Health Problems

Not sure if you have the same kind of sciatic issues, but my dad has a lot of leg pain on one side. He uses a brace/pad similar to this, though not sure what position/orientation. He says it’s helped him, for what it’s worth.

Amazon product ASIN B0C38WH7VG
www.amazon.com/FCNUSX-Sciatica-Relief-Devices-Brace/dp/B0C38WH7VG

Daidraco said:

Why cant I ever see Amazon stuff on this website. So weird.

Tell him to try this exercise. Took me a second to find it, but no surprise that its easily findable through back pain search. My mother could barely lift her leg that way, and now she can do it like its nothing.

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Ah fucks sake. I swear it works when other people seem to post shit, but I can’t get it to. Threw the raw link in there.

Koushirou said:

Ah fucks sake. I swear it works when other people seem to post shit, but I can’t get it to. Threw the raw link in there.

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Been broke for a while.

sleevedraw said:

Others have already posted a bunch of good advice regarding lifestyle modification. If you want a specific diet plan, check the DASH diet or the MIND diet (which is basically a modified DASH that is associated with a substantially lower risk of Alzheimer's).

Diastolic (bottom number) is generally a better predictor of heart disease issues when the numbers are only slightly elevated. 130 or 135/80 isn't as concerning as 130/90. AAFP clinical guidelines are that high blood pressure should be treated when systolic goes above 140 (mid quality evidence) or diastolic above 90 (high quality evidence).

Also: blood pressure is a notoriously finicky vital sign that can change on a dime. Things that seem very mundane can cause 10-20 point systolic spikes. If your provider wants you to measure your BP at home,

• Take it about the same time every day
• Piss before you take your BP, because a full bladder can increase BP
• Don't cross your legs, because crossing them can increase BP
• Sit quietly and don't talk, because talking can increase BP
• Don't take a blood pressure reading with a sleeve on your arm, because wearing a sleeve can...you know.

But to directly answer the question regarding meds, the most common side effects that they all share are dizziness and fatigue. These happen in about 10-20% of people and can be annoying at first, but they often go away if you stick with the meds for a few months, because your body eventually goes back to its old "set point."

ACEs (lisinopril and all the -prils) and ARBs (irbesartan and all the -sartans), the major scary side effect is angioedema (swelling of the tongue, which can be a legitimate medical emergency, because your tongue/throat can swell so much that it blocks your airway. Angioedema is uncommon, however - 0.1 to 0.7%, in ACEs, and even rarer in ARBs.

Thiazide diuretics can cause you to piss a lot, but they are typically not used as a first-line agent outside of black people (they respond better to thiazides than ACEs/ARBs).

DHP Calcium channel blockers (nifedipine/amlodipine/isradipine/all the -dipines) can cause minor swelling in the ankles, but this is generally more a cosmetic issue than a serious problem, and it may not be a problem at all if you stay active, which will keep the fluid moving. They can sometimes cause people to feel "flushed" or hot.

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Appreciate all the info. Quick question.. I work a lot outside in my free time doing farming type stuff, manual labor etc. It gets so hot here that last summer I was probably borderline heat exhaustion multiple times despite downing tons of water. A friend suggested LMNT and I’ve been using it ever since for when I work outside on weekends and it’s been a game changer.

It’s packed with sodium.. How bad is this for my BP? Is it OK to use in the context I am? When doing manual labor in heavy heat?

Dr.Retarded said:

What do you guys do for sciatic pain or neuropathy BS?

I'm at my wits end, I'm just so tired of dealing with it everyday. Open to any options, or at least experience / knowledge of said problem.

Haven't had cancer, or anything really horrifying, but I got my own stack a problems, and as I'm getting older, are starting to manifest their issues more and more. It's easily one of the things that screws me up on a day-to-day basis.

Orthopedic surgeon I didn't detect anything wrong with my spine pinching nerves or what have you, try to go into a chiropractor but that's a goddamn crapshoot.

I'm just so tired of my feet or my legs going numb, I'm having to sit there and try to do things like a salt bath every evening. I never had these problems prior to the end of 2019, and it just infuriates me, and it doesn't seem like there's a lot I can do about.

Anyways, if anybody's got when I hate to call a life hack, I'll be most appreciative. The constant pain and bullshit and screwing with my relationships with people because I'm just always agitated and angry, now that said individual, but just being on edge.

I'm just looking for whatever fucking solution I can find.

Thank you in advance.

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Have you gotten a few alternative opinions? I had shoulder pain and neuropathy in my arm/hand for years. My ortho MRI’d my shoulder and found nothing. I spent the next 4 years dumping 10s of thousands of dollars into everything you can imagine. I saw every specialist from endo, rheumatologist, thoracic surgeon, spinal surgeon etc etc. I got dumped into the fibromyalgia category and thrown on gabapentin with occasional injections. Tried chiro, acupuncture, specialized massage for neuro pain etc etc. Chronic pain ruled my life and as I’m sure you know it can get to the point where your life revolves around it, it changes the way you think and everything you do. It is absolutely awful and I completely empathize with anyone going through it.

4 years going through this I decide to get another opinion from an ortho my shoulder. Within 5 minutes he’s able to do a manual evaluation and come to the conclusion I have a tear. Unlike the first ortho, he does an MRI with contrast which shows the tear. It was a SLAP tear which would only show with an MRI with contrast.. The first ortho I went to 4 years prior didn’t do contrast. Note that ortho also has the reputation of being the best shoulder and hand surgeon in my greater area yet he completely missed it.

I had that shoulder done and it changed my pain so much that I didn’t realize I had been living in pain in my other shoulder. Same exact tear.. Had that done and it absolutely changed my life. Frankly I was in a very dark place at my wits end with chronic pain. It was a tough year of double shoulder surgeon and a good 1 year of PT and really probably 1.5-2 years before feeling fully recovered and more comfortable using my shoulder in my vigorous ways.

My TLDR is get a second opinion, maybe a third, etc. I’m going through a minor foot issue right now. First doc I saw said if it’s really bothering me he can do surgeon, no problem. I dig deeper in research and the surgery failure rate due to recurrence is insanely significant. I find there’s alternative options some doctors are doing such as special ultrasound guided injections with a lot of success. Yet this foot doctor, who again has a reputation of being one of the best in my area, wanted to jump straight to surgery without offering up alternatives or even warning me of failure rate.

I hope you figure it out man. I know it’s awful and I know it’s a money pit. I wish I could be more helpful but just want to emphasize always get multiple opinions, deep dive research (facebook groups can be helpful).

Daidraco said:

My mother, granted she's fucking 68.. She was experiencing sciatic nerve pain, numbing in the legs, etc. She was prescribed Flexeril anytime she had a flare up, with a low strength script for Loratabs. Outside of those two, she was also prescribed Duloxetine, which I think is a depression medicine that has good results for lower back pain for whatever reason. Never looked into it. I didnt know she was taking all of this shit until about a year ago. But looking back over the years, she had became more and more sedentary as time passed until it was hard for her to walk. Kind of a vicious cycle in my head, as the thought is to be more sedentary so you dont irritate the muscles further.. but at the same time, being sedentary exacerbates the problem.

When I found out she was taking all those pills, and.. was still fucking having a hard time moving around - I went out of my way to get her with my Physical Therapist for Sports Medicine. I use him anytime I have a problem in my shoulders from lifting, or in my hip for squats, etc. But when I talked to him about her condition, he was confident about what he said and that he could help her ... fast forward a month after she's been working with him, getting proper stretches in, training the muscles that have grown weak, and she was now moving around the house and doing fairly well. Fast forward to now - she goes and sees him once a week and does some basic mobility work outs (I think shes sweet on him, but I dont think my pops gives af anymore.) She says she only has pain when shes been sitting around too long.

Im not saying that the same remedy will work for you, but when you havent had any major accidents and your doctors cant find a cause.. I want to say its where you've let some muscles atrophy and you just need to get them back up to speed. Its not always about bone on bone with this kind of stuff - your big muscles could be over compensating for a weak muscle, until they cant hold up any longer and now you're completely depending on that smaller muscle to do the work it was meant to do all along PLUS the load of the other muscle.

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Yeah duloxetine is generic cymbalta which is also used for neuro pain. I was on that too.

+1 on sports PT. I didn’t mention this but in that journey I found a sports PT, not some burned out old hag that’s showing up to do PT for post ops, but a younger PT who primarily works with athletes, doesn’t do insurance etc.

She is awesome. Any time I have something come up I go to her. She doesn’t try to rope you into coming back. In fact she evals you, shows you exercises and then has YouTube videos or creates them specifically showing you how to do those exercises with an emphasis on proper form.

Fogel said:

Everything I've read shows that we're not getting enough sodium in our diets now ever since the now apparent misguided war on sodium was launched, combined with the "hydration" push. Drinking straight water only makes the issue worse since we're now filtering out more electrolytes without replenishing them. Amazing how many things modern medicine, the FDA, etc have gotten wrong over the years while taking plenty of corporate money. It's almost like we've forgotten that the body needs sodium to survive.

If you're working/sweating a lot, than more sodium and other electrolytes shouldn't be an issue.

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Seems like this is one of those “listen to your body” things. If I drink straight water I don’t feel hydrated. I throw lmnt in it and I’m doing great. Seems like the body wants sodium in this context.

Fogel said:

Everything I've read shows that we're not getting enough sodium in our diets now ever since the now apparent misguided war on sodium was launched, combined with the "hydration" push. Drinking straight water only makes the issue worse since we're now filtering out more electrolytes without replenishing them. Amazing how many things modern medicine, the FDA, etc have gotten wrong over the years while taking plenty of corporate money. It's almost like we've forgotten that the body needs sodium to survive.

If you're working/sweating a lot, than more sodium and other electrolytes shouldn't be an issue.

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For what it's worth, last I talked to my doctor and mentioned I was trying to drink more water during the day, she said to make sure to get some salt in there with it, otherwise it just doesn't really do shit.