Sciatica and back pain

[ols1932]

Just had a second epidural injection of steroidal medication in my back to relieve the pain in my lower back. It is wonderful to walk without that constant, nagging pain. It seems that as we age, arthritis causes narrowing of the spinal canal where all the nerves run and the sciatic nerve gets "squeezed" (my terms) and causes the pain. The epidural causes the inflammation to decrease and the pain goes away. It's not a permanent fix, it lasts only about 3-4 months. When it gets too bad, where the injections will not work as well, they can do a small surgical procedure where they insert a steel pin between the two vertebrae that are squeezing the sciatic nerve. This has been shown to be a good fix. A friend of ours eventually had to have it done.

Orv

[bncinwv]

Orv,
I am in the same boat, but the steroidal injections no longer work (the end result after four injections, was a semi-numb leg which is where most of my pain was, along with lower back). Mine is from a herniated disk but I definitely sympathize with you. I have been shying away from surgery, mainly because of my age (47) and have merely been living with it. Long drives are the worst (yesterday 8 hours back to Myrtle) and it takes a good day to get over the results. BTW, the best thing we ever did was the memory foam topper for the bed, it definitely helps. Hoping and praying for a healing touch for all of us with afflictions.
Bingo

[boylanag]

Carol had the same type of problems that were continually being treated with drugs and tghe injections. The pain did not stop and was finally diagnosed with a herniated disc, like Bingo. She had the surgery and, while still in recovery, said that she was only sorry that she did not have it done sooner. The relief was instant, after the surgery. She was up and about in a very short time. That is why, though, we got the air pin on the Monty. The ride was just giving her too much aggrivation and now is fine. This post is to show that there is a possibility of hope. Also, Bingo, she was older than you are when she had the surgery.

[ols1932]

In my case, as long as the injections work, they want to continue with them due to the risk of surgery. I had two injections last year about this same time, two weeks apart (this year they were four weeks apart) and the pain was gone for almost six months. Yes, sometimes the injections don't work. My sister suffers the same way. Her second injection caused her to retain water and she has more pain now than before. My niece, her daughter is a Medical Doctor and she is presently communicating with the people who gave my sister the injections to see if they can resolve the problem.

Orv

[Dustytuu]

Ove hope you are feeling better soon. All of you that are suffering from back pain.
My son has terrible back pain from an old injury. So I know what you all are going through.

[simonsrf]

Orv and Ozz and anyone else,

My two sons, my brother and I all suffer from bad back genes.

We use a preventative approach to very similar problems you both expressed. We use this inversion table. I am just sorry that I can't carry it all the time in the RV, so, I leave it at my brothers house....and use it at much as possible when there.

We all get immediate relief, and the more we use this, the longer the siadica pinch stays away...

http://tinyurl.com/2gz5qn

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by simonsrf

Orv and Ozz and anyone else,

My two sons, my brother and I all suffer from bad back genes.

We use a preventative approach to very similar problems you both expressed. We use this inversion table. I am just sorry that I can't carry it all the time in the RV, so, I leave it at my brothers house....and use it at much as possible when there.

We all get immediate relief, and the more we use this, the longer the siadica pinch stays away...

http://tinyurl.com/2gz5qn

Looks really good. However in my case, doctors have tried this on me with zero results. On top of that, being full time on the road prohibits carrying something like that around. Thanks for the response.

Orv

[txkrumm]

Steve injured his back the summer of 2002. He herniated the discs at L4-L5 picking up large cinderblocks. He said he heard and felt it "pop" and the pain felt like a shotgun blast in his lower back.
Well, we struggled through rest, ice, oral steroids, Physical Therapy, Ibuprofen, Vicodin and all that for over 4 years. He always had the pain behind his calf with numbness and tingling radiating down to the outer portion of his foot and pinkie toe. Sometimes he would have a flare up and it would put him in the bed for a week. Well, after driving from Montana to Tennessee to pick up the Monty, it flared real good. That precipitated the epidural shot of cortisone. Pain relief lasted one week.
So we decided since he was taking the year off to be with me in CA, we started looking for surgeons. He was operated on at Cedars Sinai last December. He woke up and never had any pain from the surgery; didn't take a single pain pill. He also has been a new man; Pain free since. No numbness, tingling, or pain behind his calf. Completely better.
Surgery can be the cure. Make sure you have a good surgeonD do your homework. I prefer a neurosurgeon instead of an orthopedic doc but that is just my opinion. Steve's surgeon was the head of neurosurgery at Cedars and came highly recommended from all my medical collegues. It has really changed his life.
Good luck!
tara