Thanks De!
I went to physical therapy three weeks ago for those very exercises to see if they would help.
Unfortunately, with a severely pinched (impinged) sciatic nerve in the L5 vertebra, I cannot even get onto the table or lay on a floor, much less arch anything unless I shoot myself first.
This is unrelenting and and never stops. I am praying this upcoming shot in the spine with cortical steroid will calm that inflammation from the impingement down. I need to be able to drive and go see customers up north and within 150 miles of me....
So far it is not good.
I increased my gabapentin (neurontin) nerve medication to 900 mg, 3 times daily. That is 2700 mg. I am told it takes three weeks before you feel any effect from it so I have a way to go there. The Naproxen (Aleve) helps if I take 4 pills at a time.
I did not take any last night before bed because I was told by back doctor that on Saturday I had to stop taking it altogether because of that injection on Tuesday.
I have seen people wounded badly who were not in this much pain.
This was not a good idea. So I quickly ATE 4 more Aleve after the Orthopedic doctor's assistant called me at 8:00 a.m. because she got my message.\
She said I could take the Aleve and NOT to discontinue it before the shot. So I feel better about that. I wonder why I was told otherwise earlier?
Anyway, from my point of view, I think unless the actual cause of the sciatica pain is taken care, in this case a serious impingement AND the three bulging discs, the cortisone shots are not going to help as the nerve will still be PINCHED badly and it will want to let me know it is not happy.
I guess as a mechanical engineer, I am accustomed to fixing the root causes of a problem so they don't return.
At the moment I at least able to hobble, and finally lay down flat with a pillow under my BUTT to soften the pressure, and my upper body propped up with more pillows.
Still cannot sit on sofa, chair, or anything. I am standing typing this.
Got to go lay down though awhile. The Gabapentin will tend to make you drosy until your system gets accustomed to it.
As I take NO MEDICINES regularly, my system is not used to drugs of any kind. I am still losing weight though..
A heck of a way to do it.... I got one in the chamber if this gets worse... yeah, its that bad....
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