My experience with sciatic nerve pain.

[oldmaninbc]

It hurt from my waist to my foot, terrible muscle spasms from my butt and down the length of my left leg. After seeing the doctor I was put on a medication called Gabapentin; it took better than a week for it to work. The spasms slowly stopped with the medication working from my waist down first the spasms stopped in my butt then a few days later they stopped in my thigh, then slowly to my knee, my shin, my calf and finally about a week later I was free of muscle spasms. Have been on Gabapentin for 2 years now. Free of sciatic nerve pain, what a relief. I had no idea that those parts of my body could hurt so much.

 

[LostTribe]

Go to the chiropractor. I dont recommend letting them snap your neck though. They did wonders for my lower back. Lay down on the table on my side they sort of lift part of me up and it cracks something then I roll on my other side and they crack that side. Helped immensely and I need to go back its been a few months just getting a bit of discomfort now.

 

[oldmaninbc]

Go to the chiropractor. I dont recommend letting them snap your neck though. They did wonders for my lower back. Lay down on the table on my side they sort of lift part of me up and it cracks something then I roll on my other side and they crack that side. Helped immensely and I need to go back its been a few months just getting a bit of discomfort now.

I talked to my Doctor about a chiropractor and he advised against it. I have several problems with my spine.

 

[exoticrobotic]

Another crumbling old git here Spine is fucked.

Had great results from a bilateral spinal steroid/anaesthetic nerve block L4,L5,S1 a week ago.

Couldnt tolerate gabapentin or pregbalin or the other fucked up meds that are supposed to help.

The side effects i experienced with those meds of worse breathing and stomach digestion problems/heartburn just wasn't worth it.

I found Romulan strain to help with nerve/joint pain.

The steroid injection also helped a lot and the sedation is

Great to hear the gabapentin helps you though. Best of luck fella

 

[HarleyJammer]

I have lumbar stenosis that causes sciatica down both legs. I take 400 MG Gabapentin daily. It doesn't do much for me.

 

[William76]

I'd be very careful with gabapentin or pregablin,my wife had bad sciatica,they started her on the gabas,didn't work very good so Dr kept putting the dose up,she ended up in a coma and we nearly lost her,I'm sure they work wonders for some peeps but be careful,some drs hand them out like smarties some drs say there safe to use.here in the uk we hav a bad problem with folks abusing them with other drugs.see them standing staring into the sky like them idiots on youtube,it's good that they work for you,just be aware of the problems that can arise with them.be safe,76

 

[exoticrobotic]

I'd be very careful with gabapentin or pregablin,my wife had bad sciatica,they started her on the gabas,didn't work very good so Dr kept putting the dose up,she ended up in a coma and we nearly lost her,I'm sure they work wonders for some peeps but be careful,some drs hand them out like smarties some drs say there safe to use.here in the uk we hav a bad problem with folks abusing them with other drugs.see them standing staring into the sky like them idiots on youtube,it's good that they work for you,just be aware of the problems that can arise with them.be safe,76

I hope your partner is getting some relief with the pain and not experiencing such terrifying side effects. How awful you both had to experience that.

All these practising docs... pushing all these pharmaceuticals, they really do not know what the pills do.

I have found some relief away from pain by cutting out sugar. I've read many places about the toxic effect of sugar. I can remember the first time i had a chocolate sweet and the change in consciousness that came with it, unfortunately not an expansion at all, in fact quite the opposite.

Pretty sure the relief will be short lived, like all the other things i've tried but it has to be good for health.

 

[Hombre del mont]

@oldmaninbc , i'm sorry to hear of your condition.

As an ex health service professional, I would advise against taking any medication long term unless absolutely vital. All medications have side effects and will lead to further complications and invariably more medication over time.

Have you looked into Tai Chi, Qi Gong or Yoga?. I was told 15 yrs ago that I would never be able to walk properly, following severe damage to my right knee. I took up Tai chi and Qi Gong.

I have no issue at all with my knee and these days I'm the most supple person in my yoga class, despite being twice the age of some.
I know that certain yoga asanas are particularly beneficial for sciatic nerve issues.

I hope you're able to find some relief without having to continue long term with medication.

 

[oldmaninbc]

I have lumbar stenosis that causes sciatica down both legs. I take 400 MG Gabapentin daily. It doesn't do much for me.

I have cervical spondylosis and like yourself, the surgeon told me no surgery because the surgery itself would pose too many problems. I have degenerative bone disease in other areas of my body too.

With all your health issues, you have my empathy. I have hernia surgery coming up soon but nothing like open heart. Having your own morphine drip and control over that drip works wonders for pain relief, so I've been told.

I take 3x300mg Gabapentin daily, anything to avoid the muscle spasms I experienced because of my sciatic nerve, that was a nightmare, thought I would lose my mind.

 

[oldmaninbc]

@oldmaninbc , i'm sorry to hear of your condition.

As an ex health service professional, I would advise against taking any medication long term unless absolutely vital. All medications have side effects and will lead to further complications and invariably more medication over time.

Have you looked into Tai Chi, Qi Gong or Yoga?. I was told 15 yrs ago that I would never be able to walk properly, following severe damage to my right knee. I took up Tai chi and Qi Gong.

I have no issue at all with my knee and these days I'm the most supple person in my yoga class, despite being twice the age of some.
I know that certain yoga asanas are particularly beneficial for sciatic nerve issues.

I hope you're able to find some relief without having to continue long term with medication.

I know what you mean by complications associated with taking medications for the long term, I have a magnesium deficiency because of a medication I take. I have a physical addiction to Morphine, that I take for cervical spondylosis that is inoperable.
I take gabapentin because of muscle spasms(sciatic nerve), the spasms could have pushed me over the edge of sanity, so anything that relieves the intensity of muscle spasm pain, I'm in.

After I get my hernia surgery soon, I am going to start regenerative yoga, are you familiar with regenerative yoga?

I'm in my mid 70s with considerable degenerative bone disease and a couple of lung disorders.

 

[HarleyJammer]

I have cervical spondylosis and like yourself, the surgeon told me no surgery because the surgery itself would pose too many problems. I have degenerative bone disease in other areas of my body too.

With all your health issues, you have my empathy. I have hernia surgery coming up soon but nothing like open heart. Having your own morphine drip and control over that drip works wonders for pain relief, so I've been told.

I take 3x300mg Gabapentin daily, anything to avoid the muscle spasms I experienced because of my sciatic nerve, that was a nightmare, thought I would lose my mind.

Some of my problems are congenital.. some are acquired. I tell ya.. its hell getting old lol. I was up to 900 mg gabapentin and the pain mgt doc brought me down to 300 after the injections.. the neurologist took me back up to 400 and added 600 mg carbodopa/levadopa and 450mg oxcarbazepine. I told both of them to never give me opiates.. I have enough problems and dont need a monkey on my back.. The open heart... well.. I think I am going to have to make an exception for that one!

With all my health problems I am blessed that I was able to retire with a decent SSDI check, zero debt -- mortgage paid, 2 cars paid, 3 bikes paid, and a ROI that rivals some people's full time job.

Right now I'm on a 48 hour fast from THC for Wednesday's heart cath. I have some Super Lemon Haze, Blueberry/Durban, and some very potent space cookies ... and I cant touch 'em! Ahhhhh!!!.. driving me crazy. How will I go without puffin' while nursing a splayed sternum is beyond my comprehension lmao.

Good luck with your surgery.. The couple guys that I know that had a hernia procedure recovered fairly well albeit with some temporary soreness.

 

[Hombre del mont]

I know what you mean by complications associated with taking medications for the long term, I have a magnesium deficiency because of a medication I take. I have a physical addiction to Morphine, that I take for cervical spondylosis that is inoperable.
I take gabapentin because of muscle spasms(sciatic nerve), the spasms could have pushed me over the edge of sanity, so anything that relieves the intensity of muscle spasm pain, I'm in.

After I get my hernia surgery soon, I am going to start regenerative yoga, are you familiar with regenerative yoga?

I'm in my mid 70s with considerable degenerative bone disease and a couple of lung disorders.

I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles.

Morphine is fun if you only take it occasionally, but horrible when taken regularly; I was prescribed it for 3months following brain surgery a few years back and it messed me up something wicked.

I've heard of Restorative Yoga, but I'm sorry to say, I don't know anything about it; I practice Iyengar and it is quite strenuous.

You are a few years older than me. I was only 62 when i took up yoga and had already been practicing Tai chi and Qi Gong for 11 years so already had a good understanding of my own body mechanics. I've only been practising yoga for 2 1/2 yes, but my flexibility has improved phenomenally. I'm sure that with regularly practice you will see fantastic improvement also.

For breathing problems I would strongly recommended you take look at Qi Gong. What at first appears like "flowery, waving your hands about" is amazingly powerful system that will improve all aspects of health. When I first encountered it, I thought to my self "what a load of bollocks", now I teach it! Even really infirm people can practice Qi Gong. All my elderly students have all improved in health.

I hope your surgery goes well and that your health continues to improve.

Best wishes brother.

 

[buzzmobile]

I had morphine one time and it was not my friend. Aural, visual, and physical hallucinations were the result. If not for a special nurse who sat with me in the wee hours of the morning....

I hope your surgery goes well and that your health continues to improve.

Best wishes brother.

I second the thought.

 

[So Hai]

Speaking of hallucinations have you considered trying LSD?

 

[CharlesU Farley]

Speaking of hallucinations have you considered trying LSD?

Those are the hallucinations you want to have!

Hallucinations associated with pain and opiates is a totally different fucking thing.

 

[oldmaninbc]

I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles.

Morphine is fun if you only take it occasionally, but horrible when taken regularly; I was prescribed it for 3months following brain surgery a few years back and it messed me up something wicked.

I've heard of Restorative Yoga, but I'm sorry to say, I don't know anything about it; I practice Iyengar and it is quite strenuous.

You are a few years older than me. I was only 62 when i took up yoga and had already been practicing Tai chi and Qi Gong for 11 years so already had a good understanding of my own body mechanics. I've only been practising yoga for 2 1/2 yes, but my flexibility has improved phenomenally. I'm sure that with regularly practice you will see fantastic improvement also.

For breathing problems I would strongly recommended you take look at Qi Gong. What at first appears like "flowery, waving your hands about" is amazingly powerful system that will improve all aspects of health. When I first encountered it, I thought to my self "what a load of bollocks", now I teach it! Even really infirm people can practice Qi Gong. All my elderly students have all improved in health.

I hope your surgery goes well and that your health continues to improve.

Best wishes brother.

I take 15mg of slow release morphine at bedtime. I started morphine in 2010 I was taking 60-70mg a day, eventually the mental effects wore on me and I stated cutting back by 1-30mg slow release. It was uncomfortable and made me all spacy. A year later I did it all over again.
Now it's 1-15mg slow release, 200-250mg THC once a day, meditation and breathing exercises.
After hernia surgery I will start the regenerative yoga. I cannot do any exercise that will put strain on my spine or my shoulders.
I like to do breathing exercises because of the asbestosis I have. I guess you probably have seen a dried up orange peel, the pulmonologist I see told me that's what asbestos does to your lungs, so breathing exercises are important to maintain flexibility as long as I can. I will do some research on the Qi Gong, thanks.
I know I don't have many years left and the several health issues I have are chronic but I am not ready to give up on myself, yet. Thanks again for sharing your experience.

 

[oldmaninbc]

Some of my problems are congenital.. some are acquired. I tell ya.. its hell getting old lol. I was up to 900 mg gabapentin and the pain mgt doc brought me down to 300 after the injections.. the neurologist took me back up to 400 and added 600 mg carbodopa/levadopa and 450mg oxcarbazepine. I told both of them to never give me opiates.. I have enough problems and dont need a monkey on my back.. The open heart... well.. I think I am going to have to make an exception for that one!

With all my health problems I am blessed that I was able to retire with a decent SSDI check, zero debt -- mortgage paid, 2 cars paid, 3 bikes paid, and a ROI that rivals some people's full time job.

Right now I'm on a 48 hour fast from THC for Wednesday's heart cath. I have some Super Lemon Haze, Blueberry/Durban, and some very potent space cookies ... and I cant touch 'em! Ahhhhh!!!.. driving me crazy. How will I go without puffin' while nursing a splayed sternum is beyond my comprehension lmao.

Good luck with your surgery.. The couple guys that I know that had a hernia procedure recovered fairly well albeit with some temporary soreness.

I know on another post I wished you well with your heart cath on Wednesday but I want to again. You sound mentally strong and ready.

 

[buzzmobile]

Speaking of hallucinations have you considered trying LSD?

I went past consideration and indulged multiple times. All hallucinations are not fun or enlightening, but they are educational.

 

[So Hai]

Those are the hallucinations you want to have!

Hallucinations associated with pain and opiates is a totally different fucking thing.

There is research dating back many decades showing potential of LSD for pain from cancer, cluster headaches and so on.

Here is an example from a modern low dose study:

LSD 20 µg significantly increased pain tolerance (i.e. immersion time) by about 20%, while decreasing the subjective levels of experienced painfulness and unpleasantness. Changes in pain tolerance and subjective pain perception induced by LSD 20 µg were of medium to large effect size and comparable in magnitude to those observed with the CPT after administration of opioids, such as oxycodone 20 mg (Cooper et al., 2012) and morphine 10–20 mg (Ravn et al., 2013) to healthy volunteers. The findings were also statistically robust.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269881120940937

And here is from a classic study on cancer patients.

“Describes the use of psychedelic drug therapy to alleviate the emotional and physical suffering of 50 23-81 yr old terminal cancer patients. In 43 patients, 200-500 mcg of LSD was orally administered as an adjunct to brief intensive psychotherapy. In 7 patients, 60-105 mg of dipropyltryptamine [DPT] was administered. Results were assessed using a clinical rating scale reflecting (a) the degree of depression and psychological isolation; (b) difficulty in management; and (c) acceptance or fear of death and pain. Pre- and posttreatment ratings indicate significant improvement on most of the clinical assessments and a trend toward a reduction in narcotic medication. Brief case histories are presented.”

Psychedelic drug assisted psychotherapy in patients with terminal cancer

This early study (1972) describes the use of LSD-assisted psychotherapy for patients with terminal cancer. Results suggest significant improvements on various clinical assessments.

blossomanalysis.com

 

[buzzmobile]

There is research dating back many decades showing potential of LSD for pain from cancer, cluster headaches and so on.

Here is an example from a modern low dose study:

LSD 20 µg significantly increased pain tolerance (i.e. immersion time) by about 20%, while decreasing the subjective levels of experienced painfulness and unpleasantness. Changes in pain tolerance and subjective pain perception induced by LSD 20 µg were of medium to large effect size and comparable in magnitude to those observed with the CPT after administration of opioids, such as oxycodone 20 mg (Cooper et al., 2012) and morphine 10–20 mg (Ravn et al., 2013) to healthy volunteers. The findings were also statistically robust.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269881120940937

And here is from a classic study on cancer patients.

“Describes the use of psychedelic drug therapy to alleviate the emotional and physical suffering of 50 23-81 yr old terminal cancer patients. In 43 patients, 200-500 mcg of LSD was orally administered as an adjunct to brief intensive psychotherapy. In 7 patients, 60-105 mg of dipropyltryptamine [DPT] was administered. Results were assessed using a clinical rating scale reflecting (a) the degree of depression and psychological isolation; (b) difficulty in management; and (c) acceptance or fear of death and pain. Pre- and posttreatment ratings indicate significant improvement on most of the clinical assessments and a trend toward a reduction in narcotic medication. Brief case histories are presented.”

Psychedelic drug assisted psychotherapy in patients with terminal cancer

This early study (1972) describes the use of LSD-assisted psychotherapy for patients with terminal cancer. Results suggest significant improvements on various clinical assessments.

blossomanalysis.com

I did more deep diving with the local source of bovine psilocybin. I got through the fear of death on the second journey.

Psilocybin: A Journey beyond the Fear of Death?

Johns Hopkins clinical pharmacologist Roland Griffiths talks about a major new study hinting at psychedelic drugs as therapeutic powerhouses

www.scientificamerican.com