Last night was a better night; I was able to rest! I still woke up every 1.5 to 2 hours but at least I was not watching the clock waiting until I could take another pain pill. I took some pain medication at 10:30 pm and did not need any more until 5:30 am. I had some good success in mitigating the sciatic nerve pain that I had been experiencing following the fusion of my L4 and L5 vertebrae two and a half weeks ago and I would like to share what I believe are the reasons for the success.
- The use of a Heating Pad.
- A Contour Sleep Lumbar Pad from “Relax the Back” store.
- Cut back on physical activity during the day.
- Continued prayer.
My wife picked up the Contour Sleep Lumbar Pad at the Relax the Back store for me and it made a great deal of difference in my ability to get comfortable in bed. It allowed me to sleep on my side or on my back without my incision hurting as much and also helped with the sciatic nerve pain.
In my lay person’s opinion, I think that the key to reducing the sciatic nerve pain is getting the muscles in the hip area to relax as much as possible and to get the inflammation to decrease. As one cannot take ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory drugs during recovery from back surgery as they hinder the bone graft procedure, a heating pad is a must have. The heating pad helps with the circulation, loosens the muscles and reduces the inflammation to that area.
I called my doctor’s office and discussed the pain I was having the previous 5 nights and my inability to sleep. The Physician’s Assistant stated that even though the nerve pain was not present the first week I was home, there had probably been a cumulative effect of the healing process and my increasing my walking from a total of 45 minutes a day to 55 minutes per day. She asked me to cut back to about 30 minutes per day for a few days to allow my body to rest. I will do so because one of my main goals is to FOLLOW DOCTOR’S ORDERS. This will allow for the best outcome.
And the fourth ingredient in the mix for the better night of sleep is of course, prayer. Thanks to all my friends and family who are praying for me. I truly believe you have helped me to have a better night’s sleep. Keep praying for me not to overdo it and to continue to follow doctor’s orders. The Lord is good, He hears our prayers and He answers them. Our God has our back.
If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you can send me an email directly at pastorpstephens@aol.com
God has your back! 