that sciatic nerve pain ain't nothing to sneeze at. I'd started having a small, sharp stabbing pain in my upper right quadrant of the left cheek of my butt (y'all with me so far?) but it was not all that bad. It would manifest itself mainly after I sat at the computer for a time then got up from the swivel chair.

Yesterday, however, the situation deteriorated! I spent the day building another dog house with a lot of bending, kneeling and squatting. Late yesterday afternoon I was in the shop talking to Chris as he was finishing a job when it felt like Blue Duck jobbed a lance in my butt! I almost went to the floor. Again, last night when I was taking my shower I tried to bend over and wash my feet and I thought I was going to take an Obama right there in the shower! I can't remember a pain that sharp in my entire life. I don't think I've ever had a toothache that hurt like that.

I'm better today, thank the Lord, but I'm going to see the quackopractor on Monday to see if he can do something. I pray you guys never have that problem.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
Mick

Took an Obama in the shower....that's some funny chit right there

Hope you start to feel better.

Don't carry a wallet or stuff in your back pocket Mickey, seriously.

Speedy recovery to You there Mick, got an old bud that relieves that SN pain with an inversion table, IIRC its called a Teeter hang up?

Mink, after You take another big obama, dont forget to wipe w/ a fresh biden

Gunner

I prefer Pelosi brand TP....thank you very much

It's a little tougher

Too bad it wasn't a toothache. I can help you with that. Come to think of it, a little Buffalo Trace might help?

Best Wishes and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well OK, I guess most any brand will work while sittin' on the holder

Gunner

I hope it works out for you Mickey. BTDT. My experience may or may not be relevant to your situation, but here goes anyhow. I went through bouts of severe sciatic pain for years, mostly unpredictable. The standard route my family doctor prescribed was physical therapy, supplemented by pain pills. I can't say for certain that neither helped, but there was no significant relief, and sciatic pain usually goes away after enough time, so who knows. Finally, after several years of this I pressed him to order a more definitive diagnosis, so he ordered x-rays and an MRI. Herniated disk. As luck would have it, there was a new neurosurgeon in town, who reviewed the tests and proposed minimally invasive surgery to clean out the disk area and relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve. Ten days after my doctor ordered the tests, I had the surgery. It provided instant relief from the sciatica, although I still have chronic lower back pain. At least it isn't the severe sharp pain of sciatica.

Moral of my story is that you may have to put some pressure on your doctors, and take charge in your own interest. You have to make the system work for you.

Good luck!

Paul

^
This

Mickey:

BTDT. Try to avoid surgery.

Chiro might help short-term. Exercise therapy may help long-term. Does for me, when I'm good about actually doing the exercises.

Good luck.

This past spring (36 years old and in fairly good shape) I started having major sciatica pain. Ended up being a herniated disk. My lower back didn't bother me all that bad, but for weeks it felt like I had a knife being stuck in my ass half the time.


Started to get better and I over did it a little bit and my left leg went partially numb along with the outside of my left foot.

Six months later my back is 90%, leg is fine for the most part but my left foot is still probably 20-25% numb. Doesn't tingle and if I don't think about it I barely notice it, but it's still there and is worrisome.

I tried a few back crackers, first one didn't do much. Had several massages, which seemed to help and some cute girl rubbing my ass wasn't so bad

Went to a different back cracker that came recommended by several horse friends and he got me walking straighter and I think helped out quite a bit. He didn't crack me, but had some technique for working out the knots so to speak.


Also bought an inversion table, which seemed to help. Gets hard on your ankles though, but overall was helpful.

Good Luck....

If surgery can be avoided, exercise and keeping the weight off is going to give a man the best results. Generally speaking.

It's the way to go post-surgery, too.

BTDT...still fighting it...have disk probs, bone spurs, crooked pelvis.... exercise your core(belly) muscles.
If I slack off for a coupla weeks it comes back...Strenghthen your stomach muscles...This works for me...Good luck!!!!



George

Glad it wasnt lower and to the right.

I do hope you recover soon.

i hear ya there Mickey. i went through this not too long ago, and i will not soon forget the pain associated with it. my chiro got me all straightened out.

God bless ya man. It happens to me about 4 times a year. In fact, I can almost hear it when she blows. There are preventative exercise's that help you to stay ahead of the threat. I'd take the pain over surgery any day as there no guarantees with surgery. And stay away from the steroids if at all possible.

Godspeed.

Switch sides of the bed with your wife. you are turning away from her in your sleep and are spending too much time sleeping on one side.

I've lived with constant Sciatic pain in my left leg for about 8 years. It's not always a level 10, but it's always there. I get it on the right side at times too, and that's when it's not so tolerable. I've had Lyme's for over 22 years, two herniated discs (L4 and L5). I suffered with cluster headaches from age 15 to 45, so all of this pain really don't compare to that agony. After a while, it becomes the new normal for you. I can't stay on the hounds tails during bear season any more, but I won't let it get me down. I do all I can every day, and that's all I can do. I'm just very happy that it aint happening to my wife or kids.

Hope you get it fixed, Mickey.

My friend, I wish I did not have a clue what your are talking about. With me it starts at my left butt cheek and ends at my toes.

There has been a lot of good advice. Stretching and exercise are your new friends. Sorry you are going through this.

That isn't the issue in this case.

Mickey,

It ain't for everyone, but I've gotten far more relief for sciatic pain from my acupuncture guy, than from my chiroquacktor.

Then again, you may not be exactly swimming in acupuncturists in Rachel's Glen...

Just a thought... I'll send prayers, too!

FC

It is for me. the pain starts in my spine beside my hip and numbs my left hip and leg it feels like a charlie horse and my toes curl up. sleeping on my R side reduces it by 90%.

I have the same shooting pain - I have also found the best pain killer for my own brand of spinal pain.

Unfortunately, the natural meds that I now use - are illegal where you live.

I've carried a wallet all my life and it's mostly empty now. Just a few cards in it. I carry my cash in my front pocket.

It's almost completely gone today. It's the first time I've ever had it this bad and have never had it up until a couple of months ago when I'd notice it when I got out of my swivel chair. We used to have an inverter table but it's been long gone.
Thanks for all your good words, guys.

That's the nice part about the healing process. It almost happens at once and just seems to pop right back into place. And what a relief that is for sure....

I had a bad case of it about 2 years ago. Couldn't even sit down or drive a car.

Went to the doctor for pain pills and muscle relaxor, neither did much good.

What helped (after about 3 weeks of living with this) was as soon as I got up in the morning, I laid on my back and had my wife stretch my legs as far back as I could stand, and then have her stretch them so more to where she was putting all her weight into it.

Hurt like heck but afterwards I was a new man. Did that for about 2 weeks and all was good. Only after effects I have is occasionally I'll get a crazy twitch in my leg and my legs cramp up easily.

L5 anterior rupture from my navy days. The term "Pain in the ass" is literal for 3-4 days a week. Isn't fun when I'm in the shower get bit in the butt and my whole right leg goes numb. Have had to send SOS to wife to bale me out more that a fer times. I'm doing everything that I can to ward off surgery. Just stopped FENTANYL Patches on Friday couldn't take the glue. Started long acting and quick acting Morphine also on Friday. Pain is mostly gone haven't had a PIA since then but the right leg has gone away twice. Just marking time by treating symptoms and not correcting the cause. For right now I'm OK with that but the day will come when I 'll have to talk to the sawbones.
Pete

Mickey - that stuff hurts - sometimes really bad. I AM NOT a doctor or an expert. In many cases such pain is related to being in one or more positions for prolonged periods - somewhat more complicated than that, but will have to do for now.

If it's still there - or happens again - try this if it does not hurt real bad to do so.

Get on the floor on your back, try to keep the leg straight and raise it as high as you can - and a bit higher - and higher until the stretch is exhausted. Do this several times - both legs.

Then, do the same lifts with the knee half bent. Then with knee fully bent.

Roll over onto your tummy and do reverse leg lifts the same ways, stretching foot up as far as you can without injury or sharp pain.

Turn on side - lift upper leg away from bottom leg as high as possible a few times. Roll to the other side and do the same.

This routine, repeated two or three times a day for a few days will chase the pain for me. I hope it does for you.

Happy Thanksgiving Mickey. And I can honestly say I feel your pain. What a bummer.

MC-

You probably should see your family doc who should get a MRI of your lumbar spine. You probably have a LS disc protrusion/herniation though there are other conditions which is why you need the MRI. Assuming its a disc, A lot of things can help including physical therapy, spinal manipulation (chiro's), medicines like gabapentin, NSAIDS, etc. And what I do--spinal injections including steroid epidurals, nerve root injections, facet joint injections, etc.

Disks can heal but never very fast if they do.

Ask your chiro about strengthening exercises.Specifically lunges.

Mine starts about belt high and radiates down through the buttocks and sometimes makes my right testicle hurt like hell.Comes sporadically but very often when I sit on a hard hard chair or surface for an extended period of time.Mickey is right in that there is no pain quite as sudden or breathtaking. powdr

That is very true.

Just remember to wipe your Biden.

I felt cripple from a similar problem 20 years ago. Some times I could lay on my back, shoulders flat, cross one leg over the other, twist like hell and pop it out. Came down a hill in n.m. backwards once since the hill was to my right rather than my left. I was going to get sx. but heard a back surgeon from the back institute in San Antonio. He said don't get sx if at all possible. That was one of the first clinics that had real success in reparing bad backs. I said he was crazy and didn't know what pain was, but started doing back exercises. After a month I was fine. I would lay on my back and flatten the lumbar to the floor or stand in a door frame a reach across and push against the other side and flatten the lumbar against the frame behind me. I would lay on my back and curl up in a ball on the floor and rock to and frow popping my spine and building strength of the muscles inside the lumbar area- think tenderloin rather than Backstrap muscles. Good luck. Oh yea, add tennis.