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Bad pain on left side that usually originates in the middle of left buttcheek and goes down my leg.
What do you guys recommend as best? Ibuprofen? Aleve? Something I can buy at the store.
Also... what do you recommend as a great regimen for someone who stands a lot of the day at work in one spot? A heatwrap and a certain kind of medication? A cold wrap?
I feel ya man. I just am now starting to get over some severe sciatica myself that was absolutely crippling due to 3 herniated discs pinching spinal nerves. Aleve didnt do much. Your best bet is to go to the doc and get prescription meds. I did get a little relief with tramdol combined with high doses of aleve. The The problem with nsaids though is potential cardiac toxicity and kidney damage as well as GI bleeding with long term and high dose usage. Im on steroids now and got a spinal spinal injection. Overall though I think the main thing that has helped me heal is simply time. I know how you feel. The pain is down right debilitating and your quality of life suffers dramatically. You cant get dressed, driving is torture, sitting is terrible. Talk to your doc.
A few suggestions - if you're a female with a naval piercing, TAKE IT OUT! I removed mine and I've never had a sciatica flare up again. Naval piercings block the energy flow in the meridian of our bodies.
When I was suffering, I found incredible relief practicing deep tissue massage with the use of a softball. I would sit on the softball and target the area of pain. It would hurt at first, then give me relief. Remember to ice yourself for at least 15 minutes after.
I feel ya man. I just am now starting to get over some severe sciatica myself that was absolutely crippling due to 3 herniated discs pinching spinal nerves. Aleve didnt do much. Your best bet is to go to the doc and get prescription meds. I did get a little relief with tramdol combined with high doses of aleve. The The problem with nsaids though is potential cardiac toxicity and kidney damage as well as GI bleeding with long term and high dose usage. Im on steroids now and got a spinal spinal injection. Overall though I think the main thing that has helped me heal is simply time. I know how you feel. The pain is down right debilitating and your quality of life suffers dramatically. You cant get dressed, driving is torture, sitting is terrible. Talk to your doc.
Correction: Woman with man-sized pain. But not your man-sized pain, I don't think.... Mine is like Danny DeVito, yours is a little bigger.
It doesn't hurt to drive, it CAN hurt to get dressed if I haven't stretched out enough, sitting can be painful. Was hurting a little a few minutes ago, has died down now. Getting up out of bed....dread that. I think a good anti-inflammatory will work fine. I've been using up what Bayer I have (but I don't think that's an anti-inflammatory, so I don't know if it's actually done much, haha) and cold packs.
Going to start alternating the heat and cold, and taking a good anti-inflammatory. Best of luck to you. Hope it gets better for you. This sounds new-agey and weird, but it has worked for me. I've been getting up and saying, "Pain? What pain? What's sciatica? Yeah, I feel sorry for people who live with chronic pain, glad I don't have that. I'm blessed to be so healthy, strong, and flexible." Damned if it didn't work this morning. Pain came back some later... but as I change from wincing and complaining and whining to positive thoughts, I notice it really does help........ Try it. Won't be an overnight change, it will be gradual... and it can't possibly hurt can it?
I'm reading this book called "Power of Your Subconscious Mind" written years ago by Joseph Murphy. You can really do anything if you reprogram your subconscious. A lot has to do with what you believe, what you talk about, the pictures you hold in your mind, the words and phrases you think, etc. Your basically program your subconscious mind everyday.
A few suggestions - if you're a female with a naval piercing, TAKE IT OUT! I removed mine and I've never had a sciatica flare up again. Naval piercings block the energy flow in the meridian of our bodies.
When I was suffering, I found incredible relief practicing deep tissue massage with the use of a softball. I would sit on the softball and target the area of pain. It would hurt at first, then give me relief. Remember to ice yourself for at least 15 minutes after.
Try and eat low inflammatory foods, take fish oil supplements, lots of leafy greens and lean protein.
My friend who's a personal trainer also said to stop using the treadmill and walking. Use a no impact cardio machine.
Chiropractic adjustments helped as well.
Hope you feel better soon!
Thank you for all that great advice! No piercing, but thanks for sharing that. I'll bet a lot of people aren't aware of that. I was just googling anti-inflammatory foods too.
I've also been following Dr. Oz's advice of taking 1/2 teaspoon of ginger twice a day with water. (I just do 8 oz. of cold water. He didn't specify temperature.) He said it's a good anti-inflammatory. So there's a little more advice for someone out there. Pure powdered ginger, he says. I assume that means organic. I paid a little over $3.00 for a few small scoops of organic powdered ginger at my health food store.
I suffered with sciatic pain flares for almost 25 years. One particularly severe attack lasted 12 days, during which time I had to go to work every day - single mom, no other income. I lost 18 pounds during that one.
One of my kids got interested in skating and when a roller rink opened nearby, we went skating - something I had done growing up and even competed in races. Of course, if my pain acted up, I didn't go, but when I could, I did. Got to the point I was skating 3 or 4 times a week.
That was 30 years ago. The rink has long since closed and I have been walking for exercise. Only had some twinges here and there, but never anything as bad as I had suffered in the past. I guess I just strengthened some supporting musculature and thus, helped to alleviate the pain. That was MY result, YMMV.
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But not your man-sized pain, I don't think.... 
Mine is like Danny DeVito, yours is a little bigger. 
