help me to get out of pain

[lovey650]

has anyone had a operation for syatica to get rid of a trapped nerve as i have had enough i tell you i take tramodol pethidine, cocodomals and every thing has stopped working so has anyone had the op and has it worked as i heard it can paralyse you so please let me no

[opus88]

thats okay to rant, thats one of the purposes of these forums...we all need to hear everyones opinions...both pro and con.
I have never seen a chiropractor for my back issues and I've often considered it I should be trying one, thats why I read with great interest what others have tried and whether successful or not?
I was also told by a neurologist years ago the same as you, to 'stay away from chiropractors'...
this particular neuro has been on TV in our area telling ppl the same thing, after a woman suffered a stroke due to a chiro manipulation.
Hard to know because I too have heard of many things that they do very good work on...

[seano]

Just  a note regarding chiropractors-- I went to one successfully for a couple of years. My chiropractor recommended  surgeon thelast timeI saw him, as he couldn't help me anymore. 8 surgeries later, I havelearneda couple of things.  1- once you go to a chiropractor and are treated, you have to keep going regularly (maintenance manipulations he called it) or your problems continue, and maybe even worsen. 2- EVERY medical doctor, and doctor of orthopredics that I mentioned my chiropractic care to advised me to STOP SEEING  THE CHIROPRACTOR IMMEDIATELY!. I always wondered why they are so opposed to choropractic treatment. Is it a medical opinin, a financial opinion, or a combinaton of both? Like I said, chiropractic treatment helped me for  long time, and the chiropractor was honest when he said he couldn't help me anymore. It was covered by my health insurance also!  I think chiropractors don't  deserve the "bad rap" they often get, that's all! Sorry for the "rant"!!! I do know that bad chiropractors do indeed exist, just as bad medical doctors (MD's and DO's). Again, sorry for the "rant"!

[opus88]

hi Tuck, I live in a small Canadian city....not having much luck finding an OD, would naturopathy be the same techniques??

[Tuckamore]

Hello and Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum. I am very glad that you found us but sorry to hear about your sciatic pain.

Are you able to provide additional information? Sciatic pain is not a disease. It is a symptom. It is caused by inflammation, irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve at some point along it's path.  So when you say that you are having a surgical release of an entrapment do you mean spinal surgery, SIJ surgery or what? Can you help me understand a bit more?

I have SIJD (sacroiliac joint dysfunction). It causes severe sciatica. It has nothing to do with my spinal structure. I know what you are talking about, the pain can be extreme and life altering.

I have found the most relief with a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy). I personally do have a lot of faith in most chiropractors. Granted there are some good ones out there and I have seen one or two. However a DO performs a similar procedure and in my opinion a safer one called osteopathic manipulation treatment (OMT). Which means slight manipulations of the spine or other body/bony structures. The DO receives additional training in the muscular and skeletal system, and also OMT.  These physicians who that are DO's tend to evaluate a person’s health in terms of viewing the body as a complex related network.

Each DO can chose to specialize, some are cardiac surgeons, pediatricians, gastroenterologists and so forth. Some do not even continue to practice OMT. There are first and foremost a physician. I see a DO that specializes in Internal Medicine.

Before I would consider surgery I would explore all possibilities. But again I am not sure what surgery is being recommended. Your physician certainly knows more about you and your condition than I or any of us here can know.

I wish you the very best and hope you will provide more clarification to your post. Please keep in touch and let us know your decision and how you are doing.

Take Care,
Tuck

[Mollyrae]

Hello lovey650 and welcome to the Pain Forum.

I'm glad that you've found this forum, it's filled with a wealth of knowledge and caring members.

Yes, you have received sound advise and of course will add to that myself.

When you have a "trapped" nerve, there is also a form of surgery that if nothing else has worked until now, you may consider talking about it with an Orthopedist or Neurologist.

It's called Decompression of the nerve. The Surgeon will go into the area and relieve the pressure that is surrounding the nerve. The surgery has been very successful with many sufferers...Me one of them. The Surgeon basically goes in and does some housecleaning by removing some of the problem.

I have to tell you though...generally this is considered the last resort method. No Surgery is ever without risks.

I feel that you should have a chat with your Doctor and explore all your options.

Last but not least, Nomometh had talked about the type of Doctor you should see. I totally agree with him and to add to that...I see an MD,DO. These types of Doctors deal with more of the back issues and pain rather than a regular MD. They have had training especially for these types of problems.

I wish I had more advise for you. Please stay tuned as others will weigh in today or the near future.

Warmest regards,
Mollyrae

I have to say

[Totie]

My brother just had surgery for sciatia. He is 59, had it done last month. He is actually back at work with restrictions of course.

I emailed him yesterday, he said he felt great & slowly getting back to work. He thought about going to a chiropractor, but was advised to stay away from them from two neurosurgeons and his regular doctor.

Of couse everyone is different. So not saying a chiro will not work for you.

[sandee1818]

I also wanted to add that a doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) can do these manipulations also. My partner here has manipulations done and they work well for her.

[sandee1818]

This is one of the reviews I seen....

I had a trapped sciatic nerve 3 years ago.Constant pain 24/7 taking paracetamol with ibuprofen up to the max dose trying to manage the pain.Changed my personality from a happy go lucky chap to a right miserable sod.
The doctor said he couldn't do anything and prescribed powerful painkillers (I had to take another tablet to stop the nausea from the painkiller).
After 5 months of this I had had enough , I would try anything .I booked an appointment with a guy called "asif alludin" -he's a chiropractor in glasgow high street and you can disbelieve me if you want . . I had 3 appointments with him and the pain was gone.All he done was crack my neck and spine and work his elbow (really sore) into the back of my right leg and *** cheek.
I have never had a problem since - but I still carry his business card around with me just in case.I would go back to him before going to my GP.
I've always been sceptical about chiropractors and osteopaths but I've got to admit - - - I'm definately a convert - and I'm pain free to prove it
Source(s):
when the GP says theres nothing he can do - - - - dont believe him/her

[NoMoMeth4me]

I am so sorry you are suffering so badly with Sciatica, I know how you feel becasue I too struggle with the same ailment but I'm lucky because it's not constant and I only really need to deal with it when I have flare ups.

I noticed you are taking co-codamol? I'm assuming you are from the UK then? I was born in Edinburgh but live in Seattle now. My Mum uses co-codamol and co-proxamol? One of which is not avaliable any more I believe? You are also taking tramadol which I believe is an 'entry level' narcotic, I have used it before and it didn't do much for me, I hope you can find a Dr who will aggressively treat you pain, pain is VERY undertreated in most countries and if not treated promptly will cause many co-morbidities as many on MH will attest to. You could ask your Dr about trying something else stronger than Tramadol on a short term basis?

Sandee gave you some very sound advice and I will try and add to that if I can. When I lived in the UK they did not have chiropractors and I don't know if they do now? I moved back home in 1993-1995 and live just outside London in Brentwood Essex.

There is another member on here that is treated by a specific typoe of Dr who does manipulations of the body to help these kinds of things and she swears by it. I will contact here to see if she can give you better advice.

I do know this works as the last physiotherapist I saw used these same kinds of manipualations of the SI joint.vertabrae, and even my ribs. It was PAINFUL, but my did it help. it was well worth the pain to feel better long term. You can also get an SI belt which helps to keep the SI joint in place once you have been re-adjusted back in. Your pelvis is crucial here and it will go right back into the wrong position if you are not careful.

Have you ever heard of SIJD? I have this and so does the other member I was mentioning earlier, it is a VERY debilitating and painful condition to have. Many have had it for years but have never been diagnosed correctly. I was just diagnosed with it early in 2009 and I've had spine issues since 1996.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

[sandee1818]

There are treatments for this..
It is all determined by why you have a "trapped" nerve.

Many times it is not the nerve that is trapped but a spinal or pelvic misalignment. This causes a "stretching" to occur on the nerve causing the pain.

In other instances, it really is trapped due to old scar tissue. In this instance in order to free up the nerve, you need to break up the scar tissue.

First, I would recommend a chiropractor. Many times just by realigning your spine and pelvis, you will receive relief on the nerve.

If that does not work, go to a chiropractor that specializes in a technique called ART. This chiropractic technique is a muscle technique that has been very successful in relieving entrapped nerves.

I found this on a chiropractors site. It could help. There were several excellent reviews on the procedure helping.