sciatica is kicking my ass

[midnight armadillo]

Damn you, compressed disc in my lower back and shitty, worn out mattress!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear midnight armadillo...

I'm so sorry, sweetie...

That just sucks, big time...

:hug:

[Tikki]

2. Been there...hell, I am there.....

So sorry...it is not what I would wish on anyone.

Hope tomorrow is a better day for you.


Tikki

[kentauros]

3. I'm so sorry to hear you going through that

:hug:

I've never felt such pain in my life, so I hope you either have good drugs or a good therapy to work on it. Mine went away with months of therapy, some supplements and plenty of hot soaking baths.

[elleng]

4. Exercises for you.

I do these, as necessary. Numbers 3 and 4. Recommended by doctor 30 years ago. They work.

http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/flexibilityexercises/ss/LowBackStretch_3.htm

http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/flexibilityexercises/ss/LowBackStretch_4.htm

ALSO, when you sit in chair, have bottom/butt as far back as possible; feet flat.


Walking up stairs, suck in gut, use THOSE muscles; don't 'throw' yourself forward.

Have muscle relaxer?

Sleep on your side. (And/or on the floor.)

Good Luck

[midnight armadillo]

7. thanks!

I will try those this morning! A PT had given me some back exercises to do a long time ago, I think I need to dig out those sheets of paper and try them again.

[elleng]

11. PLEASE do.

Sorry we keep passing eachother. Was thinking of you last night/this morning. In my experience exercise did it all (along with muscle relaxer.)

[dysfunctional press]

5. try an ibuprofen right at bedtime...

and if possible, replace the worn out mattress with a tempurpedic.

i have lived thru A LOT of sciatica.

[midnight armadillo]

8. Unfortunately a mattress isn't in the cards

It's actually my kid's futon. They share a room, and the 5.5 year old sleeps on a futon mattress on the floor (long story how this came about, but he loves it and it's a great spot for gymnastics, book reading, etc). When the 3 year old has trouble sleeping from a cold or whatever I'll co-sleep with him on the futon and everyone gets more sleep that way. This has been happening a lot recently as both kids have gotten sick, gotten better, repeat, oh, and now springtime allergies are starting. argh.

The futon is worn out too much for me, but not for the boys. Since we're hoping to buy a house any day now, dropping $500 on a cotton/wool mattress (to avoid chemical fumes causing problems with asthma) is just not in the cards. Maybe after closing.

I was going to bike to work today which makes my back feel much better but it's raining and I lack high-vis clothing. I will pop some ibuprofen and do those stretches!

[dysfunctional press]

9. before we had the tmpurpedic, we tried a lot of combinations...

the one that seemed to work best, for back comfort/support was when we put the futon on top of the regular box spring and mattress.
i have a severely painful spinal condition- ankylosing spondylitis, and my life revolves around and involves just about every kind of back imaginable- so finding a suitable bed was a very high priority. we don't have kids tho, which makes things that much easier all around.
but- i do know what it's like to be waiting for a closing...we're in the process of re-financing our house, including taking a bit out to pay off all the outstanding credit card balances and other remaining bills- all of our docs have been submitted- and right now everything is sort of on auto-pilot until we actually close, and there's no discretionary spending until after that point.

do you already have a house decided upon, or are you still looking? good luck with the home purchase, and with getting your back back in order. :hi:

[yellowdogintexas]

10. sleep or rest on back with knees propped up by pillows

see the MD for some muscle relaxants. I resisted them until finally she said we just have to do these full board. So I did for about 5 weeks and the acute spasm finally relaxed. Then she put me on a walking program. I have been pain free for 2 years.

Also, if you are a short person, get a footrest for your office chair,or get a chair that has a shorter seat pad. It is important that the seat not cut off your circulation and that it allows you to sit comfortably with your back against the seatback. I have a very difficult time finding chairs that I can sit in comfortably due to short legs.


Also, the ultimate non allergenic bed is a water bed.

[XemaSab]

6. +1

x(

[darkstar]

12. It's no fun.

I have it too. It's moved from annoyance to out and out drag. It's with me all night. No solid sleep ever. I swim. I stretch gently, focus in on the hamstring and lower back stuff you find on-line, etc.

Just thought I'd commiserate. Sorry it's on to you too.

[mykpart]

13. I'm so sorry. I understand your pain.

There's nothing like sciatica. I was in the hospital years ago for open heart surgery, and the crappy hospital bed gave me sciatica. The pain in my hip radiating down my leg was worse than the pain from having my chest sawed open! Take whatever drugs you can get to ease the pain, and soak in a hot bath. Poor baby. :cry:

[kedrys]

14. Lightning bolts down my right leg, check

Shitty worn out mattress, check check.

Sucks, doesn't it. :hug: :pals:

[no name no slogan]

15. Could be worse. It could be Metallica kicking your ass

Seriously, take care of yourself and hope you feel better soon. :)