Sorry to hear you've joined the club of extreme discomfort.Salix has a new friend. Sciatic nerve pain.
While I can separate myself from the pain on occasion, I struggle with it in regular temporal daily activities such as sitting, driving, and sleeping. While musculo-skeletal pain is an old friend that I've learned to deal with, nerve pain is a new experience.
If you live with chronic nerve pain, how do you do so?
You'll probably have to try a bunch of different things to find what works for you. Any sorts of drugs or supplements may or may not help a given person, depending on genetics, etc.
A couple of years ago I had some genetic screening done to help determine which drugs MIGHT work on me (for example, Fetzima, which didn't, but at least it didn't try to kill me), and which ones (for example, Prozac) will likely give side effects or prove fatal...
Exercise, diet, ergonomic furniture etc., are all good ideas. And ice. Massage can also help. And some of the other things people have suggested already.