pain relief w/o drugs

[skytash 0]

a friend of mine trained in reflexology and her grandmother used to swear by it for her sciatica. Worth a go!

tash

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[AndyMan 7]

I'm a big fan of Chiropracters. I know nothing of sciatica, but I do know that in Illinois (maybe california, too) they're full fledged doctors. I'd encourage you to at least talk to one.

Mine does regular adjustments to people with fused disks with very good results.

At the very least, talking to one doesn't hurt.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

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After the recent death of my aunt, caused largely by the amount of pain killers she'd taken over the years (they basically killed her stomach), I'd really rather not take any more pills if I can avoid it. But I've been in sciatica hell for the past week and it doesn't seem to be improving despite doing/not doing the things that are recommended that those with sciatica do/not do (yes, a doctor visit is in my near future to determine what's causing it this time). So I have a couple questions for those who have dealt with or constantly deal with debilitating pain.

First, what, if any, non-drug methods of pain relief have you tried that work for you?

And second, without the mind numbing that comes with pain killers making it all not matter so much, how do you deal with not being able to be active?

The pain in my sciatia and surrounding area hit an all time high about a year ago. I refuse to take pills to make the pain go away due to the fear of missing a sign of it getting worse and the chance of getting hooked.

Stretching, chiropractor and some form of meditation is the best bet. It's hard learning to live with pain, but it's a daily reality for me and looks like that will never change. I don't like it when a good day comes along with less pain as I know that when it returns it will bring it to the front of my mind and make it harder to block out.

This sort of pain can do very strange things to you - it causes headaches and even quick mood changes. You need to find a way to battle with it so it doesn't impact those around you.

Just be strong, and learn from your aunt. It can be done and I know you can do it.

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[SudsyFist 0]

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life partner fits us better.

Womyn. Sheesh.

[popsjumper 2]

Chiropractic...

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[ojibwe 0]

howzit! well, i've recently found relief taking vitalzym an enzyme formula, for bursitis in the shoulder, works on all infalammations, pain disappeared, !

MB 3864 Urantia Book and RUSH fan

[ojibwe 0]

magnesium supplements works for muscle twitchs and spasms

MB 3864 Urantia Book and RUSH fan

[freeflir29 0]

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eh? whats one of those?

"This is my hetero life mate Silent Bob."

[Elisha 1]

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Stretching, chiropractor and some form of meditation is the best bet.

Exactly, so no making fun of me if you seem me stretching/doing yoga at the DZ!

[rj2163 0]

Sorry for the big post but I know how lousy nerve pain can be. I was in a car accident in 1990 and basically walked away with a severe whiplash and a lot of nerve pain. I was in pretty bad shape up until about a year ago when I had a couple alternative treatments that really helped for my situation but here’s my advice.

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What I'm looking for is short term pain relief - ie what will help me get through today (I'll deal with tomorrow when it gets here).

BIG RED FLAG!!

It sounds like your toughing it out at this point and trying to treat the symptoms to get some relief. You sound like me and I ended up in a terrible situation. Be careful with toughing it out – it can be a slippery slope.

My advice:
1. treat the cause not the symptom

2. don’t tough it out – be persistent in getting help to find the cause if it’s interfering with your life.

3. Non-drug pain relief.
Always talk to your doctor but my pain doctor had recommended these:

- ginger was already mentioned but I can’t remember the dose – it was high though
- Vitamin D3 1000iu 2/day
- magnesium glycenate or Proteinate 100mg 2/day
- Omega-3 fish oils

4. Drugs - avoid them which you are trying to do. However, if your in misery and if nothing else helps IMHO periodic narcotics can help without getting dependent and minimizing other side effects. If you are in pain you tend to tighten up which can make the pain worse. So I think some periodic drugs can be helpful while minimizing side effects if meditation and relaxation, which I highly recommend, don't give enough relief. I still periodically take a narcotic called Dilaudid which is fast acting and short action and gives some item to lay down or get in a hot bath if things really flare up. Anticonvulsants and tri-cyclic antidepressants help some people but I’d stay away unless your desperate. Don't go near sleeping pills if your having problems sleeping.

5. if you do take drugs for pain relief be careful your not just masking a problem that is getting worse end you end up worse off in the long run.

6. the problem may be your discs but don’t you or your doctors necessarily write off the problem to this. There could be another problem somewhere else. Pain doesn’t necessarily appear where the problem is. For example one of my pain doctors told me that one of her patients had a debilitating back problem that ended up being cause by a tight muscle in her jaw that set up chain of cascading problems that screwed up other muscles and resulted in all sorts of problems lower down.

7. Get someone to check your posture body mechanics (Physiatrist, physiotherapist, kinisiologist, chiropractor, sports medicine doctors) and maybe just a couple specific exercises will help.

[JankyBob 0]

I have tried just about all of the remedies suggested here. Its crazy. Save your time and money and go to www.healingbackpain.com.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe that yoga, stretching and meditation are all very positive things and they will help you, but I suggest you investigate TMS and how it affects your body if you want a more permanent solution.

[Girlfalldown 0]

Hippy.

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(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[freeflir29 0]

Lisa................just crush the pills up and BUMP them. Then they won't bother your stomach.

[Girlfalldown 0]

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Lisa................just crush the pills up and BUMP them. Then they won't bother your stomach.

But then you have that whole sinus thing to worry about. I say smoke em instead.

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(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[artistcalledian 0]

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i never liked the term "wife" seems, possessive, at least to me. life partner fits us better.

fair enough... as long as she still does her chores, call her anything you want mate

i used to poo poo all alternative medicine, untill i experienced the benefits of some of it myself, now i believe in alot of it

________________________________________
drive it like you stole it and f*ck the police

[SudsyFist 0]

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fair enough... as long as she still does her chores, call her anything you want mate

Exactly.

[Nightingale 0]

Chronic pain management is not the forte of western medicine. We're good at stuff like cancer and trauma, but when it comes to pain, we could do a lot better. I have a couple of friends who swear by chinese medicine for pain relief. There are a lot of different things to try, chinese herbs, accupuncture, etc...

Best of luck, and feel better!

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[skybytch 273]

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.just crush the pills up and BUMP them. Then they won't bother your stomach.

Push the button!

I'm with GFD on that one. It's bad enough to have back pain; back pain combined with a stuffed up nose would be torture.

[bozo 0]

Lisa...you find any of that stuff that works....you be sure to let me know. I have tried literally everything.
As you know....I give my pain meds away....they dont do shit anymore.
Pain has become an unwelcome friend.

bozo who bounced.....once.

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

[squirrel 0]

well, she does...i mean hell, she skydives, scubas, instructs yoga(shes making people bend as we speak!), makes all the real money making decesions in our business...hmmm, what do i do...guess i am the muse.

ok back to the pain. really, try yoga, it did do wonders for my jenni.

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

[vt1977 0]

Try a Chinese doctor.

I have acupuncture, cupping and gentle massage and I find that afterwards I am pain free for around a week. (Muscular pain in neck/shoulder owing to old broken collar bone – birth injury)

Adam (aka gremlin) tried acupuncture for his back injury (compression fracture early last year) and found it helpful in the short term.

Vicki

[mr2mk1g 10]

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they basically killed her stomach

Aspirin right? So don't take aspirin - switch to one of the more modern drugs which don't have such bad side effects such as ibuprofen or ones based on acetaminophen which is not supposed to have much effect on the stomach at all.

[Broke 0]

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Hey girlie.

My sciatic(sp) nerve was damaged in my accident in 99.

Personally I stretch and have noticed that the more active I am the less it actually hurts.

I have thought about going for massage. Just finding the time is the trick.

I also have old pain killers from my surgery. Sometimes that helps but I know what you mean about the stomach.

I believe I have damage to mine b/c when I am in the hospital they force me to take those meds. Sometimes I get away w/o taking them though.

I am not sure if I helped but I understand what you are going through.

Laters,


K-MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


.

I love this answer.

Streatching will help us in or daily lives. Studies show that most injuries can be provented by stretching our muscles especially those back injuries that plauge the Fire EMS industry. Even simple streatching can increase our heartrate enough to get an ok workout. Also steatching helps us with increasing our ability to balance.

Exercising daily. Not only will it help to keep your weight down, but it increases mental acuity, decreases the effect of allergins in the atmosphere, as well as many other health benefits. One other great health benefit is that you will recover from illness faster. Unfortunatly skydiving is kind of a lazy mans sport, because you can pay to have your gear repacked, and your heartrate changes only for the durration of the jump and as long as it takes you body to recover from it wch isn't actually all that healthy for us. Also you don't really have to be in great physical shape to jump out of a plane and arch.

Something else you can do. Actually we all should do it. Get good shoes that help keep your legs aligned properly. A lot of problems can be solved by taking care of our feet.

If you have muscle soreness from all this new found activity get yourself some "Tiger Balm" a little bit goes a long way.

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[skymama 37]

Just another note about seeing a chiropractor...my son has been seeing a chiropractor/sports trainer for the last few weeks. In August, he sprained his ankle playing soccer. As he got back into the sport, he developed back pain, shin splints and a pulled hamstring in addition to still having a weak ankle. He was a mess and only 14!

The doctor layed him on his stomach, bent his legs up and showed me how 1 foot was about an inch higher than the other. Running with his weak ankle had thrown his body out of alignment and caused a chain reaction with his other injuries. The doc said his left pelvis was rotated forward and his right pelvis was roatated backward. It affected his alignment all the up to his shoulders!

Just by getting massage on his hamstring and getting adjustments to his body, his running speed is back to about 80% of his pre-injury speed. A few weeks ago he was only at 50%. It helped him get back into shape so he made the varsity team at high school last week!

Like many others, I agree that something else could be going on with you other than what you think it is. Based off what I've seen with my son, I really encourage you to get checked out.

How are you doing today?

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[tweak 0]

You might research GABA (an amino acid/neurotransmitter). I use it for other things but I've heard there's been a lot of research done on chronic pain management involving GABA.