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fatherofs
Data Quality: 0 stars
  • Sex:
  • Age:
Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
Quality of Life:
  • Mental: Unreported
  • Physical: Unreported
fatherofs
Age: ?
Condition
Sciatic Neuralgia and 2 more ▼
First symptom
Diagnosis
Stopped
Stopped Reason
This was resolved with Surgery.
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    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Surgery Treatment Evaluation

    • Perceived effectiveness for Herniated Disc: Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Major
    • Perceived effectiveness for Degenerative Disc Disease: Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Major
    • Perceived effectiveness for Sciatic Neuralgia: Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Major
    • Perceived effectiveness for Pain: Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Major
    • Side Effects: NoneNoneNoneNoneNone
    • Adherence: AlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlways
    • Burden: Not at allNot at allNot at allNot at allNot at all
    Advice & Tips
    I suffered from sciatic pain due to a herniated disc in the lumbar spine (L4-L5). While the pain was bad I was really afraid from surgery. Here are some points that I want to raise: 1. From what I read, a very important factor in resolving sciatic pain is....TIME. Frequently the pain passes spontaneously. If the pain is bad and it does not subside, even if there is no deterioration I would consider surgery. I waited over 9 months to do surgery. Looking backwards from my experience, if you don't see any improvement over 4-6 months, you should start searching for a surgeon. 2. There are no oral medications that were shown to relieve sciatic pain. Everything that the Dr might suggest and that you might consider trying - NSAIDS, lyrica, etc., was never shown to work. Don't be surprised if it does not work for you. 3. From my experience physical therapy is not only not beneficial, it might be quite disastrous for your level of pain as you will get much worse almost instantly. For more info about my experience with physical therapists, please look at My Treatments. 4. Epidural steroid injections sometimes work (you can see my comments about them). However, if they don't work for you and you waited long enough, it's time to search for a surgeon. 5. The first issue that you need to think about when search for a surgeon is whether you are going to do it with a neurosurgeon or an orthopedic surgeon who specializes, and did fellowship, in back surgery. I decided to go with the latter. While I am sure that many neurosurgeons do great back surgery, it is important to remember that a herniated disc is a mechanical problem and not a neurologic problem. You might have some damage to the nerve (with me it's sensory nerves as manifested by tingling sensations that are still with me after the surgery, for other people it might be motor nerves). However, the problem with the nerve is due to a mechanical reason, a disc that is pressing on it. It's not a neurologic problem. From my understanding neurosurgeons are mostly interested in treating neurological problems and not mechanical problems. They will surely be happy to do diskectomy as it's a very easy procedure for them, and the compensation is surely appealing for them. However, if you are interested in doing this surgery with a surgeon whose main interest is mechanical problems in the back, you should do it with an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in back surgery. 6. Diskectomy (today it's usuaslly microdiskectomy) is a relatively simple procedure for surgeons. You should probably find a surgeon who does many more complex back surgeries and will find this procedure straight forward.
    Cost
    $200+ monthly
    added a treatment evaluation for Surgery from Nov 15, 2011 Nov 26, 2011
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    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Epidural Steroid Injection Treatment Evaluation

    • Perceived effectiveness for Degenerative Disc Disease: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Perceived effectiveness for Sciatic Neuralgia: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Perceived effectiveness for Herniated Disc: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Side Effects: NoneNoneNoneNoneNone
    • Adherence: AlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlways
    • Burden: Not at allNot at allNot at allNot at allNot at all
    Advice & Tips
    According to the literautre the efficacy of epidural steroid injections for the treatment of herniated disc disorder is questionable. However, I personally know several people who greatly benefited from such injections. In fact, their problem is yet to return, and it was many years ago. Therefore I believe that these injections are worth trying, despite the fact that I received 4 injections by more than 1 Dr and had no pain relief whatsoever. The point for the patient to evaluate before scheduling such injections is to verify that the dose of the steroid that the Dr wants to injects is not lowered after each injection, and that it is constantly high. There was one clinic that wanted to inject decreasing doses of steroids and I left this clinic to do other injections with a different Dr. I also think that if these inejctions do not help for sciatic pain and the pain is intractable, it is time to start searching for a surgeon. One additional point regarding epidural steroid injections is that I think that it is worth trying 3 injections. So if you don't have any benefit from the first 2 injections, it is still worth trying at least 1 additional injection.
    Cost
    $200+ monthly
    added a treatment evaluation for Epidural Steroid Injection from Sep 10, 2011 Nov 26, 2011
  3. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Stopped: Epidural Steroid Injection

    • Stopped: Sep 10, 2011
    • Reason: Did not seem to work
    stopped taking the treatment Epidural Steroid Injection Nov 26, 2011
  4. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Oxycodone Treatment Evaluation

    • Perceived effectiveness for Back surgery: Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Major
    • Perceived effectiveness for Surgery: Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Led_efficacy_4Major
    • Side Effects: MildMildMildMildMild
    • Adherence: AlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlways
    • Burden: Not at allNot at allNot at allNot at allNot at all
    Advice & Tips
    I suggest not to use percocet, which is a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen, but to use oxycodone and acetaminophen each on its own. It's easier to titrate the exact dose of each medication when you take them separately. For example, after my surgery I took 10 mg of oxycodone 4 times a day, and acetaminophen usually once a day (1000 mg). As the pain from surgery subsided, I reduced the dose of oxycodone and took more acetaminophen. I never took more than 3000 mg of acetaminophen in 24 hours to make sure that it doesn't damage my liver.
    Cost
    < $25 monthly
    added a treatment evaluation for Oxycodone from Nov 22, 2011 Nov 26, 2011
  5. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Stopped: Oxycodone

    • Stopped: Nov 22, 2011
    • Reason: Course of treatment ended
    stopped taking the treatment Oxycodone Nov 26, 2011
  6. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Lyrica Treatment Evaluation

    • Perceived effectiveness for Pain: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Perceived effectiveness for Herniated Disc: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Perceived effectiveness for Sciatic Neuralgia: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Side Effects: ModerateModerateModerateModerateModerate
    • Adherence: AlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlways
    • Burden: Not at allNot at allNot at allNot at allNot at all
    Advice & Tips
    Lyrica was never proven to help in alleviating sciatic pain. I tried to take it because the physiatrist suggested this medication and it is sometimes effective for chronic pain. The drowsiness and dizziness, commen side effects of this medication, did not subside with time. I did not have any pain relief. If you want to try this medication for sciatic pain due to herniated disc you should not spend a long time in evaluating the possible beneficial effects of this medication. If you don't see benefit after a couple of weeks I would suggest to move on to procedures that help. If the pain is intractable and epidural steroids don't help, it's time to search for a surgeon.
    Cost
    < $25 monthly
    added a treatment evaluation for Lyrica from May 21, 2011 Nov 26, 2011
  7. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Stopped: Lyrica

    • Stopped: May 21, 2011
    • Reason: Did not seem to work and Side effects too severe
    stopped taking the treatment Lyrica Nov 26, 2011
  8. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    oral steroids Treatment Evaluation

    • Perceived effectiveness for Sciatic Neuralgia: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Perceived effectiveness for Herniated Disc: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Side Effects: NoneNoneNoneNoneNone
    • Adherence: AlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlways
    • Burden: Not at allNot at allNot at allNot at allNot at all
    Advice & Tips
    Oral steroids do not provide long term pain relief from sciatic pain. For me, they did not provide even short term pain relief. I suggest not trying them for sciatic pain.
    Cost
    < $25 monthly
    added a treatment evaluation for oral steroids from Aug 10, 2011 Nov 26, 2011
  9. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Stopped: oral steroids

    • Stopped: Aug 10, 2011
    • Reason: Did not seem to work
    stopped taking the treatment oral steroids Nov 26, 2011
  10. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Levetiracetam Treatment Evaluation

    • Perceived effectiveness for Sciatic Neuralgia: Led_efficacy_3Led_efficacy_3Led_efficacy_3Led_defaultModerate
    • Perceived effectiveness for Herniated Disc: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Side Effects: NoneNoneNoneNoneNone
    • Adherence: AlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlways
    • Burden: Not at allNot at allNot at allNot at allNot at all
    Advice & Tips
    Levetiracetam (Keppra) was the only drug that provided relief from very unpleasant tingling sensations and feelings of 'electric shocks' due to sciatic pain (resulting from a herniated disk). Keppra did not help with the pain sensations but I estimate that it reduced the tingling sensations and the 'electric shocks' sensations by around 40%-50%, which was very significant for me. The drug led to dizziness/drowsiness that completely disappeared after 2 days. I tried to take more than 750 mg/twice daily, up to 1500 mg/twice daily. However, there were no additional benefits for me from taking the higher dose so I returned to the dose of 750 mg/twice daily. Most physiatrists are not very much familiar with this drug. If you suffer from sciatic pain or herniated disc disease and you want to try taking anti-convulsants, I advise to do it with a neurologist, and not a physiatrist. Many drugs for chronic pain are anti-convulsants and neurologists have plenty of experience in prescribing them.
    Cost
    < $25 monthly
    added a treatment evaluation for Levetiracetam from Nov 14, 2011 Nov 26, 2011
  11. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Stopped: Levetiracetam

    • Stopped: Nov 14, 2011
    • Reason: Other
    stopped taking the treatment Levetiracetam Nov 26, 2011
  12. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Etodolac Treatment Evaluation

    • Perceived effectiveness for Sciatic Neuralgia: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Perceived effectiveness for Herniated Disc: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Side Effects: NoneNoneNoneNoneNone
    • Adherence: AlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlwaysAlways
    • Burden: Not at allNot at allNot at allNot at allNot at all
    Advice & Tips
    While etodolac did not provide any pain relief from my sciatica, I would like to note that as far as I know it has less side effects on the stomach than most other NSAIDS. Therefore, if you want to try taking an NSAID for sciatica, or for other purpose, I would surely give etodolac a priority over other NSAIDS.
    Cost
    < $25 monthly
    added a treatment evaluation for Etodolac from Jul 21, 2011 Nov 26, 2011
  13. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Stopped: Etodolac

    • Stopped: Jul 21, 2011
    • Reason: Did not seem to work
    stopped taking the treatment Etodolac Nov 26, 2011
  14. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Stopped: Surgery

    • Stopped: Nov 15, 2011
    stopped taking the treatment Surgery Nov 26, 2011
  15. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Physical Therapy (PT) Treatment Evaluation

    • Perceived effectiveness for Degenerative Disc Disease: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Side Effects: SevereSevereSevereSevereSevere
    • Adherence: NeverNeverNeverNeverNever
    • Burden: A littleA littleA littleA littleA little
    Advice & Tips
    From my experience, physical therapy is a disaster for treatment of herniated disk in the lumbar spine (L4-L5). Physical therapy was never proven to work for fixing herniated disk or aleviating any of the symptoms or pain related to that (such as sciatic pain). If your symptoms improved during the physical therapy, they would have probably improved without the physical therapy. However, physical therapy, in particular when it involves mobilization/manipulation in the lower back, can be disastrous and might lead to what might be permanent and life long damages and pain. My first physical therapist told me to sit straight and gave me a couple of exercises to do at my home and work. Before seeing her I had almost full range of motion. After I tried to sit straight according to her instructions and did the exercises that she recommended, my range of motion was reduced substantially and it was much harder for me to bend. It was a very bad experience. After discussing the exercises that she gave me with 2 other physical therapists, they said that I should have never been given these exerces. And the original physical therapist who gave me these exercises was very experienced and specialized in back problems... The experience from my second physical therapist was even much worse. I might have life long unpleasant tingling sensations in my leg due to his malpractice. He is actually a very nice person who is an expert (with certificates) in the McKenzie method, which is now a leading method in physical therapy. One of the reasons that I came to his clinic was because I did not want to spend time and money working with physical therapy assistants, but with licensed physical therapists. However, he had a physical therapy student who was doing a rotation with him for 10 weeks. He gradually let her take care of my PT exercises. However, he also let her work for 15 minutes on my lower back in doing mobilization/manipulation. Immediately after these 15 minutes of her work, while I was still at the clinic, I started to suffer from constant unpleasant tingling (the medical term is paresthesia) sensations in my leg. I currently (around 5 months after the 'treatment') still have these sensations, even after a successful surgery that got rid of the pain, but not of these unpleasant tingling sensations. Notice, when you do physical therapy, at least where I live, I am in a room with many bother patients and my physical therapist or physical therapy assistant also had 1 other patient when seeing me. The famous physical therapist who I saw barely remebered what were my symptoms. The method of seeing 2 patients at a time means that your time and money are wasted as you don't get the full attention of the caregiver. Did you ever see a Dr for a 1 hour meeting and the Dr saw another patient at the same time? My sincere suggestion to patients who suffer from sciatic pain related to a herniated disk, is to avoid physical therapy. If for some reason you want to give it a try, avoid manipulations/mobilizations in the lower back as they were never proven to help but can surely cause side effects that the physical therapist and their assistants have no clue how to fix.
    Cost
    $50-99 monthly
    added a treatment evaluation for Physical Therapy (PT) Nov 26, 2011
  16. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Physical Therapy (PT) Treatment Evaluation

    • Perceived effectiveness for Degenerative Disc Disease: Led_efficacy_1Led_defaultLed_defaultLed_defaultNone
    • Side Effects: SevereSevereSevereSevereSevere
    • Adherence: NeverNeverNeverNeverNever
    • Burden: A littleA littleA littleA littleA little
    Advice & Tips
    From my experience, physical therapy is a disaster for treatment of herniated disk in the lumbar spine (L4-L5). Physical therapy was never proven to work for fixing herniated disk or aleviating any of the symptoms or pain related to that (such as sciatic pain). If your symptoms improved during the physical therapy, they would have probably improved without the physical therapy. However, physical therapy, in particular when it involves mobilization/manipulation in the lower back, can be disastrous and might lead to what might be permanent and life long damages and pain. My first physical therapist told me to sit straight and gave me a couple of exercises to do at my home and work. Before seeing her I had almost full range of motion. After I tried to sit straight according to her instructions and did the exercises that she recommended, my range of motion was reduced substantially and it was much harder for me to bend. It was a very bad experience. After discussing the exercises that she gave me with 2 other physical therapists, they said that I should have never been given these exerces. And the original physical therapist who gave me these exercises was very experienced and specialized in back problems... The experience from my second physical therapist was even much worse. I might have life long unpleasant tingling sensations in my leg due to his malpractice. He is actually a very nice person who is an expert (with certificates) in the McKenzie method, which is now a leading method in physical therapy. One of the reasons that I came to his clinic was because I did not want to spend time and money working with physical therapy assistants, but with licensed physical therapists. However, he had a physical therapy student who was doing a rotation with him for 10 weeks. He gradually let her take care of my PT exercises. However, he also let her work for 15 minutes on my lower back in doing mobilization/manipulation. Immediately after these 15 minutes of her work, while I was still at the clinic, I started to suffer from constant unpleasant tingling (the medical term is paresthesia) sensations in my leg. I currently (around 5 months after the 'treatment') still have these sensations, even after a successful surgery that got rid of the pain, but not of these unpleasant tingling sensations. Notice, when you do physical therapy, at least where I live, I am in a room with many bother patients and my physical therapist or physical therapy assistant also had 1 other patient when seeing me. The famous physical therapist who I saw barely remebered what were my symptoms. The method of seeing 2 patients at a time means that your time and money are wasted as you don't get the full attention of the caregiver. Did you ever see a Dr for a 1 hour meeting and the Dr saw another patient at the same time? My sincere suggestion to patients who suffer from sciatic pain related to a herniated disk, is to avoid physical therapy. If for some reason you want to give it a try, avoid manipulations/mobilizations in the lower back as they were never proven to help but can surely cause side effects that the physical therapist and their assistants have no clue how to fix.
    Cost
    $50-99 monthly
    added a treatment evaluation for Physical Therapy (PT) Nov 26, 2011
  17. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Stopped: Physical Therapy (PT)

    • Stopped: Jul 1, 2011
    • Reason: Did not seem to work
    stopped taking the treatment Physical Therapy (PT) Nov 26, 2011
  18. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Epidural Steroid Injection

      • Stopped: Sep 10, 2011
      • Reason: Did not seem to work
      • Started: Jul 21, 2011
      • Last Dosage: 60 mg every other week
    • Purpose: Degenerative Disc Disease, Herniated Disc, and Sciatic Neuralgia
    • View Latest Evaluation
    updated the treatment Epidural Steroid Injection Nov 26, 2011
    • Added
      • Started: Jul 21, 2011
      • Dosage: 60 mg every other week
      • Purpose: Degenerative Disc Disease, Herniated Disc, Sciatic Neuralgia, and Pain in lower back
      • Jul 21, 2011
    • Stopped
      • Date: Sep 10, 2011
      • Reason: Did not seem to work
      • Sep 10, 2011
    • Evaluated
  19. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Oxycodone

      • Stopped: Nov 22, 2011
      • Reason: Course of treatment ended
      • Started: Nov 15, 2011
      • Last Dosage: 40 mg daily
    • Purpose: Back surgery and Surgery
    • View Latest Evaluation
    updated the treatment Oxycodone Nov 26, 2011
    • Added
      • Started: Nov 15, 2011
      • Dosage: 40 mg daily
      • Purpose: Back surgery and Surgery
      • Nov 15, 2011
    • Stopped
      • Date: Nov 22, 2011
      • Reason: Course of treatment ended
      • Nov 22, 2011
    • Evaluated
  20. Portrait_default_thumb
    fatherofs
    Data Quality: 0 stars
    • Sex:
    • Age:
    Condition: 3 additional condition(s)
    Quality of Life:
    • Mental: Unreported
    • Physical: Unreported

    Lyrica

      • Stopped: May 21, 2011
      • Reason: Did not seem to work and Side effects too severe
      • Started: May 1, 2011
      • Last Dosage: 75 mg daily
    • Purpose: Pain, Herniated Disc, and 2 more
    • View Latest Evaluation
    updated the treatment Lyrica Nov 26, 2011
    • Added
      • Started: May 01, 2011
      • Dosage: 300 mg daily
      • Purpose: Pain, Herniated Disc, Sciatic Neuralgia, and Degenerative Disc Disease
      • May 01, 2011
    • Stopped
      • Date: May 21, 2011
      • Reason: Did not seem to work and Side effects too severe
      • May 21, 2011
    • Evaluated
  21. Show more