Friday 14 September 2007

The last four days have been excruciating.

I have had the most awful pain in the back of my thigh, which moves up and down. Sitting down is intolerable, and going from sitting to standing has had me doubled over in pain. This morning it got too much, but my doctor's surgery can't see me after I finish work because they all need to go home and have their supper, and I can't justify taking time off work because there is so much to do, so little time, and with people on holiday and business trips, not enough people to do it all. In floods of tears, I dropped in at the NHS walk in centre on my way to work, where I was seen immediately, diagnosed with bad sciatica and prescribed these and these. Although the walk-in centre cannot refer me anywhere the doctor was fantastic and advised me to by-pass my GP and go straight to Accident & Emergency tomorrow, should the drugs not work. The drugs are working. Just now I was able to stand up, without bursting in to tears, for the first time in 4 days. Apparently, the likelihood is a herniated disc, pressing on the sciatic nerve. Which would mean that I have the same problem as my pooch, although not even remotely as bad. Anyhow, the drugs I've been given (which are apparently amongst those given to cancer patients) are most certainly doing the trick.

I spoke to the vet again yesterday. Apparently, HRH is now eating and drinking a little more by herself, and she seems to be displaying a little more sensation in her left leg. Although progress is small and slow, she is definitely showing some positive signs. I get to go and see her again this weekend. Yay!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh no! Sheesh...when the shit hits the fan it REALLY hits the fan! I'm glad to hear that the meds are working for now. Have they done an MRI of your spine yet to look at the problem?

Anonymous said...

Not long ago, I had the same problem. It hurt no matter whether I sat, stood or laid down. After weeks of therapy, the doctor finally ended up giving me an injection of cortizone into the disc area. It relieved the pressure on my nerve long enough for me to work on my back strength. So far, it has worked.

coffeesnob said...

comiz (comiserations).

CTK said...

I had a nasty bout with sciatica - most painful thing I have ever endured. When getting up from sitting, I would have to hold onto my desk for 2-3 minutes before being able to walk away from it, and it would take a good 5+ minutes thereafter before I could walk limp-free. When sitting down, I had to grab the desk again and move downward into my seat in stages, taking breaks along the way. Brutal.

The good news is that after taking some pain relievers/muscle relaxers/etc for a couple of months, it went away and hasn't returned in >3 years.

Good luck snausage!