I have had both acute and chronic sciatic. Acute required a trip to the ER and a shot of morphine! Chronic is relieved by ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation, a spinal alignment(s) by a chiropractor and yoga.

ice packs and heating pads with ibuprofen.

These physical therapists have several videos pertaining to sciatica. Here's one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6ZX1yAjXuc

Excedrine or Ibuprofen. Stretching. Best is horseback riding when possible. That stretches everything out, releasing the nerve pressure.

Actually...if you can feel the muscle tightness that's involved, phoggie...massaging it will help considerably. It may be a painful exercise at first but the pain will begin to lessen the longer you manipulate the area and loosen the muscle tension that's causing the awful pain. I post from experience. The only pain medication my system will tolerate is Tylenol so I'm often forced to find other means of lessening pain and this exercise has worked for me on several occasions. I hope it will for you, as well.

See your doctor it may not be sciatica.

Dr was uncertain if my pain was sciatica, enlarged disk, or muscle problems deep within my hip but massage helped along with Aspercreme alternating with SalonPas. The larger SalonPas patches did nothing nor did BioFreeze. He did suggest sleeping on a tennis ball under my right hip.

If you have one I have also found laying on a room temperature "hot" water bottle helps. During the night it will warm to your body temperature. Although I am not certain how many have those any more. Mine is at least twenty years old. Massage will hurt when you first start so be aware of that.

My SIL had a serious bout when she was in Europe for two months last summer. She was icing, taking advil, and having a massage at every hotel where they stayed with a masseuse present. When she got home, her doctor told her it should have been heat, and rest in the beginning. He gave her some stronger pain medication and after a couple of weeks she began PT. It did take some time to resolve, may have gone more quickly if she'd been home and not traveling.

stretching helps a lot...every hour or so, stand up and bend forward from the hips, not the waist...as far as you can go, even if it's not very far, and hold it ...no bouncing or anything...just hold it for a minute or so, during which time you may find you can stretch a little further...then reach to the left from the hip and hold it for a minute....then reach to the right from the hip and hold it for a minute. Roll up slowly, one vertebra at a time...The gradual stretching will help release the muscle cramping which is putting the pressure on the nerve. And it takes time for the muscles to relax into it which is why holding the position is important.

Another thing that's really helped me is to lie on the floor ...knees bent at first and gradually try to straighten them. If you can do deep breathing/meditating while you're there, eventually the muscles will relax enough to realign the spine if anything is out of whack. I can't tell you how many times I lay on the floor to meditate and suddenly there's a crack in my low spine and it alleviates so much pressure/tension. Better than a chiropractic visit.

I hope you feel better. You do need to get to a medical doctor.

Mayo Clinic describes the cause as :

"Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve becomes pinched, usually by a herniated disk in your spine or by an overgrowth of bone (bone spur) on your vertebrae."

And that treatment is chosen from the following:

"Physical therapy

Once your acute pain improves, your doctor or a physical therapist can design a rehabilitation program to help you prevent future injuries. This typically includes exercises to correct your posture, strengthen the muscles supporting your back and improve your flexibility.

Steroid injections

In some cases, your doctor might recommend injection of a corticosteroid medication into the area around the involved nerve root. Corticosteroids help reduce pain by suppressing inflammation around the irritated nerve. The effects usually wear off in a few months. The number of steroid injections you can receive is limited because the risk of serious side effects increases when the injections occur too frequently.

Surgery

This option is usually reserved for when the compressed nerve causes significant weakness, loss of bowel or bladder control, or when you have pain that progressively worsens or doesn't improve with other therapies. Surgeons can remove the bone spur or the portion of the herniated disk that's pressing on the pinched nerve. "

I have had success with massage and acupuncture.

Recently had steroid injections in the nerve root.

Very effective.

The doc told me the most important thing I can do is the do my prescribed back exercises.

Feel better soon..

The other thing that helps a lot is to lay on your side in the fetal position, knees stacked one on top of the other. Sometimes some find it helps to put a pillow between the knees to keep the legs more parallel. That too alleviates a lot of pressure on the low spine. Especially good way to fall asleep in bed at night.

About 6 months ago, my husband had sciatica pain. He sought medical help. Had x-rays done, his request. It was so painful he thought he'd broken something. He did yoga type stretches, took "real" asprin, it was very painful ....but it paid off. He's fine now.

I hope you find some relief. It's just awful to be in so much pain.

I too have suffered with sciatic pain. Dealing with the pain was incredible and I feel lowered my resistant, in turn broke out with shingles. I went to a Facia release therapist after 3 visits put me back on track. Now stretching every morning is keeping it a bay. I use the heating pad every morning and evening and I’ve tried to change my routine (especially sitting) so not to have the same triggers. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

My late husband had this. He used bute (they give it to horses, too!), and walked every day.

Chiropractor works for me. Doesn't help DH much because he has a ruptured disc. He has a rx for gabapentin which does work. He uses it sparingly now because it caused big time personality change (and not for the good!) when he was in a lot of pain & 'taking as directed.' It doesn't have that side effect for everyone, fortunately. He also goes thru a lot of Tiger Balm.