Problem. Sciatic nerve, lower back. First available visit to a surgeon is 27 March '17.
Constant pain in my back and legs. Can't sleep, sit, walk or stand without pain.
Go to a doctor, and more pills, which I don't really want to take.
Then there's this "Bio-Healing Bracelet". like so many other "magic" products, it claims to be effective.
$54.oo. incl. P/P. Any ideas, or results from GNs. Please advise.
Regards.
Pipes
aussie_paul said
05:58 PM Nov 1, 2016
pipes wrote:
Problem. Sciatic nerve, lower back. First available visit to a surgeon is 27 March '17.
Constant pain in my back and legs. Can't sleep, sit, walk or stand without pain.
Go to a doctor, and more pills, which I don't really want to take.
Then there's this "Bio-Healing Bracelet". like so many other "magic" products, it claims to be effective.
$54.oo. incl. P/P. Any ideas, or results from GNs. Please advise.
Regards.
Pipes
IMHO, not if there is pressure on the sciatic nerve Pipes.
Aussie Paul.
pipes said
06:55 PM Nov 1, 2016
Thanks, Paul.
iana said
08:53 PM Nov 1, 2016
Hello Pipes, sorry to hear of your woes, but if I may make a suggestion, we have an electronic acupuncture machine. Had some pretty amazing results from it. You may want to look it up on the web and have a read.
-- Edited by iana on Tuesday 1st of November 2016 08:56:38 PM
PeterD said
04:00 PM Nov 2, 2016
Placebos work on some people.
iana said
08:39 PM Nov 2, 2016
Best you try some!
-- Edited by iana on Wednesday 2nd of November 2016 08:41:21 PM
Joe50 said
02:36 AM Nov 4, 2016
Ah, but how would you know if they were real placebos - or just ...... er .... um ...... substitutes?
Aus-Kiwi said
11:58 AM Nov 4, 2016
How they work . Is if you have your wallet in back pocket ? Taking money out of it makes the sitting / posture position better .
Peterpan said
04:07 PM Nov 5, 2016
G'Day Pipes,
Just as a matter of interest has your Dr. investigated the use of Cortisone Tablets?
My physio has suggested to the Dr. that it would be beneficial for me to go down that track instead of injections.
Like you I can't sit , lie, or stand for any great length of time. I don't think mine is as serious as yours though. It appears that L2,L3,L4, are free
of neural problems and L5 is touching on the S1 root, not pinching it,just annoying it(and me). I have 4 more days & nights of limited sleep
before the Dr. says go for it.
I hope that you can find some relief shortly.
A Grumpy Peterpan
-- Edited by Peterpan on Saturday 5th of November 2016 04:08:34 PM
Aus-Kiwi said
10:18 AM Nov 6, 2016
Cortisone is not good for your cartilage . Long term . IMO it would be best injecting into pain area .. Although to get it in right spot .. Often it's best done with scan to get location ..
Peterpan said
12:37 PM Nov 6, 2016
Thanks Aus-Kiwi,
The Physio stipulated high dose for 1 week. She also mentioned the injections and was worried about missing the right spot and then needing a 2nd go. That made two of us.
Peterpan.
iana said
02:25 PM Nov 6, 2016
I had a Google and there were quite a few articles on the subject. "electro acupuncture for sciatica" have a read.
Peterpan said
04:21 PM Nov 6, 2016
Thanks iana,
Looks quite interesting,so I'll check it out further.
Peterpan.
iana said
07:26 PM Nov 6, 2016
The reason I brought this up, is that we have a "electronic acupuncture" device, brought many years ago. And of the limited use I have had it used on me, as I am the worst sceptic around, it seemed to work. And it is uncanny the way it finds the medians. My wife who was in the medical trade, also dabbled with acupuncture.
sufil said
09:33 AM Nov 7, 2016
Sciatica pain is the pits!! There are lots of exercises you can do as well. Try a physio and see if he/she can help.. might be enough to alleviate some of the pain. You can get free visits authorised by your GP.
Aus-Kiwi said
11:45 AM Nov 7, 2016
I was told to squat two or three times a day . It has helped . Not gone away . But rest and exercise seems they around this type of damage . Seems to promote fluid movement around the area ? As we get a LITTLE older this is one exercise we don't do .
Peterpan said
02:29 PM Nov 7, 2016
G'Day,
Mine has transferred itself to my left foot,I can hold the foot firmly with my hand and only have minimal pain. However if a towell or light touch of anything touches the instep, agony....am now doing some hydrotherapy which includes squats, heel raises and walking. Now the latest problem, which is heaps more important than mine, SWMBO has a tumour in the top of her leg, she had an ultra sound yesterday and they said it was an unusual lump 42mm by 19mm. Now referred to a specialist to see if a biopsy is required. Age related problems are interesting are they not.
Peterpan
Sorry Pipes didn't mean to hijack your posts.
kandagal said
08:27 PM Nov 9, 2016
Hope the tumour turns out to be benign & causes no trouble Regards Alice
Peterpan said
08:34 AM Nov 10, 2016
Thanks Alice,
Specialist says he thinks that its not a bad tumour, but it will have to come out. He requires an MRI to see what it is attached to, but his thoughts are that it's not going to be a problem.
Peterpan.
Phil C said
11:55 AM Dec 10, 2016
sufil wrote:
Sciatica pain is the pits!! There are lots of exercises you can do as well. Try a physio and see if he/she can help.. might be enough to alleviate some of the pain. You can get free visits authorised by your GP.
Gday all,
I had what we (the quacks and myself) thought was sciatica. After some further investigation it was discovered I have bursitis. After an ultrasound and injection of steroids all well. Maybe some have been misdiagnosed.
Also dry needling may help.
Just a thought
Aus-Kiwi said
01:05 PM Dec 10, 2016
Things are happening with stem cell injections . It's the process of getting them . Some from blood some from fat . My brother in US has had one injection in his knee and cartilage has regrown in joint .. I think actual damage ( mechanical ) can only be sorted with opperation though ??Time will tell ? Which we don't all have !!
erad said
10:07 AM Dec 27, 2016
I hace severe arthritis in 5 joints in my lower back. I went to a pain specialist in Canberra and he started treatment by injecting anaesethic into selective joints - one at a time to see which gave the best response. on about the seventh visit, I was in such agony that I couldn't lie still on the table. I think he got the message that I was not comfortable. He injected steroids into several joints. As I walked out, I said to my wife "Well that was a waste of time. No reduction in pain at all. The next day, things were a bit better. The next day, even better. After a week or so, I could not feel my back at all. Awesome.
This lasted about 4 years for me. Other people get no repsonse at all. Eventually the pain came back and he started the whole process over again but to no avail. He eventually suggested the electronic pain blocker to be installed above the pain areas. Apart from the cost, the idea of tapping into my spinal column scared me so much that the pain has almost gone now! I take Condritin and Glucosamine capsules each day. I also have a range of toys to help when things get bad. The most effective is an electric heat pad - like a small electric blanket. Plug that in and put it on my back or my knees (whichever is bitching at the time) and it helps. The pain doesn't go away totally but is bearable.
I also have a Saunders Lumbar Spine stretcher. This was recommended by my local physiotherapist. It is a device which comes in a suitcase about 700 mm square by 150 mm thick. Two parts - part A and part B. Each has 3 nylon webbing straps. You strap yourself in - part A you strap over your rib cage, part B over your pelvis. There is a small bicycle pump and 2 pneumatic cylinders and you pump away. Part B moves away from part A. A sort of pneumatic torture rack, except that you control the force applied. Maximum force is about 100 lbs so you are not going to rip apart. Recommended procedure is to load up, slacken it off, load up, slack off etc, repeating about 10 times. I have found that when I strap myself in and load up, almost immediately I drop off to sleep, and don't wake up for at least 40 minutes. It certainly gives relief, but not permanent elimination of the problem. I rarely use it these days, but when I need it, it works well for me. The biggest problem is getting out of it without twisting your back and starting the whole pain process over again.
There is also a device in which you hand upside down. I don't have this, but I reckon it would be worth a try as well. Anything to stretch your spine out and take the load off the joints.
jules47 said
11:16 PM Dec 27, 2016
My son has medium curvature of the spine, and he is a truck driver. Few years ago the truck he was driving had seats with no padding no comfort at all, he purchased one of the hang upside down things, and got almost immediate relief, he used it every working day until he got a better truck with a fantastic seat. He still has it, I think, just in case.
Aus-Kiwi said
09:38 AM Dec 29, 2016
Yes traction on table can do the same .
jab160 said
07:47 AM Jan 7, 2017
Google "Gelatine"........cooking product. Natural ingredients, hearing folks are having great success with joint pain especially. Takes some mths for relief to occur, but it does. Am hearing it rebuilds ( helps ) joint cartilage problems..............just sayin
Problem. Sciatic nerve, lower back. First available visit to a surgeon is 27 March '17.
Constant pain in my back and legs. Can't sleep, sit, walk or stand without pain.
Go to a doctor, and more pills, which I don't really want to take.
Then there's this "Bio-Healing Bracelet". like so many other "magic" products, it claims to be effective.
$54.oo. incl. P/P. Any ideas, or results from GNs. Please advise.
Regards.
Pipes
IMHO, not if there is pressure on the sciatic nerve Pipes.
Aussie Paul.
Hello Pipes, sorry to hear of your woes, but if I may make a suggestion, we have an electronic acupuncture machine. Had some pretty amazing results from it. You may want to look it up on the web and have a read.
-- Edited by iana on Tuesday 1st of November 2016 08:56:38 PM
Best you try some!
-- Edited by iana on Wednesday 2nd of November 2016 08:41:21 PM
G'Day Pipes,
Just as a matter of interest has your Dr. investigated the use of Cortisone Tablets?
My physio has suggested to the Dr. that it would be beneficial for me to go down that track instead of injections.
Like you I can't sit , lie, or stand for any great length of time. I don't think mine is as serious as yours though. It appears that L2,L3,L4, are free
of neural problems and L5 is touching on the S1 root, not pinching it,just annoying it(and me). I have 4 more days & nights of limited sleep
before the Dr. says go for it.
I hope that you can find some relief shortly.
A Grumpy Peterpan
-- Edited by Peterpan on Saturday 5th of November 2016 04:08:34 PM
Thanks Aus-Kiwi,
The Physio stipulated high dose for 1 week. She also mentioned the injections and was worried about missing the right spot and then needing a 2nd go. That made two of us.
Peterpan.
Thanks iana,
Looks quite interesting,so I'll check it out further.
Peterpan.
G'Day,
Mine has transferred itself to my left foot,I can hold the foot firmly with my hand and only have minimal pain. However if a towell or light touch of anything touches the instep, agony....am now doing some hydrotherapy which includes squats, heel raises and walking. Now the latest problem, which is heaps more important than mine, SWMBO has a tumour in the top of her leg, she had an ultra sound yesterday and they said it was an unusual lump 42mm by 19mm. Now referred to a specialist to see if a biopsy is required. Age related problems are interesting are they not.
Peterpan
Sorry Pipes didn't mean to hijack your posts.
Thanks Alice,
Specialist says he thinks that its not a bad tumour, but it will have to come out. He requires an MRI to see what it is attached to, but his thoughts are that it's not going to be a problem.
Peterpan.
Gday all,
I had what we (the quacks and myself) thought was sciatica. After some further investigation it was discovered I have bursitis. After an ultrasound and injection of steroids all well. Maybe some have been misdiagnosed.
Also dry needling may help.
Just a thought
This lasted about 4 years for me. Other people get no repsonse at all. Eventually the pain came back and he started the whole process over again but to no avail. He eventually suggested the electronic pain blocker to be installed above the pain areas. Apart from the cost, the idea of tapping into my spinal column scared me so much that the pain has almost gone now! I take Condritin and Glucosamine capsules each day. I also have a range of toys to help when things get bad. The most effective is an electric heat pad - like a small electric blanket. Plug that in and put it on my back or my knees (whichever is bitching at the time) and it helps. The pain doesn't go away totally but is bearable.
I also have a Saunders Lumbar Spine stretcher. This was recommended by my local physiotherapist. It is a device which comes in a suitcase about 700 mm square by 150 mm thick. Two parts - part A and part B. Each has 3 nylon webbing straps. You strap yourself in - part A you strap over your rib cage, part B over your pelvis. There is a small bicycle pump and 2 pneumatic cylinders and you pump away. Part B moves away from part A. A sort of pneumatic torture rack, except that you control the force applied. Maximum force is about 100 lbs so you are not going to rip apart. Recommended procedure is to load up, slacken it off, load up, slack off etc, repeating about 10 times. I have found that when I strap myself in and load up, almost immediately I drop off to sleep, and don't wake up for at least 40 minutes. It certainly gives relief, but not permanent elimination of the problem. I rarely use it these days, but when I need it, it works well for me. The biggest problem is getting out of it without twisting your back and starting the whole pain process over again.
There is also a device in which you hand upside down. I don't have this, but I reckon it would be worth a try as well. Anything to stretch your spine out and take the load off the joints.