The Greek Goddess of Pain: Sciatica

[Boggy Man]

One interesting aspect of this thread as it related to quicksand and sinking is that we also all have incurred damage whenever sinking. There is no greater joy that pulling a foot out and finding, amidst the brown mud, a bit growing stain of RED indicative that you've stepped on something really bad.

Or, after spending an afternoon wading through the bottomless muck of an alkali slough, to wash the mud off your skin at an adjacent pond, only to discover that where the white alkali flakes/powder had stuck to the mud on your legs during your exit from the slough (only a mild stinging sensation), your skin there was now full of open sores and blisters! And, after cleaning, the raw skin underneath, which looked like it could completely heal within a couple of weeks, instead turned to red to brown to black over a course of a week or so, and then took 5 weeks to heal (actually some sores took longer), and have left white or red/purple marks/scars ever since, some with slight depressions in the skin! Fortunately, they have become less noticeable to varying degrees (some still stand out a bit) after over 16 months, but some of the white areas won't tan, but remain white.

Alkali ponds/lakes/sloughs. Such wonderful gooey mud, with the aroma of a seafood buffet! But, coated on top with white alkali stuff that can eat away at flesh slowly without you even knowing it, starting with any break in your skin, such as a scratch or scrape, or even an insect bite, with small blisters (I called them "barley blisters" because they looked like barley embedded in my skin) that then peel away, and then the sores spreading outward and deeper, with surrounding skin blistering (small "lip"-like blisters) and peeling away, and then eventually penetrating your pores as well to start the process of blistering and eating away at your flesh there (fortunately I stopped it before the pore penetration could get past just causing tiny brown specks of dead skin under the surface)!

Alkali burns are deceptive, since they dissolve flesh without any pain (well, I did feel some slight stinging sensations), and unlike (most) acids, which creates a coagulated barrier, the alkali simply continues to dissolve flesh without any bounds!

[nachtjaeger]

I finally have something to contribute! Been racking my brain trying to remember how I used to straighten my back out "back in the day."

Aside from the obvious tactic of laying on a hard floor with your knees drawn up and your feet flat (seriously, this works) the other trick we used back in my sports and stupidity days was hanging from a chin-up bar. (Nowadays they have inversion boots, but we had to make do.) That will relieve pressure-type pain and help realign everything.

My almost-Mother in law (first girlfriend's mom) had terrible Sciatica. Hers was so bad that sometimes she would be walking, the nerve would pinch enough to make her leg go numb, and she'd go right to the ground.

Hope you feel better.

THANK YOU for so many responses. This is the nastiest bout with something bad I have ever had - EVER and tonight I am hoping that Tylenol PM will do the trick, at least let me sleep.

One interesting aspect of this thread as it related to quicksand and sinking is that we also all have incurred damage whenever sinking. There is no greater joy that pulling a foot out and finding, amidst the brown mud, a bit growing stain of RED indicative that you've stepped on something really bad.

Last year I backed my car out of a private parking spot in the wood and a cast iron pipe went right into my bumper, punched a nice little hole in it too. Great.

But all of you here are caring, wonderful people which is what makes this discussion board, in total, such a great place.

[Fred588]

Before trying to deal with a symptom like sciatica one should bear in mind that its a symptom and not a specific condition. Something is impinging (squeezing) the sciatic nerve and interfering with its function. To treat it, a doctor or chiropractor needs to determine what is causing the impingement, and deal with that. There are many things it could be and the treatment varies.

[reisen55]

I have discovered several relaxation techniques - laying flat and bending legs, right - left 4 times for 10 seconds and then both 4 times, 10 seconds twice daily plus hot showers 10 to 20 minutes (as long as I can stand before standing in a shower stall is impossible) ... and Tylenol PM if I cannot sleep. All this helps alot. And so do the good comments on this board.

And also the lovely little dog I rescued and posted messages on earlier in December. THAT is a major plus too.

[Nessie]

One interesting aspect of this thread as it related to quicksand and sinking is that we also all have incurred damage whenever sinking. There is no greater joy that pulling a foot out and finding, amidst the brown mud, a bit growing stain of RED indicative that you've stepped on something really bad.

My personal experiences with QS injuries is that when in familiar and safe territory, one must exercise just as much caution as one does in new, unfamiliar, uncharted sinking lands.

When you think you know it all is when you are the most vulnerable.

Nessie

[Nessie]

And also the lovely little dog I rescued and posted messages on earlier in December. THAT is a major plus too.

DOGS make the whole world better!

"Here, sweetie-dog. Come to Mommy."

(Nessie puts the little wienie-beanie on her lap and starts petting.)

Nessie