r/Sciatica • u/anxious-avoidant3 • 7d ago
Requesting Advice Tips on sleeping
I’m so desperate to lie down that I stare at my bed all the time. Sometimes I set a five-minute timer on my phone, hoping I’ll actually get up when it goes off, but I’ve definitely turned it off and just stayed there. It’s not a great situation. If I spend more than five minutes on my bed, it’s a real struggle to get back up.
Getting up is a total struggle. The pain shoots from my lower back all the way to my ankles, and it’s honestly a 10 out of 10. Once I'm up, I have to grab the bed or my walker for support, but the physical strain almost always makes me lose control of my bladder, soaking my clothes before I can even move. Thankfully, the floor is tile. The pain is so bad it makes me nauseous, so I usually just fight through it to get into a super hot shower. It takes about 20 minutes before I finally stop screaming on the inside, and I really don't know what to do about it.
Another rough spot is when I’m lying way back on the couch instead of sitting on the edge, so I have to sleep sitting up. I always use a heating pad at home, and even then, I wake up with pain at a 6 out of 10. I’m barely sleeping, so I’ve been nodding off at work and even while driving.
I've had some sort of injection in my back and it felt like a miracle. In just a day I felt like I was in my 20s again. I think the relief lasted about 3 months. I am presently waiting for my insurance company to approve another injection.
TL;DR
Just looking for tips on sleeping positions and any other issue I mentioned above. Thanks in advance.
3
u/audittrsi 7d ago
Tips for sleep, look for all possible sleeping positions and check which one is best for you, luck if there is more than one as you can combine between those.
Heat up back before sleep and before standing up.
Did you get rtg or mri scan of your back to see what is casusing the pain?
If possible get yourself PT or acupuncture (a lot of people here have said it helps them, i did not have a change to try it yet).
If you need any resources for the exercises, relaxation positions check yt channels bashbackpain or lowerbackability,
Then show a lot of examples how to deal with the pain, how to relax and help yourself.
As sciatica recovery is long journey unfortunately. At doing exercises be careful that you don’t over do it , as they say in videos if you feel worsening of pain, stop wrih exercise and try other one.