have been dealing with sciatica for 6 months...not debilitating, but affects my sleep-no position is comfortable. finally had an xray and it was negative. have done all the recommended stretching and exercises - tried 2 different chiropractors - do i need an mri now? sick of this! has always affected only right side, but lately i get spasms in my left groin area -
I had a similar problem and I went to therapy and chiropractors and nothing worked until I bought an inversion table. I tilt back about 35 to 45 degrees and hang there for a few minutes and I can feel my spine stretch and no pain for weeks. I do it once every 4 to 6 weeks hang there for about 5 minutes.
thanks for your response. i tried a friend's inversion table a couple months ago, but at that time it was too painful to lie flat enough to tilt back...maybe i should try it again...finally got an xray and it came back negative. did you ever get an mri or ct scan? would be out-of-pocket so i don't know if i can do that now, but i'm sick of this. i'm not in terrible pain, except for the spasms, but i know i don't want to live like this...sleeping is an issue!
Please stay away from the inversion table. I also suffered horrible sciatica with a crooked back for roughly 8 months. It was so depressing. Tried everything from pt, chiropractors (which really made the pain even more excruciating), inversion table, you name it i did it. My issue was actually brought on by doing yoga. Had an mri, x-ray which showed nothing. Doc sent me for a mylegram and that's what picked up the herniation. Good luck.
Hey there! If I were you I would deffinatley get an MRI done. Sciatica isn't actually a diagnosis in itself it's usually a sign that something more serious is going on. Usually it's a bulging or herniated disc. I would deffinatley get it checked out.
i know sciatica is just a symptom and certainly wonder if it's a herniated or bulging disc - the second chiropractor i went to said i would never be able to do the things i did, i.e, bending over and side to side, if it was a bulging disc - that it would be too painful. so what is it?!!!! definitely something! during the last week i'm having issues with my left side as well....my GP who referred me to the xray, gave me 800mg ibuprofen and flexeril (muscle relaxant) - am trying that for a week or two-taking both on regular basis to see if that helps. what a pain! thanks for all the responses!
Hi OMC: Several months ago I had a bad case of sciatica. Low back pain radiating to my hip area and down the left leg. It was very bad and painful 24 hrs a day with no let-up at all. I tried all of my own home remedies - ice, heat, pain pills - hot showers - and nothing helped. Had an MRI of the Lumbar Spine and it showed several bulging discs and went to a chiropractor. I spent a small fortune on 26 visits of spinal decompression (where they stretch the spine to move that bulging disc off the nerve. It did work but too expensive ($2,500) which insurance will not touch. So far so good as far as that goes but now dealing with other issues that the chiro cannot help withi. I hope you find relief soon because I can relate how miserable that pain is. I remember not being able to sleep in the bed but did ok in my recliner. Good luck to you...
The Following User Says Thank You to LucyBee210 For This Useful Post: ladida24 (10-10-2012)
Sounds like a herniated disc to me. Ive been through the same pain you had for 9 months until i had surgery.
MRI's are ungodly expensive even with insurance, but its a necessity if you want to find out whats really going on. I tried traction and chiropractics, surgeon said stay away from it while nerve is being pinched. adjustment/traction can break off a piece of the disc and can damage spinal cord and paralysis.
Stay away from epidural injections due to meningitis outbreaks. I hope you get to feeling better!
It seems like all the things we need are very expensive but I am so fortunate to have a good insurance plan and my MRI was a $75 copay. It's ironic that you state your surgeon told you to stay away from chiropractors... I was told I basically wasted the $2500 AFTER I had the treatments by 3 doctors !! Even though I am pain free now I still cringe when I think of what I paid... Thanks for your input ..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Strike554
Sounds like a herniated disc to me. Ive been through the same pain you had for 9 months until i had surgery.
MRI's are ungodly expensive even with insurance, but its a necessity if you want to find out whats really going on. I tried traction and chiropractics, surgeon said stay away from it while nerve is being pinched. adjustment/traction can break off a piece of the disc and can damage spinal cord and paralysis.
Stay away from epidural injections due to meningitis outbreaks. I hope you get to feeling better!
prednisone pack gave me temporary relief from sciatica. but be careful as prednisone can cause GI bleeding, also try walking regimen of 10-15 mins walks every 3 hrs. good luck
The Following User Says Thank You to trragtop For This Useful Post: ladida24 (10-23-2012)
Re: sciatica 
