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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat
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    Pain in the arse...

    Sciatica. Anybody have or had it?... Does it go away?... Diagnosis and treatment in Thailand?

    Had it for about 2 months now and it doesn't seem to be improving. I never thought that putting on a sock in the morning could be so painful.

    The cause was when I strained my back while I was in hospital with dengue fever a couple of months back. I went against all the rules of manual handling when I sat up in the hospital bed and leaned down and twisted to pick up my daughter and sit her on the bed. Since then I have had pains down one side of my back which stretches to my left arse cheek and sometimes into the leg.

    I have read the usual medical websites including the UK NHS page that seems to be filled up with stories of people suffering from it for years and on a constant dosage of pain killers.

    Might try a cocktail of nurofen, codeine, tramadol and diazapem when I get home to Thailand... see if that sorts it.

    Hopefully if I go for a scan then a doctor could identify something like a herniated disc that could be operated on to fix it.


  2. #2
    Member robbo's Avatar
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    yep, suffer from it badly. If you find a cure i'd love to hear it. the only relieve i get is from ice, sit in a chair with an ice pack on your back for 30 mins and freeze the fucker, (thats relief but not a cure)

  3. #3
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    ^ Robbo - I am sat at work right now trying an ice pack for the first time. It seems to work a bit. The medic on the last boat I was on suggested trying hot and cold to see which works best.

    It isn't a constant pain. Certain leg or back positions bring it on. Is a real drag though as I want to get back cycling or exercising.

    How long have you had it?

  4. #4
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    I suffered from it for years and tried all sorts to no avail, then a friend told me about a physio here in Pattaya called Nigel. It took a few sessions of accupuncture and I was sorted.

  5. #5
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    ^ Kurgen - sent you a PM.

    A physio that did accupuncture? - I'll be willing to give anything a try if it drags on much longer.

  6. #6
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    I had a bad bout of sciatica a few years ago in the uk, it was due to a herniated disk. I could hardly move for a couple of months.

    Three months of physiotherapy, followed by regular exercise specifically tailored to strengthen the lower back muscles sorted it out and thankfully it has never recurred. I have continued to exercise regularly and I think that has helped to prevent any recurrence.

    Ibuprofen, neurofen and other nsaid painkillers should be taken with tablets to reduce the output of stomach acid, e.g. pariet or lansoprazole, those painkillers if taken for more than a week or two can result in stomach ulcers and oesophageal reflux problems. A quack will advise on the correct dosages.

    The last resort is surgery to repair the herniated disc,

  7. #7
    Member robbo's Avatar
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    the hot then cold method or vice versa works but as i said it is no cure, it just dulls the pain.
    i've suffered with it for years and i would love to find a cure also

  8. #8
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    have had it all my life.
    The key is finding out why you have it. Before you do that anything is just temporary relief. Something is pressuring the nerve, something is broken or misaligned.
    For me it is one leg slightly shorter.
    As your back muscles reshape to cope with the problem they generally make it worse, or add new problems. Find out why, then correct it and do some exercises to strengthen and and restore your backs proper balance. Good sports physio, stay away from chiro and other quackery.

  9. #9
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    I think I've got this. How do I get It diagnosed and what drugs are available?

    Right now I'm typing but my left arm needs to drop below the table to relive the pain.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Necron99
    stay away from chiro and other quackery.
    Needs to be emphasised.

  11. #11
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    I found that holding on to a bar hanging straight with my feet of the floor helped a lot by stretching the back.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by rawlins View Post
    The cause was when I strained my back while I was in hospital with dengue fever a couple of months back. I went against all the rules of manual handling when I sat up in the hospital bed and leaned down and twisted to pick up my daughter and sit her on the bed. Since then I have had pains down one side of my back which stretches to my left arse cheek and sometimes into the leg.
    Not being a physician but have been exposed as a back care guy in Industry and have been hospitalized after lifting a snow mobile.

    I would say the sprain is more likely to be muscular than skeletal. Unless you have a previous condition.

    I have also at a later date pulled a muscle playing squash and could not stand up straight.

    So swimming is the key. At least in the beginning. Get some Styrofoam floats, go to a pool and with the floats under your arms, suspend yourself in the water. Now you have no weight on your spine you are free to move around like water aerobics, leg lifts, spine rotation etc. You need to be in there until you get wrinkled and not care about what anyone else thinks. I did it for the best part of a day.

    You may need to repeat this.

    When the pain starts to go away you will need to work on strengthening your abdominal muscles as well at all your trunk muscles.
    Better to think inside the pub, than outside the box?
    I apologize if any offence was caused. unless it was intended.
    You people, you think I know feck nothing; I tell you: I know feck all
    Those who cannot change their mind, cannot change anything.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by rawlins
    It isn't a constant pain. Certain leg or back positions bring it on. Is a real drag though as I want to get back cycling or exercising.
    Quote Originally Posted by Necron99
    stay away from chiro and other quackery.
    my back was sorted out by a chiropractor; they certainly are not quacks but operate based on the fact that skeletal imbalances occur due to various stresses

    but you really should find out the cause first; if a skeletal imbalance, then a chiro can help

    if a herniated disc, you may or may not need an operation depending on the severity of the hernia

    a scan may be the best way forward, Xrays will not tell you much unless you have a misaligned spine
    I have reported your post

  14. #14
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    Whatever you do don't go to the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.

    Those butchers told me I needed an immediate operation involving taking my hip apart and grinding the ball joint.
    They almost scared me into it but luckily my insurance company refused to pay the 200k.
    I then went to the navy hospital at Sattahip and got told the operation wasn't needed and would have probably left me with a permanent limp!
    I would post pictures but life's too short.

  15. #15
    Member robbo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrAndy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by rawlins
    It isn't a constant pain. Certain leg or back positions bring it on. Is a real drag though as I want to get back cycling or exercising.
    Quote Originally Posted by Necron99
    stay away from chiro and other quackery.
    my back was sorted out by a chiropractor; they certainly are not quacks but operate based on the fact that skeletal imbalances occur due to various stresses

    but you really should find out the cause first; if a skeletal imbalance, then a chiro can help

    if a herniated disc, you may or may not need an operation depending on the severity of the hernia

    a scan may be the best way forward, Xrays will not tell you much unless you have a misaligned spine
    feeling the pain today, any ideas where i could get a scan done here in Chiang Mai Doc??????

  16. #16
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    A lot of people recommend the Rajavej hospital; maybe see the specialist there before any scan (quite expensive)

    see if it is necessary first

    Rajavej Chiangmai Hospital

    good luck

  17. #17
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    There are lumbar back braces on the market which claim to add support and stability so maybe worth thinking about.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrAndy View Post

    but you really should find out the cause first
    Quote Originally Posted by VocalNeal View Post

    I would say the sprain is more likely to be muscular than skeletal. Unless you have a previous condition.
    Good advice. It's surprising how many people self-diagnose and then treat themselves according to that. Check for structural damage by getting an x-ray.

    If it is muscular and inflamed, you can double check for this by taking an anti-inflammatory for a few days. If it gets better it's inflammation. You can then treat this with magnesium (tablets). It works for inflammation ! Can't recommend it highly enough. And it's completely safe.You just don't get enough in your diet.
    The best and most well-tolerated Cox-2 anti-inflammatory is Celebrex. It gives the least problems with digestion.

    Oh....if you do take magnesium, get tablets that have it in a few different forms....as an amino acid chelate, aspartate, orotate. Magnesium oxide is the least well-absorbed.

  19. #19
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  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince View Post
    I think I've got this. How do I get It diagnosed and what drugs are available?

    Right now I'm typing but my left arm needs to drop below the table to relive the pain.
    Don't think Sciatica would affect the arm - it is lower back problems that pinch or put pressure on the Sciatic nerve. Can feel the effects in your arse cheek and down your leg - I have a tingling in the leg and foot on the affected side just now.

    Lots of good advice on here - thanks all.

    I was going to go to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital for a proper diagnosis but due to Kurgens experience might try another hospital. It probably is muscular in my case but wouldn't mind a scan to rule out or confirm a herniated disc or other disc problem.

    I am rubbing Tiger Balm in it every day along with cold packs and take painkillers for the bad days.

    So it's a scan at a hospital, swimming exercises, proper massages and a prescription of alcohol when I get home.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by rawlins
    Don't think Sciatica
    My only reference is that scene in Bio-Dome when Pauley Shore is in pain on the floor saying "My Sciatica! My Sciatica" and tapping his shoulder. I think I have whatever he had.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Latindancer View Post


    Good advice. It's surprising how many people self-diagnose and then treat themselves according to that.
    Agreed.

    WTF?



    Check for structural damage by getting an x-ray.

    If it is muscular and inflamed, you can double check for this by taking an anti-inflammatory for a few days. If it gets better it's inflammation. You can then treat this with magnesium (tablets). It works for inflammation ! Can't recommend it highly enough. And it's completely safe.You just don't get enough in your diet.
    The best and most well-tolerated Cox-2 anti-inflammatory is Celebrex. It gives the least problems with digestion.

    Oh....if you do take magnesium, get tablets that have it in a few different forms....as an amino acid chelate, aspartate, orotate. Magnesium oxide is the least well-absorbed.
    so tell him not to self diagnose but then tell him how to medicate?

    ,

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by rawlins
    Don't think Sciatica
    My only reference is that scene in Bio-Dome when Pauley Shore is in pain on the floor saying "My Sciatica! My Sciatica" and tapping his shoulder. I think I have whatever he had.
    I think he suffered from bad self-diagnosis... You might have that.


    KingWilly - stop nitpicking you twonk.... Latindancer advises not to self diagnose. Then he recommends some medication if it is diagnosed as something. Nothing wrong with that.


  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by rawlins
    I think he suffered from bad self-diagnosis... You might have that.
    There's a 100% chance.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kurgen View Post
    I found that holding on to a bar hanging straight with my feet of the floor helped a lot by stretching the back.

    BY THE TIME I AM HANGING FROM THE BAR WITH ONE HAND, I AM FEELING NO PAIN EITHER.

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