Friday, October 17, 2008
I started having buttock pain several years ago and it has just gotten progressively
worse. It hurts so bad to sit more than 30 min. I have been to a zillion doctors and
had every test imagineable, even unnecessary surgery and the pain is still here. I
am going to be forced to retire early because my job is sitting all day.
Does anyone out there have any suggestions to help me. I am planning a short trip
in the next few weeks and am happy about it and dreading it at the same time. I
really need to get away because I am becoming so depressed about this pain.
Hello Betty Jean
I could hardly help but notice your post. I have the same first and middle name as you. LOL I don't run into other Betty's very often and I had a little chuckle over it.
Is your pain caused by sciatic problems??It sounds very familiar and I also suffer from sciatic nerve problems in both my buttocks, lumbar spine and the pain radiates down both my legs to nearly my ankle on the left side and to my kneee on the left side.
Will you be driving, flying or a passenger on your trip. It could make a difference in what suggestions we can try and help you with? I would suggest you bring some of your own pillows and if your staying in a motel, besure and ask at the front desk if you want extra's in your room. I also use a seat cushion that tilts down in the front section to take some of the pressure off from behind my knees. You will need to stop and walk around atleast every 45 minutes to an hour. Do some stretches and lay out flat in the back seat if there is room. You might also want to tuck your knees up toward your chest and stretch your buttock area out too. If you use ice & or heating pad on your lumbar area, you can know purchase an outlet for your heating pad that goes into the ciggarette lighter and has a plug in adaptor for your pad, so you can use it in the car. I normally start our trips with my ice pack on and when it unthaws, I switch to my heating pad, then I either use the ice bucket or small fridge they have at the motel to refreeze my cold packs for the next day or later that evening if I need them again. They do make a very small cooler, that will freeze your packs from the cig lighter of the car while driving, but they are kind of spendy.
Here is a site with all kinds of back support items for travel, home or what ever. They have really nice stuff, but it can be spendy to. http://www.relaxtheback.com/travel-subcategory-6389780
If you have any questions, Ill be glad to try and answer them. My husband likes to travel and it's really hard on me, so I've tried really hard to addapt and still be able to go with him. We have although had to really curtail those long driving trips and do a little more local traveling in our own state or one nearby. Flying can be tricky, but I have survived a 5 hour flight, but it's not easy. When we arrive at our destination, I always have to lay down and he's had to get used to taking off and doing some activities on his own. I get more use out of the motel room now than I ever have and only do one small activity per day and rest so I can go out for dinner with him. I bring my lap top, books, journal, etc and still have things I like to do in the room.
Hope you enjoy yourself, your anxiety is really to be expected, but you'll be surprised at all the litte tricks you can learn to still participate.
Talk to you soon Betty Jean
Betty