Jeepers, STOP the Chiropractic! You haven't had an MRI in 2 YEARS! You should have another one, with and without contrast material to see what's going on. You could have a herniation in the lumbar area, and any manipulation by a chiro could paralyze you!

I've had a total of 3 Neurosurgeons tell me that manipulation by a chiropractor on a spinal patient could paralyze them!! And I think a Neurosurgeon would know. LOL So until you KNOW exactly what is wrong with you, don't do any more Chiro visits!

Also, when you bend down, bend at the knees -- don't bend from the back. I know it's hard on your knees cause you say they're bothering you, but your BACK will take a huge beating if you bend at the back.

If you're using the Lidoderm patches, those are just topical patches. The medication doesn't get into the blood stream. Ask your doctor for the Fentanyl patches, and you'll get MUCH better pain control.

Believe it or not, I've had severe sciatica for 27 years. I'm on OpanaER, Lyrica, Topamax and Prozac (depression) and also Norco for breakthru pain. This USUALLY works quite well, but right now I'm having a Fibro flare (I also have Fibromyalgia). I've had 3 open spinal surgeries (one was a spinal cord implant and then removal) plus every single procedure a pain clinic can do. Pain clinics won't even take me anymore cause they can't DO anything to me. All I wanted was medication maintenance & control, but they don't even do that!

I would think that instead of anti-inflammatories, they might put you on a long-acting medication, such as OpanaER -- but if you can't take these kinds of medications I guess you're stuck. But the anti-inflammatories are very hard on your stomach, so please be careful! I hope he's running periodic blood work on you.

But for sure, ask for a new MRI with & without contrast material. You need a new one done for sure. And you can bring the report here and we can help you decipher it if you need it. Best of luck and God bless. Hugs, Lee