Chronic Pain

[beenherebeforeagain]

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?

Sorry to hear you've joined the club of extreme discomfort.

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.

 

[sun rise]

Hope things get better for you Scott.

According to WebMD, "80%-90% of people with sciatic nerve pain get better within a few weeks".
Slideshow: How to Ease Sciatic Nerve Pain

There's some other (what looks like) useful information in the article, cooberated by the Mayo clinic website: Sciatica - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic

Something I've realized over the course of dealing with my own recent health issues is that it's never a good idea to put too much faith in doctors, especially in any one health professional. Nobody is going to care about your recovery as much as you do, so it's a really important to do your own research, explore options your doctor might not of mentioned to you and mention them to him/her.

It may be months before I'm fully recovered from this last surgery, and if I hadn't come up with a way to deal with some of the after-effects on my own; that is if I had settled for the options I was being presented with by my doctor and the nursing staff at the hospital, my day to day life would be a much bigger ***** then it is now.

I second that recommendation.

 

[Skwim]

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My sister has sciatic pain and swears by pot---edible form---as great reliever. Hope it's available in your area.


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[Subduction Zone]

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My sister has sciatic pain and swears by pot---edible form---as great reliever. Hope it's available in your area.


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One note, since sciatic pain tends to go away on its own most of the time there are going to be a lot of false positives as far as cures go. This is why we have done a disservice to the field of medicine by not allowing any significant research into the medical applications of marijuana. It may be the cure all that so many claim it to be, or it may be just people giving pot credit that it does not deserve. Until medical studies are done we have no way of knowing.

 

[Skwim]

One note, since sciatic pain tends to go away on its own most of the time there are going to be a lot of false positives as far as cures go. This is why we have done a disservice to the field of medicine by not allowing any significant research into the medical applications of marijuana. It may be the cure all that so many claim it to be, or it may be just people giving pot credit that it does not deserve. Until medical studies are done we have no way of knowing.

She's had it for just about a month, which is a bit longer than normal she said, And fortunately research into the the efficacy and potential of marijuana is off and running. Right now in the United States there are at least 259 trials involving marijuana in some aspect or another.

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[Shadow Wolf]

explore options your doctor might not of mentioned to you and mention them to him/her.

Has that ever actually worked for you? In my experience it's just gotten me ignored, even went from my primary care who said it sounds like I might have bipolar 2 straight to my mental health care providers, told them what my doctor said, and nothing happened. Nothing has ever been done for my insomnia either, nor my mind running a million miles an hour and jumping thoughts here-and-there, and just trying to get someone to talk to me about Asperger's like trying to pull the teeth of someone who is deathly afraid of the dentist.

 

[Subduction Zone]

She's had it for just about a month, which is a bit longer than normal she said, And fortunately research into the the efficacy and potential of marijuana is off and running. Right now in the United States there are at least 259 trials involving marijuana in some aspect or another.

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And it is about time. For the studies. And my best wishes for your sister (the freaking pothead). No seriously I do know that pot can be used by some successfully for all sorts of treatments. It may be a strong placebo effect, it may be real. If it works and it does no other real harm, and I see very little real harm from marijuana, then more power to them.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

I 'popped' my spine about a year and a half ago

I swallowed 10,000 mgs of aspirin that first 8hrs
(not all in one dose)

but I am a black belt
and understanding what I did......Stretch……!!!!!

lay to your back a lift your knees.....by hand.....to your chest and hold it
then relax

as time goes by change that gesture
SEEK the range of movement you wish to regain

stretch to that direction.....GENTLY
I do not advise spinal manipulation
other than your own range of ability and will

I do that same procedure for my lower back pain. It really helps! And quickly! 10 reps of about 5 secs each. Both legs. (So 20 reps, altogether.)

 

[Howard Is]

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?

I was in exactly that position when I hit my early 50s.
I was in nearly constant pain, trying to tie my shoelaces was a horror show, couldn’t sit comfortably in a chair, the whole routine.

I took up yoga. One year later I could sit comfortably in full lotus. As long as I maintain a yoga practice, I don’t experience sciatic nerve related pain.

Caveat - don’t do forward bends. Spinal flexion exacerbates the pinching of the nerve between the lumbar vertebrae. Spinal extension on the other hand helps.

 

[Thief]

I do that same procedure for my lower back pain. It really helps! And quickly! 10 reps of about 5 secs each. Both legs. (So 20 reps, altogether.)

my 'little incident' put me to limping like a little old man
40days

I happen to BE a little old man.....but....
I don't want to carry myself as my coworkers do
They sway and toddle
they creep
they almost drag one leg behind the other

when I popped the lumbar....I knew immediately that nerve and surrounding tissue
would swell and stiffen

they did

and DO NOT follow me word for word
10,000mg of aspirin was desperation on my part

ever see a black belt cry?

you missed it

 

[Shadow Wolf]

One note, since sciatic pain tends to go away on its own most of the time there are going to be a lot of false positives as far as cures go. This is why we have done a disservice to the field of medicine by not allowing any significant research into the medical applications of marijuana. It may be the cure all that so many claim it to be, or it may be just people giving pot credit that it does not deserve. Until medical studies are done we have no way of knowing.

It has been found to be mostly over hyped. It does indeed help with some things, but it's not a super miracle cure all many want to believe.

 

[Thief]

there is of course a lot more to note ...but in a nutshell....

your immediate method of movement trains your muscles, tendons, ligament, AND nerves

then comes the movement outside your routine
the uncoordinated flex is what does the harm

as a black belt I trained for kata......it's needful
fighting will flex your effort into soooooo many contortions

and if I had stuck to my training in my old age
that 'little incident' might not have happened

 

[Thief]

it's not a super miracle cure all many want to believe.

true

years ago a friend of mine took up the habit....more than most
and he noted ….it's not a cure for what ails you

you are simply more tolerant

 

[Shadow Wolf]

years ago a friend of mine took up the habit....more than most
and he noted ….it's not a cure for what ails you

I won't say it's not always a cure. Most people insist it will help me with my IBS and I have to insist if it does it's a result of it helping with other things, such as my anxiety. It doesn't really help my knee pains, but it helps to make it more tolerable on the mind. And post surgery I won't touch it because it seems to make my body very acutely aware of the surgical site and the pain becomes sharp, stabbing, maybe even intense but it's been awhile (once was enough). That's from smoking. Edibles do seem to give me the best overall medical benefits, as I seem to be unable to get high on them but relief is overall much better, including pain relief, and it's absolutely great for my insomnia and easily disturbed sleep. Either method basically makes it easier for me to "take the reigns" of my mind and hit some breaks, but not as well as actual medication for that.
BUT, if I have a bit of anxiety built up that I haven't addressed and worked towards resolving I will have a very nasty anxiety attack as it all comes out in one moment.

 

[Subduction Zone]

there is of course a lot more to note ...but in a nutshell....

your immediate method of movement trains your muscles, tendons, ligament, AND nerves

then comes the movement outside your routine
the uncoordinated flex is what does the harm

as a black belt I trained for kata......it's needful
fighting will flex your effort into soooooo many contortions

and if I had stuck to my training in my old age
that 'little incident' might not have happened

Off topic but what style? I ask because in JKA I earned my NIdan and in Sh1toryu (sorry for the cute spelling but the autocensor does not like it spelled properly) I earned a shodan.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Prednisone is good stuff. But it is a steroid that they cannot prescribe indefinitely. I wish you the best of luck. Is there physical therapy that will help? Better to fix the cause of at all possible.

Yes. I've been to physical therapy twice this week...Wednesday and Friday. They have me doing backward bends such as what is known in hatha yoga as cobra pose and have me doing this vertically as well with my hips against a counter top.

They are also pressing on vertebrae and putting me on equipment that stretches the back. The prednisone is a 5 day regimen of 50mg per day.

 

[SalixIncendium]

.


My sister has sciatic pain and swears by pot---edible form---as great reliever. Hope it's available in your area.


.

Available, yes, but I'm not sure that's a viable option at this point. Possibility of drug tests at work and all that.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Has that ever actually worked for you? In my experience it's just gotten me ignored, even went from my primary care who said it sounds like I might have bipolar 2 straight to my mental health care providers, told them what my doctor said, and nothing happened. Nothing has ever been done for my insomnia either, nor my mind running a million miles an hour and jumping thoughts here-and-there, and just trying to get someone to talk to me about Asperger's like trying to pull the teeth of someone who is deathly afraid of the dentist.

It helped with my daughter while she was being treated for cancer. As a result of the pain killers she suffered from chronic constipation, and the doctors prescribed medicine that would either be ineffective or over-correct the issue. In doing research, I was able to get the perfect blend of psyllium and casgara sagrada, and later, added senna, which I convinced the doctor's to allow me to administer. She became regular and from that day forward, I was kind of in charge of managing her digestive tract.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I was in exactly that position when I hit my early 50s.
I was in nearly constant pain, trying to tie my shoelaces was a horror show, couldn’t sit comfortably in a chair, the whole routine.

I took up yoga. One year later I could sit comfortably in full lotus. As long as I maintain a yoga practice, I don’t experience sciatic nerve related pain.

Caveat - don’t do forward bends. Spinal flexion exacerbates the pinching of the nerve between the lumbar vertebrae. Spinal extension on the other hand helps.

I used to practice hatha yoga daily and sometimes twice daily, but got away from it due to time constraints, arthritis, and frustration with my flexibility not improving. The physical therapist does have me doing similar exercises, so I'll probably work toward getting back into it.

 

[Howard Is]

If you live with chronic nerve pain, how do you do so?

The best treatment for nerve pain is preventing the nerve from chronically firing.
The only way to do that is to relieve the pressure on the nerve.
As I mentioned, yoga did it for me, but I should add that building core strength, and particularly strength in the erector spinae and related muscles which support the spine, is essential for holding the spine in an optimal position.

I could give you a list of helpful asanas if you would like.