Read on Twitter
I guess that there are a lot of people on Twitter who suffer from sciatica to some degree, from the dull ache in the leg(s) to the "hello carpet" extreme. I'm in the latter category and am two days into a really severe attack and thought I'd share it with you all, especially
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for the benefit of those people of the "Oh, it's just a nerve twitch, get over it" persuasion. Let's disabuse people of the "nerve twitch" misunderstanding: I had an anaesthetist, a bright, vivacious, mother of three, who also suffered from sciatica (sitting, twisting and
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bending to administer and monitor anaesthetic equipment for several hours is not conducive to good posture and puts pressures on the lumber discs that they weren't designed for). She used to say that everybody should have to undergo one day of sciatica, especially women who
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say that they've given birth and nothing beats that for pain, just to experience what real pain is. The sensation of having a red hot, 3 foot long nail being hammered up through your heel to your buttocks. Once there, someone gives it a friendly swipe with a mallet every
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minute or so. It can last for a really short period but, most likely, having got to the carpet communing stage (leg just gives way and you get to inspect the carpet from ground level), it's going to hang around a while. My longest bout was just over three weeks.
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I was genuinely suicidal by that time, but two things stopped me; I couldn't stand to reach any med's or method of inflicting damage upon myself and I had a neighbour who came in twice a day to get me a couple of flasks of coffee and water. I couldn't repay
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that kindness by allowing her to find a corpse in place of a patient. I've had over 52 years of suffering sciatica attacks, experiencing this irregular hell (it really does have a mind of its own about when to make an appearance) during which I've developed a tolerance
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to painkillers far in excess of a normal person's. Fentanyl (a patch, permanently releasing the stuff into my bloodstream, doesn't even make me feel drowsy), Morphine is my paracetamol, codeine and diazepam (oddly, sometimes effective) my junior Aspirin. Anyway, I'm mid-way
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through my second day and about to retire to my pit, 'cause typing involves leaning forward and sitting and doing all those things that people take for granted.
I'm not looking for sympathy by the way, neither is anyone else who gets this cursed affliction, just a little
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I'm not looking for sympathy by the way, neither is anyone else who gets this cursed affliction, just a little
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understanding.
A couple of words for all other sufferers out there: whilst at this exact moment in time I'd quite happily check out, I also know that I'll get through it and so will you. It won't be any less painful or of a struggle, but you will. You're not alone.
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A couple of words for all other sufferers out there: whilst at this exact moment in time I'd quite happily check out, I also know that I'll get through it and so will you. It won't be any less painful or of a struggle, but you will. You're not alone.
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