Bella Donna

Dh hurt his back last week. We thought it was just a strained muscle. Then the pain turned into sciatica. He's had two visits to the A&E at Rockingham, the latest one being last night. They had *a bit of a wait* - we went down at 9:00 p.m. - he got home after 2:00 a.m. The doctor told him to *learn to live with it* and chucked several packets of assorted painkillers and diazepam at him.

Today, he's seen the local GP. He examined him (which is more than the one at Rocky did last night) and says he thinks it is a prolapsed lumbar disc. He didn't waste any time - dh now has a CT scan booked for tomorrow, and a referral to an orthopaedic specialist on 16th February for a probable MRI. And the GP thinks he'll need to have surgery....

We're about to find out how good the insurance cover is that his employers provided.... :scared:

Sue

Sandra

I so understand how scarey this is. New Years Eve for us was spent in emergency 5.00 am till 10.00 am and all we came away with were painkillers and diazepam. My new year was great, checking hubby on meds and watching him sleep. The hospital did do checks on the back to rule out back dislocation....a back passage exam was part of it! We did get told to follow up with the GP and all seems fine, he had been screaming in pain but the meds helped him relax and we went in the pool for the following two days, just walking with a noodle and taking things extra slow. Do not panic too much yet, sciatica is crap in terms of pain but not all types need serious medical solutions.

http://www.spine-health.com/topics/c...tica/sc01.html

check out this site ...... it has the words "The vast majority of people who experience sciatica get better with time (usually a few weeks or months) and find pain relief with non-surgical treatments."

I hope it all works out for you. My thoughts are with you, it can be very scarey when you do not know the norms.

Cheers

Bella Donna

Thank you Sandra - good link. I must admit, dh has been screaming with pain these past few days and that's not like him. He's reluctant to consider the prospect of surgery, but at least he now has the chance to get all the information to help him decide which option to follow should it arise.

I'm sorry to hear your dh has been suffering too. How is he now? Making good progress?

Sue

Sandra

Honestly this was the first time I had seen my hubby cry in pain.....and it even hurt me watching as I think you know.

Do not panic about surgery...this is far far too early to make that call. Your GP is possibly being cautious - I am not a doctor so follow all medical advice. But possibly try in the meantime to use the meds (calm, chill ) to get hubby to relax and sleep and let nature take a bit of control for a couple of days...then swimming pool walking and moving and see if it is any better?

Your personal choice and doctors advice should be first.

FOR ME discussion of surgery at this point for me...unless then could prove on numerous xrays over time could possible be counter productive.

Hubby is better....odd twinges and a very numb leg remain form the pain six weeks ago. He did go back to a physical job after five days (so macho - $$$) so I am not totally sympathic with the twinges now

cheers

Sandra

Just to compare prices

Hospital.....free 5 hours...and first lot of pills for eight hours given free

Pharmacy......prescription $35 (three days), recommended painkillers $60

Doctors appointment....$85 (level two consult???) Claim back Medicare $32?

Panic cost of wife and cheque book ......Priceless!

herrchook

Guys, I know that back surgery is not something your OH's want to consider but I just want to give you an insight into how much benefit can be gained from having it.

My OH had a condition called spondolythesis (sp?) and was in excruciating pain with it. He had surgery to fuse his back and resolve it before we met but it wasn't successfull and shortly before we got married, he had a second surgery with a different surgeon and had his bottom vertibrae fused to his sacrum. He was off work for about 6 weeks and had to wear a back brace but since then has had NO back pain at all. The most scary thing he'd ever done, but 100% successful and 100% worth it.

Hope it all works out OK.

ElshaUK

Sue - hope your husband feels better soon!

I suffer from horrific sciatica & have a partially slipped disc in my back I take co-codamol which has 30mgs of codeine per tablet (I take 2 at a time). I was put on diazepam but basically slept for nearly 20 hours - I didn't like the feeling of not being in control, so didn't take them for long.

I've had CT scans, physio, chiropractics, special exercises etc.

The hardest thing, is when it's at it's worst. The nerves pinch, the muscles tighten & spasm and then I hold myself a different way, further tighten the muscles prompting them to pinch even harder. Heat works wonders, along with medication. I find the heat packs that you can stick direct to your clothes, help me big time!

Anyway, I hope your husband gets treatment soon!

Here's a tip for sleeping - put a pillow between the knees and sleep on your side. Also, hold a pillow in your arms so that your spine is in allignment. Sounds weird but it works!!