AAA Motor Club might be of help with med costs

[noahvale]

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[obsidianom]

Almost anyone over about 50 will have some degeneration on back xrays. It means nothing usually.  Sciatic pain really hurts though. I had it bad once and couldnt move for 2 days. I use an osteopath for manipulation when i have back pain . I also like SOME chiropractors  if I know them .  I have 2 in our area I trust and they also help.
Hope you feel better soon. Its a real pain in the BUTT!

[Jean]

I feel badly for you having to put up with the pain of sciatica. It's horrible. the first time I had an attack, I could only lay down. Sitting up and or walking was out of the question. That was 19 years ago and the disk degeneration has gotten worse, and so has the sciatica. Isn't that good news. But, really wanted to say thanks for the tip. Stay well.

[Dman73]

Two things that helped me relieve sciatica pain were hot showers and deep massage at the source of the nerve pain. Any time I feel sciatica starting I will intervene with those methods and stop it before it becomes bad also keeping your back & leg muscles in tone will prevent a recurrence.
I am thankful I haven't had an attack for many years.

[noahvale]

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[MooseMom]

I am really sorry to hear about the onset of back problems, noahvale.  It sounds really painful, and I don't know how you got through your commitments except by sheer force of an iron will!

Did the PT help at all?  I sure hope so!

Take care!

[noahvale]

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[Jean]

Just as a point of reference and I hope this does not happen to you. My first "episode" left me unable to walk for 2 days, then, on to a walker for about 3 weeks and then on to a cane for about 2 months. I sure hope this does not happen to you and that the PT helps you right away. At first they gave me muscle relaxers and Vicodin, but with the progression of time, had to go to Norco.  Of course, I was only about 56 at the time.

[obsidianom]

I dont beleive you need contrast for MRI of back. It is best way to find out what is going on, BUT beware it can pick up things that are reallt not the true problem. In other words, a lot of false positives. Even if it is a disc, there are non surgical treatments that can work . Some Chiropractors have a machine that puts traction on the spine to pull the vertebrae apart to allow the disc to slowly recede back into a better position. Also cold laser can help. (i have a cold laser in our office). Many professional ,and college teams use it for injuries. A lot of therapists and chiropractors have them too.
Hope you feel better soon.

[MooseMom]

Oh noahvale, I know I'd be really disappointed if I had tickets to a game and had to miss out.  Being in pain is one thing, but having to miss doing fun stuff because of said pain would make me really annoyed.

I've never had any problems with my back (although if I have to shovel my driveway one more damn time this winter, my back might just give out), but I know an awful lot of people who have suffered from back pain caused by a variety of reasons, so I am very interested to hear about what helps/will help you.  There seems to be so many different treatments that have varying degrees of success.  Will you ditch the oxy and go to Ativan/alleve instead like your neph suggested? 

Dialysis, then PT and then a game sounds like a pretty heavy schedule, but I hope that you'll be able to do all three on Friday and then have a less painful weekend.  Let us know how you get on!

[noahvale]

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