Painful Journey with Sciatica

This personal account of overcoming Sciatica comes from my father. Its a fantasy way of saying he has a pinched nerve I suspect. You could see this account as the medical service being thorough or over-servicing. Hmmm...at the end of the day you end up with the knowledge that you are ok.

I am a 72yo, reasonably fit man for my age. I played a lot of sport throughout my younger days and have always been an active person, living a life in the outdoors, enjoy gardening (i.e. I grow clivias on the Central Coast NSW, Australia). I have for many years practiced simple yoga regularly and for a number of years now have been careful about my diet.

In May 2011, over a period of 2-3 week, I developed pain extending down my right leg as low as my ankle. I became useless and had to sit down and put my feet up to diminish the pain. The doctor performed X-rays and prescribed pain-killers (Voltarin, Norflex, Tramal, Norspan patches and Naproxen), however most of these drugs made me feel sick and the patches which went on my shoulder made me violently sick for weeks, whilst the pain persisted. The X-rays didn`t reveal much and the doctor wasn't sure what was causing the pain.

I then had a few sessions of Physio. The well-qualified physio (with 2 diplomas) suggested some stretches and indicated some tightness in some leg muscles. He gave me a leaflet and didn't do much else for me.

Meanwhile, I was thinking it was my hip playing up (since I had had a hip replacement on the left side 10 years previous as well as a partial knee replacement on this same side as the leg pain). I decided to put my name down to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon - which entailed a 6 week wait. Now August, I also decided to get a CT scan done and get some injections (into the L4-5) to no avail. No one could tell me what ailed me, however the CT scan did identify spinal stenosis and a disc bulge or protrusion in the L4-5 disc and so it went on. I eventually got to see the Orthopaedic Surgeon who said I had no worries with hip or knee. He also conveyed that “the pain would go away in a few months!!!".............not saying why it would go away!!!

I however continued to go to muscle therapists, chiropractors and Physios as the pain endured. I still tried to do exercises and stretches to no avail. I had become quite depressed during this 5 month period. I had no trouble sleeping as when I lay down the pain left me. One day I awoke in the morning with no pain. It eventually subsided as the Orthopaedic Surgeon indicated. In about the 1st week of December I called the surgeon's secretary to provide feebdback; that the pain had gone away he anticipated.

I had found out just before this follow-up from a pharmacist that: hard tissue gives way (succumbs) to soft tissue (bulge & nerve). I would have loved to have known this whilst I was enduring over 6 months of pain; that when there is a bulge or a protrusion it entraps the nerve against the hard disc (pinched nerve) and causes pain all along the sciatic nerve (the longest nerve in the body) branching out behind the knee and travelling right down into the foot.....the hard disc eventually wears away and the pain subsides!!!

So there you go. After editing my dad's account, I empathise with his painful persistance. :)

Something interesting to me in this account is the fact that my father went back to his doctor with feedback. This is important, though I suspect there is a lack of formalised process by which this can be done. i.e. Telling the secretary probably will not make it to the surgeon. There really needs to be a third-party database by which doctors can log-in and amend and update a patient's records, so this can be used by researchers who study such issues. I really think this is a problem with our medical institutions...that there is a lack of process. This is often the case with professionals. I guess we can sympathise with doctors because they perform some 6-8 years of study, and then they have to learn software. Maybe they wouldn't have to if research was on the job? Then they might be using modern medicine.

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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com

Are you experiencing joint pain?

I have for a long time been experiencing joint pain and what I thought to be "circulation issues". The incidence of this was usually associated with drinking alcohol, and I thought eating animal fats, or simply fats, but fact it was an accumulation of uric acid in my blood. I am slightly over 40yo, and such problems occur from this age, usually in men, but also in women. You can specify a blood test to test for uric acid.

If your levels are in the upper levels of the recommended range you might have a susceptibility to the build-up of uric acid. If your uric acid levels are over the recommended levels, you will want to adjust your diet, and if the problem persists, you should consider medication.

Foods containing uric acid and the compounds that metabolize into uric acid include most animal meats, such as beef, lamb, pork and seafood. Poultry and ham, the "white meats," can have some purine, so should be eaten in small amounts. The "red meats" are most detrimental, particularly bacon, because of its added processing. Alcohol and breads which contain yeast also have high uric acid so should be avoided.

Gout is a common form of arthritis arising from high levels of uric acid in the blood stream. To prevent gout, those susceptible to
uric acid accumulation need to know how to lower their uric acid levels. The easiest way to lower uric acid is though proper eating habits and medication. This means limiting alcohol and avoiding purine rich foods, which will convert to uric acid.

The good foods you can eat are:
1. Black cherry juice (or "sour cherry or bitter cherry") helps to relieve the gout symptoms in conjunction with a uric acid-reducing diet.
2. Folic acid can also assist in reducing inflammation in gout episodes.
3. Increase your intake of low-fat dairy foods to lower your uric acid levels, eg. Low fat milk, yogurt and cheese
4. Drink plenty of water to lower uric acid. I have previously criticised the need to take water because I thought the body always produces an excess (unless you do strenuous exercise or live in a tropcal/hot climate). For gout/uric sufferers at least, like myself, my previous advice does not hold. They should be having eight glasses of water a day. Liquids low in caffeine and calories help to remove uric acid from the blood stream. Mother SOMETIMES knows best after all.
5. Celery, tomatoes, cabbage, parsley, kale and all green leaf vegetables are also helpful in low uric acid diets.
6. Fresh fruits including blueberries, strawberries, bananas and cherries are some of the fruits gout sufferers should include in their diet.

Sources:
www.joint-pain.com/foods-high-in-uric-acid.html
www.ehow.com/how_2056151_lower-uric-acid-prevent-gout.html
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com