Sciatica: The showstopper for anyone on the go

Dec 11, 2022 News

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The Creators’ Coven…

Kaieteur News – For those of you who follow my column, you may have noticed that for almost two months I had been missing in action. Let me assure you, there was a very good reason for my absence. I unfortunately was suffering from Sciatica, a very simple but painful, time-consuming medical interference, that would slow anyone down and eventually bring them to a standstill.

Since about mid-October this year I was suffering from sciatic nerve pain and to be honest, I am still not 100 percent recovered. I was left surprised and intrigued by this illness. It made me think of the masterpiece of a body our great Creator has given to us. With no real cause, no accident or incident that would trigger such a response from my body, I was left, for the most part, bed-ridden and in continuous pain.

As I said earlier, I was so intrigued by the effects of this illness that before we got back to business as usual, I just had to dedicate this column toward sharing my experience and explaining all that I have learnt to help other people become aware to this illness called Sciatica. Most persons I talk to about Sciatica have no idea what it really is. In fact, I too didn’t know what Sciatica was until I was affected.

Online patient portal, Mayo Clinic, describes Sciatic nerve pain or sciatica as pain that travels along the path of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve travels from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg. Sciatica most often occurs when a herniated disk or an overgrowth of bone puts pressure on part of the nerve. This causes inflammation, pain and often some numbness in the affected leg. It is often said that although the pain associated with sciatica can be severe, most cases would clear up with treatment in a few weeks, usually four to six weeks. People who have severe sciatica and serious leg weakness or bowel or bladder changes might need surgery as the intense pain continues to impact on different parts of the body.

Sciatica pain can be almost anywhere along the nerve pathway. It’s especially likely to follow a path from the lower back to the buttock and the back of a thigh and calf. The pain can vary from a mild ache to a sharp, burning pain. Sometimes it can feel like a jolt or electric shock, the leg can get numb and will sometimes feel cold or hot. One part of the leg can be in pain, while another part can feel numb, and tingling; and if you are not having a really great day, one can experience all the symptoms at once.

Coughing, sneezing or sitting for a long time can make the situation worst. Pain, numbness, tingling or muscle weakness in the leg or foot can be amplified and this further restricts the amount of movement the body can handle or the positions the body can go into, making it difficult and painful to walk, sit, stand or even lie down.

Usually, sciatica affects only one side of the body, but I guess I am special because this is actually the second time I have been hit with sciatic nerve pain.

In 2019, I was struck by sciatica in the right leg, this time it’s in my left. I had never experienced or heard of it before 2019. Despite this extremely painful issue coming on with no cause that I knew of, I remained calm and optimistic, although concerned. I met Dr. Jeffery at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, described as the best orthopedic doctor in the country; and since sciatica dealt with mobility, he was recommended. Dr. Jeffery told me what was wrong with me; he completed a little test and had me do an x-tray before confirming that I was troubling with sciatica.  Unfortunately for me, Dr. Jeffery was leaving the country for some time the very next day after seeing me. He did however leave me with medication that to this day I am still very grateful for because compared to what I experienced this time, my last experience was a breeze.

The painkillers and other pills Dr. Jeffery left me with worked perfectly. I was barely in pain, I was able to sit up, sleep and function to some extent when I was on the medication. The only downside is that it kept me drowsy, so I was sleeping most of the day, although I did appreciate the rest. Let me just add here that you should never be like me and forget about operating machinery while under medication because I forgot and drove my jeep to the shop just one block away. On my way back, I apparently mistook the trench for the road and drove right in, accumulating about $50,000 in damages.

With Dr. Jeffery gone, I was not sure what was the next step would be. If I am not mistaken, I think I saw a Facebook post about this place called Moksha which provides holistic remedies and that was where I headed. I know about ancient treatment and have always been intrigued by it, so I gave the clinic a call and yep, the young lady had a remedy for sciatica. I wasn’t nervous at all, as I said, I have tremendous respect for ancient medicine. It took four sessions: a one -hour session every week involving inversion therapy, acupuncture, cupping and massages. What little pain that was left in my leg, I walked it out in the National Park.

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about my second experience, but I really cannot. I lost a lot of time waiting for appointment dates as I planned to use the same avenues as last time. But when I finally got my appointments, I was told that I had to go through diagnosis to ensure it was indeed sciatica and nothing different. By this time, I was in so much pain I was literally dragging my left leg behind me. And to make matters worse, Dr. Jeffery was not working at the hospital the day I went there. But regardless, I needed to see someone, so I saw another doctor. Sad to say, the visit was fine, professional and everything, but the painkillers did absolutely nothing to help. For about a week and a half after the Doctor’s visit and about three weeks into the illness I continued to suffer. I told myself all Doctors are not the same and that I should give the medication a chance. I eventually accepted that the 500mg paracetamol twice a day which I had already doubled up to 2000mg a day to manage pain would not cut it. So, I remembered that powerful drug Dr. Jeffery had given the last time and purchased it. It not only took away majority of the pain, but of course gave good rest. The pain was so intense however that I needed to double up on the dose and add muscle relaxers to the mix.

For weeks I had suffered. Many nights I got about four hours of sleep or none at all. Sometimes it took hours to find a position in which I could lie down if not, I needed to change positions every few minutes or just not sleep. Sitting would become unbearable after minutes and walking was almost impossible.

For my current issue, I had to complete about eight to nine weeks of therapy. My body was too sore and broken for inversion therapy, so I had to do about three to four weeks of acupuncture and heat bags to reduce the pain before being placed on the inversion table. Now that I am done with holistic therapy however, I am going through my final stages of physiotherapy. This recovery stage has intrigued me the most because as the pain reduces, I can literally feel it withdrawing from parts of my body leading right to my lower back. The same way the pain started radiating across the body, is the same way it is withdrawing, from my waist to under my feet and up my back and even heading up my neck.

To date, I can only rest on my left side for a very short time since my hip and butt is very much sore. I am almost standing 100 percent upright and most of my limping is gone. I conduct a heat bag and massage routine three to four times a day with light exercise that involves swimming. Sciatica is no fun illness. It can be depressing as it literally brings life to a standstill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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