure – like AccuraScope – is worth looking into. You should check out the videos explaining the procedure and the 3-D animation that shows how it works! http://northamericanspine.com