Chronic Health Conditions Discussion and Support

whatever? I ask because I had transient sciatica and, as a breast cancer patient, had been warned that any constant bone or nerve pain should immediately be reported to my oncologist. Needless to say, I went screaming on down to the doc's office to make sure the cancer hadn't come back. It hadn't, and I was diagnosed with transient sciatica.

If it's transient, try changing the chair(s) you sit in. Unbelievably, this is all it took for my sciatica to go away completely. My computer chair was causing it! That chair is now at Goodwill! It can be hard to find a chair that's truly comfortable because you have to sit in it for a few hours (not just a few minutes in the store) to be able to determine whether it's comfortable for YOU long-term. I was lucky - my upstairs office chair is comfy and once I sat in that for ONE DAY, the sciatica went away. I hope it's that easy for you. I totally understand the pain you're in and hope you can resolve it.

My husband has been suffering from back pain for two years and just now has gone to the doc (yeah, it's true that men won't go to the doc until they are on the floor) over back, leg, and knee pain. The neurologist says it's a back muscle problem that has been left unaddressed too long (imagine that! ). Physical therapy has been a godsend, but his insurance covers it. He is getting better month by month. One of the treatments he is told to do at home is 20 minutes of heat, then some stretching, then 20 minutes of ice, a couple of times a day. At PT, he also always gets the TENS unit treatment; they are available to buy for home use, and you may want to rent one from a medical supply store to see if it helps before you buy one.

Good luck to you! Back pain really wears a person down.