I'm suffering from sciatica on my left side. Started last October. PT helped releive it. Last month It hit me again and hard. I have been off work for 3 weeks now and am doing PT again. I can't even cut my grass much ride my bike. Anyone that has sciatica, how do you deal with the pain and are you able to ride at all? I miss riding more than anything. I'm going to the doc again Monday to see whatelse can be done. Thanks.

 

Rick,
Sorry to hear that, hang in there and hopefully you will get some relief soon. I can't give you any advice, but it sounds very painful. Just wanted to let you know that I was sorry to hear about the pain you are experiencing.
b

 

I feel for ya. I used toget sciatica every now and then on my right side. I'd go for weeks w/o being able to straighten my right leg and couldn't drive the work truck because I couldn't depress the clutch pedal with my left leg.
I finally found a good D.O. that fixed it. Haven't had it flare up in thefour years I've been riding, and hope it doesn't come back'cause the doc that fixed me isn't around anymore. Don't know if I could ride if it did come back, but I'd sure as hell try. If I couldn't.... well, I dunno what I'd do.

Good luck to ya, and hope you get better soon.

 

I lived with a bad case of it for 3 years. Took upwards of 16 Advil/day for that whole time. Funny thing was that the only time it wasn't excruciating was when I was on a horse. Then one night in the middle of sleep the two discs in my back that were causing it ruptured! Pain like you'll never know. Took me 9 hours to get to a hospital, then three days in traction before surgery. 6 weeks after surgery I was good as new. Get an MRI done by a neurologist if it gets bad to see if you've got a disc problem. And pray one doesn't rupture.

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Mine was fixed with surgery. Like 666Glide said it hurt like hell. The second I woke up from the surgery, I already felt better. I still get it a bit, but compared to before, now it's just annoying.

 

Here's my story: I'm 58, 205, short and stocky. I had been experiencing some mild and infrequent (once every month or so) sciatic pain for several years. When the pain occurred, it would hit me for several hours at a time, and last for a day and a half. On a scale of 1 to 10, where the most severe pain is a 10 and barely noticable soreness is a 1, I would place the pain at 5 or 6. Several months ago, however, I had a much more severe attack, with pain at the 10 level which lasted for 2-3 days. I had trouble sleeping and walking. I made an emegency visit to my regular physician, and he gave me someanti-inflammation drug, which helped reduce the pain to about a 7 or 8. After a week on that drug, the pain was now intermittent, but when it hit, it was very uncomfortable. Advil (ibuprofen) seemed to help somewhat. However, I didn't want to take ibuprofen constantly, so I started to look at other alternatives. I finally ended up trying a chiropractor. I was slightly skeptical of chiropractors, but I talked to 7 or 8 people at work who'd had similar problems, and every one of them saidchiropractic had helped them. So I figured I'd give it a try. The chiropractorI saw took an xray and said I had a herniated disc, L4-5. He put me on a regimen of lower back exercises and regular treatment (which invloves heat, traction and adjustments). I did the exercises each day and I visited the chiropractor 2-3 times per week. Inside of a week, the pain had become very infrequent and was only at a level 4 or 5. (This scale is my own scale of pain relativity, but it should give you an idea of how I've progressed.) After a couple of weeks, the discomfort had been reduced to 2 or 3, and I'd notice it only once every 2 or 3 days for maybe an hour or so. I bought a Back-Aline back brace and wear it when I ride. After a month, there was no more pain, maybe some occasional soreness (level 1 or 2) which appeared for only an hour or so. It's now been about 10 weeks since the onset of the heavy attacks, and I've been pain-free for at least a month. I've taken two week-longvacations in the past 6 weeks, where the primary activity is riding for 3-5 hours a day, and I've experienced no recurrance of the back pain. I'm still doing the exercises daily, and I see the chiropractor twice a week. Since I had so much success with the treatments for the sciatica, I've asked him to tackle some shoulder pain I've been living with for 4 or 5 years.

So chiropractic worked for me. You might want to consider it as an alternative. Just as in the medical profession, some chiropractors are better than others. I got a good one.

 

I've been struggling with lower back degenerated disks for several years. I have two bulging disks at L4 and L5. In February I had two epidural injections done by a pain clinic doc. Instant relief and I had 80% improvement in how I felt. Was able to gain full mobility with my legs and could stand/walk without pain again. For me, I didn't experience pain while riding or sitting, it was only while standing/walking. It all depends where the injury is. Mine is moretowards the back of the vertibra which when I stand pinches thevertibra onto the nerve. The disk is actually depressed flat. One of the down sides of being 6' 5" tall. The epidural/steroid injection takes the inflamation away which allows the area to heal. I've spoken to many who have had this done with years of pain free mobility again. You may want to ask your doc about this procedure prior to letting someone operate. Leave surgery as a last resort. The epidural is a piece of cake to go thru......it's an outpatient procedure and they do give you a mild anesthesia to put you semi out while they inject you. Your walking out of the facility after an hour and a half and you feel great again. Hope this helps.

 

My problem is in my neck. I have a bone spur that occasionally irritates the nerve to my right arm. When it does, it's the worst pain I've felt. Now I'll admit I've led a fairly charmed life as far as pain goes, but this is the worst. I couldn't sleep more than a couple of hours at a time on a good night. Over-the-counter pain meds had no effect whatsoever.

I tried physical therapy for a couple of weeks and then a chiropractor, but neither helped. Finally an MD prescribed me a Prednisone dose-pack. It's a steroid that you take over a five-day period: 5 pills the first day, four the next, then 3, 2, 1...Anyway it worked wonders for me. Brought the inflammation of the nerve down almost immediately. After I was sure that it was 'healed' I started working out with free weights and I haven't had a recurrence in five years since.

 

I've had it off & on for several years but nowhere near as severe as some ofyou guys. Just very painful and aggravating. I just live with it for a week or so until it goes away. If I had it for months at a time like some of you,I'd probably put a bullet through my head.

 

They can do targeted injections between the disks casuing problems. Usually a series of 3 injections a month or two apart. My wife had to have these yearly for a few years. Now she is down to a series every couple of years. Made a great difference in her back and leg pain.