Sciatica problems

[peza6791]

Hello
I have been suffering with sciatica for the last 5 weeks and an MRI scan has shown a disc bulge at L5.
Having had a epidural injection 2 weeks ago the pain got worse.
My Doctor has given me the following medication.
Cocodamol 30/500mg
Dihydrocodeine dhc continus 60mg
Lyrica 200mg
Arcoxia 90mg
Diazepam 2mg

Having taken this medication for 5 days my sciatica pain has gone.

My question is has my disc bulge rectified itself or is this medication strong enough to completely mask the pain.

Thanks

[dizzyb23]

Firstly i'm not a Pharmacist but I have had sciatica a few years ago were i'd trapped the nerve in two places so I have a bit of understanding about your issues. I would say that the medication will be helping to ease your suffering. I had diclofenac, co-codamol and diazepam and these did help me at least sleep at nights. I assume you'll be seeing or have seen a consultant?? You need to discuss your future treatments with him/her as soon as you can.
I hope you feel better very soon.

[peza6791]

Hi Dizzy thanks for the reply.

Yes i have been seeing a consultant who told me to try an epidural injection, which i had 13 days ago. This made the pain worse.
The next step is to have a nerve root injection and I'm waiting for the appointment to come through.
I started taking the above medication 5 days ago and after 4 days the pain has completely gone. I'm just curious as to how strong this medication is and could it completely take the pain away.

[johnep]

Effects of medication may wear off after few weeks/months. May be possible to have an operation, I would be careful over having anything done to my spine. Chiropracter may also help. Consultant will advise.
johnep

[peza6791]

Thanks for the reply johnep.

But the question is can all the medication i'm on stop the pain totally or is it possible the bulged disc has gone back into place and that's why the pain has gone ?

[Shwampa]

I don't think 5 weeks are enough for the prolapsed disk to be reabsorbed back. The meds you're on could be the reason for the disappearance of pain. The best thing to do is to try to reduce the number of meds by stopping the opiates first and aiming to try to control the pain with Arcoxia only. But if the pain comes back I'm afraid you'll need to go back to your opiates.

Some specific exercises may be required to strengthen your back.

[DavidS]

Some specific exercises may be required to strengthen your back.

And your front! Core strength exercises designed to strengthen the entire pelvic girdle are very useful for lower back pain. Pilates exercises are arguably the gold standard.

[hibernia]

And your front! Core strength exercises designed to strengthen the entire pelvic girdle are very useful for lower back pain. Pilates exercises are arguably the gold standard.

I agree. I suffered with stress induced back pain for years. I finally realised that the only time I gave myself permission to ease off work was when my back 'went' leaving me in agony unable to bend down or reach up. I still went to work, just couldn't work as hard.
By the time I copped on and forced myself to relax properly I'd done quite a bit of damage. I've been doing pilates for about three years and have found it a great help. Just make sure to get a qualifed teacher who understands how to modify the exercises for any specific problems you have. There are a lot of chancers out there who haven't a clue and could do more harm than good.

I often recommend it to other sufferers but find many don't go or don't stick with it long enough for it to help. It is hard going, especially at first, and many people want to take a pill to just cure them rather than have to make an effort themselves.