Oh, I am so sorry for both of you. I have chronic back pain as well. It is not usually sciatic, though, unless I sit on hard surfaces. I fell holding my baby 17 years ago and bent my tailbone backwards and crunched 2 discs. Now I have 3 bad lower back discs and was also rear ended 2 years ago and got a bad case of whiplash. I had neck surgery in January. Have 3 bad discs in my neck, too. I get lots of nerve pain into my arms and hands which I help control with wrist braces at night.

On thing an owner of a local Herb Shop (they sell the same brand herbs Russ does, Nature's Sunshine) told me helped her was the Skeletal Strength formula. In fact, I need to get some. I also see an orthogonal chiropractor who does sound wave adjustments on the atlas bone. He's the first chiropractor I've ever been to that has actually helped straighten me out. My husband use to call me a crooked bird.... I am straight now - but do have the disc issues still and can't do anything too long. I have a couple zero gravity recliners that were pretty expensive. I can't even sit on my own couch long. I also carry around a chair pad from Brookstone that has a cut out where the tail bone area would be. Basically I just have to do everything I can not to aggravate it. Sadly I live a very limited life in some ways....but I guess I've adjusted. At work I just move around a lot. I find walking helps immensensly as long as I do it with resting in between. (Like to and from classes around campus). The staff doesn't quite get that I really LIKE to run errands for everyone when I work up front during planning periods. (I'm a sub at my daughter's high school). There are several stretches, too, that I learned through physical therapy that help, too. I've heard mercury can aggravate or even cause pain, but I know I have anatomical reasons from injury. It has possibly kept me from healing, though...... I do have sciatic pain if I push it and know it is miserable. I hope you feel better and am sorry you are dealing with this. You know what comforts me when nothing else does? That we will get new bodies.... These are temporaries. May seem small comfort at times, but this happened to me when I was only 31 and I've dealt with it a long time. It kept me from having another baby, in fact. I have 2 girls but wanted more. I tried once but miscarried. As time went on it just seemed too hard. Now my baby - the one I hurt myself protecting - is a SR in high school and will be going out of state to college next fall. I get really depressed thinking of that sometimes and was wishing yesterday I'd had another kid. I said a prayer and thought of school. I think teaching special ed will fill the holes...