Diagram of the sciatic nerve | | Sciatica Pain Relief

👋😘 (34/she/her) First off, how amazing to finally find this thread. I have been suffering for a long time on my own due to internalized shame, anxiety and fear. I’m so tired though, and have decided to finally get this out of my head.
I recently got diagnosed with PCOS back in February after my menstrual cycle decided to go for about two weeks after it should have ended. Not my first rodeo - longest it ever went was five months due to a severe depressive episode and not going in sooner. Results included: “Interval growth of posterior fibroid and identification of new fibroid since prior ultrasound done 6/12/20. Posterior fibroid is now adjacent to the endometrium but primarily transmural. Endometrium 5.2 mm. Ovaries with polycystic morphology. “ I’ve honestly been declining ever since. I’m on a thyroid medicine and Sertraline combo, enjoyed with consistent phantom UTI pains, sciatic nerve pain, weight gain, and so much more! Hardest being the mental aspect the week before my period.
My OBGYN recommended I start Yaz, but I’m nervous about the mental side effects and wanted to see if anyone had a recommendation? This is such a long post, but I would be happy to explain more about how I’ve gotten where I am now. Hope to chat with any of you about this. Wish you all the best!

Has anyone reduced or eliminated permanent nerve damage from L4/L5/S1 herniations compressing on the sciatic nerve too long? Herniations are mostly healed but nerve pain down the left leg into the toes remains, including muscle pain in calf, shooting nerve pain, severe burning and numbness in foot, toes and sometimes entire leg? I’ve tried many water fasts but nothing is touching the nerve pain and I’m beyond desperate! I do aquatic fitness/PT minimum 6 hours weekly long term but that has made zero difference. Still overweight but have lost over 100 pounds and still made no difference. Any advice? Any stories of healing or any idea how long could help? It’s ruining my entire life and has for years now!

Hi yoga,
I’m dealing with some sciatic nerve issues in my right leg and my neurologist recommends freeing up my hips to give the nerve some space to heal.
I’ve got this figure of four stretch where I sit in a chair with one foot over the other knee, and I lean forwards and push the bent knee down.
Sometimes, particularly on the left leg, my knee feels unpleasant. I wonder if there is a particular detail I’m missing that would let me stretch further without triggering the knee pain.
The neurologist suggested something about foot/ankle placement but I’m in Korea, and I’m not fluent enough to catch all the details.
I was hoping for some tips, and I’m open to other positions that I can add to progress faster and get other stiff muscles up to speed.
For context, if I lie on my back I can pull a bent knee all the way to my chest. But if I sit in seated butterfly I can’t lean forward enough to get my palms on the floor lol.

23F. I am not sure of my exact weight but I know that I am not overweight, and admittedly my lifestyle has been quite sedentary with scattered, short bursts of physical activity but nothing consistent.
For the past few years I have had pain in my right hip flexor but nothing unmanageable. Within the last 7-8 months I’ve developed sciatic nerve pain. And for longer than I can remember, I have had pain on the right side of my upper hip/lower back area. The last part I’ve often contributed to how I sit, usually with my back rounded and tilted towards my left side, especially if I am writing.
In the last 2 months the pain has gotten much worse and to the point it sometimes feels like my leg will buckle out from under me. My job sometimes requires me to be on my feet a lot and I have been working a lot of extra shifts, I notice the pain is worse after I’ve done a double. Being on my feet a lot definitely aggravates it. The upper hip/lower back pain stays even when I am sitting down but the buttock and thigh pain go away. During a hike recently I had to be supported by someone else to make it to the end because the pain got so bad to the point of tears.
Pelvic X-Ray came back unremarkable. Where do I turn from here? Is there other imaging I should be asking for?
Diagrams with pain location markings

Has anyone tried gotu kola tea or a tincture for their neuropathy?
“The trial was prompted by results from an OHSU study on laboratory rats that lost use of their hind legs due to sciatic nerve damage. The results, published in 2005 by OHSU's Bruce Gold, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology, and Amala Soumyanath, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology an expert on medicines derived from botanicals, in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, showed that Centella asiatica, sometimes sold as gotu kola, regenerated nerve cells in the rats when given an extract of the herb in their drinking water.”
Link to the article: https://news.ohsu.edu/2007/10/03/ohsu-examines-herb-s-effects-on-diabetic-neuropathy

Has anyone tried gotu kola tea?
Here’s the link to the article:
https://news.ohsu.edu/2007/10/03/ohsu-examines-herb-s-effects-on-diabetic-neuropathy
“The trial was prompted by results from an OHSU study on laboratory rats that lost use of their hind legs due to sciatic nerve damage. The results, published in 2005 by OHSU's Bruce Gold, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology, and Amala Soumyanath, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology an expert on medicines derived from botanicals, in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, showed that Centella asiatica, sometimes sold as gotu kola, regenerated nerve cells in the rats when given an extract of the herb in their drinking water.”

Chronic disc injury, L4-L5 herniation, L5-S1 bulge, probably 7-8 years since initial injury, been practicing McGills teachings on and off for about 4 years now, decided to be strict, now practice the big 3 almost every day for the past 2 months, workouts probably take me 30-60min, been hitting glutes, hip flexors. But despite all this my hamstrings are so damn tight that it severely limits my ability to hinge T the hips, I probably can get down to 150 degrees with knees slightly bent. I've been trying to do some hip stretches to open this up, right hip flexor is also tight but I think I might have some FAI too. But I have been unable to find a way to get my hamstrings looser without also doubling or tripling my sensitivity, doesn't matter how I position myself to avoid stretching the sciatic nerve, the end result is always increased mobility but a big increase to low back pain which is primarily located slightly to the left of my spine right around the L4-L5-S1 space
Does anyone know how to address this or is McGill right and hamstring mobility = doom?

Hello just wanted to chime in as it has been one year since i had my surgery last june. all has gone well and my sciatic nerve pain from my herniated disc has gone away completely!! I traumatised myself by watching youtube videos about recovery and it scared me to see how painful it was. however for me i had no pain at all not even the day after the surgery. I was walking, sitting, laying, and standing straighter than ever. Of course with slow movements as i had a fresh wound on my spine. I DONT REGRET IT AT ALL!!! I suggest you don’t watch youtube videos and panic yourself any more. i was taking a college anatomy course in summer one of that year and my surgery got in the way so i was stressed but the surgery went too well that i attended my college 3 days post op to take an exam (only the exam i went back home to lay down and rest, i did not attend the lectures) i passed the course with an A. I was only 19 for my surgery so maybe my young age helped with not feeling any pain post op. HOWEVER i do recommend it and i recommend not going to the first surgeon. Get different opinions or at least a surgeon that makes you feel safe and sure about the surgery. I went with my second as my first made me feel unsure. I HOPE everyone with a herniated disc or getting a microdiscectomy to recover quickly and painlessly as i have been there and know the unbearable pain.

Previously, on Hell’s Kitchen…
The final 10 were given a challenge not seen in over a decade, creating their own menus in the revival of Red vs Blue Menu Night. While the blue team worked together, with a strong concept provided by Melody, the red team found themselves being led by Thomas, whether they liked it or not. However, as the chefs were returning to the kitchen to begin cooking their dishes, disaster struck, as Travis re-injured his ankle, and had to be taken to the hospital. Despite being down a man, and Grace feeling shortchanged by not getting anything on the menu, the blue team’s cohesive selection still managed to impress Ramsay and his special guests: three previous winners of Hell’s Kitchen. The red team’s menu had mixed results, which led to friction between Thomas and some of his teammates
In service, the blue team’s menu had the edge in popularity, but thanks to poor communication between Grace and Carole, the kitchen ground to a halt multiple times. Meanwhile, the red kitchen managed to push out their food in a timely manner thanks to strong teamwork on entrees. With the red team named the winners of service, it was time for the blue team to nominate two chefs to send home.
At elimination, though, everyone was in for a shock when Travis, who had been one of the early favorites, returned and announced that due to injury, he would be leaving Hell’s Kitchen for good. Ramsay still insisted on hearing from the blue team’s nominees, who were Grace, Carole and Melody after they failed to come to a consensus. But with Travis’ dream of becoming the next head chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak in Vancouver, British Columbia already having come to a heartbreaking end, Ramsay gave everyone another chance to show him why they were the chef he was looking for, but assured them that he was not taking any more excuses from now on.
https://reddit.com/link/1ctwn9g/video/oifsieupww0d1/player
And now, the continuation of Hell’s Kitchen…
After witnessing the shocking withdrawal of Travis from the competition, no one was in a celebratory mood as Ramsay dismissed them to the dorms for the night. Carole said in her confessional that he had been the main one supporting her in the blue team, and now it felt like she was truly on her own. As the blue team returned to the dorms, a very upset Melody unleashed her frustration, saying that Travis did not deserve to go home tonight over either Carole and Grace, and they needed to cut the bullshit and start thinking and working as a team. Lauren said in her confessional that it seemed like something snapped in Melody tonight, as she was well and truly fed up with the drama, which definitely made two of them. Even so, after noticing that Melody was sitting alone and nearly in tears, Lauren went over to comfort her, as Melody admitted that she hated to have to talk that way to her teammates, but she was sick and tired of the drama. Lauren assured her that it had to be said, and was proud of her for stepping up. Meanwhile, Grace said in her confessional that Melody seemed to be losing her composure, and would hopefully go down in flames soon.
On the red team’s side of the dorm, Faye was also feeling sadness over the way Travis had gone out, as she admitted to Michael that it reminded her too much of her own exit last season, only at least she had made the choice to walk away, while Travis never had one. Meanwhile, another chef had mixed feelings on the sudden turn of events, as Thomas said in his confessional that Travis had been a strong chef and a good person, and while losing him would cut the competition down, he would have rather seen him go out with dignity. Ramona and Everett, meanwhile, continued to stick closely together, with Ramona saying in her confessional that it felt good to have the security of the immunity pass, because she and Everett were definitely the most likely to be nominated if service went wrong, though she admitted she would feel some guilt if he went out because of it, but this was her career and future at stake. Everett said in his confessional that he couldn’t afford to worry about what might happen if he went up on the chopping block, and was just focused on trying to help the red team win.
The chefs were still trying to take in all the events of the night, but finally, tiredness overtook them, and they turned in for the night.
Challenge
The next day, the final 9 came downstairs to find Ramsy waiting for them, as well as a detailed diagram of a cow. Ramsay explained that he still had not forgotten the disaster that was Steak Night, and that was why, for this next challenge, he wanted to give both teams a chance to prove how far they had come by preparing dishes using five cuts: ribeye, top sirloin, hanger, flank, and striploin. Thomas said in his confessional that the red team had no business fucking this up, as they had several chefs who were strong on the meat station in services, while Lauren was nervous in her confessional, as she wasn’t sure about Grace or Carole. Since the blue team had one less member, one chef would have to prepare two dishes, which Lauren volunteered to do. With their instructions having been given, Ramsay told the chefs that their time started now.
The chefs rushed into their respective kitchens and quickly tried to sort out who would be responsible for which cuts of steak. In the blue kitchen, Lauren decided to take on the hanger and flank steak, while Grace took the ribeye, over Carole’s objections, and Carole was left with the striploin, while Melody took the top sirloin. Grace said in her confessional that she fought for this ribeye and she was going to carry her team to victory whether they liked it or not, while Carole said she would’ve felt much safer if anyone else were cooking the ribeye besides Grace. While Carole still seemed undecided on which direction to go with her New York Strip, at least one chef already had her dish planned out, and that was Melody, who went into detail in her confessional on how she wanted to plate her top sirloin. Meanwhile, Lauren was working hard to manage two separate cuts of meat, saying in her confessional that taking on the extra workload could either make her look really good in front of Chef Ramsay or totally blow up in her face.
In the red kitchen, Thomas was on the top sirloin, Ramona had the ribeye, Faye had hanger steak, Michael had flank steak, and Everett had striploin. Ramona said in her confessional that she had to deliver on the ribeye, as she already had the most losses of any chef here, and didn’t need to add any more to her resume with black jackets approaching. Thomas was confident that he could handle the top sirloin, as he said in his confessional that no one still here should have any issues cooking meat, and he would be disappointed in himself if he didn’t achieve perfection on this dish. Michael noticed Ramona seemed to be having some trouble with her ribeye, and tried to offer some advice, but Ramona said in her confessional that she had to do this alone, and told him she had it under control. Michael was annoyed, saying in his confessional that this was still a team effort, and it was no time to let egos get in the way. Meanwhile, Faye and Everett were seemingly in good spirits, with Everett saying in his confessional that meat was where he felt the most at home, and if he failed at this challenge, he might as well go home now, while Faye said in her confessional that it was nice to see Everett so energetic, and she hoped his dish could match that.
With the time nearly up, the chefs put the finishing touches on their dishes as Ramsay called out the final seconds and told the chefs to bring their plates to the pass. Ramsay then announced that he would be joined by a special guest judge for this competition, who was a familiar face to viewers of MasterChef: Ramsay’s former co-host on that show, Graham Elliot. The chefs were starstruck, with Melody saying in her confessional Graham was the best, and easily her favorite judge on MasterChef…after Ramsay, of course. After exchanging a warm greeting, Ramsay said it was time to get down to business, starting with the battle of the flank steak. This round would pit Lauren against Michael, with Michael saying in his confessional that this was his first time going against Lauren in a challenge, and he knew it wouldn’t be easy to take her down, given how consistently strong she had been. After tasting Lauren’s dish, both Ramsay and Elliot had high praise, saying the meat was tender and nicely cooked, although Elliot did say he might have done something different for the garnish. Lauren was second-guessing herself in her confessional, but In the end, both judges gave it four stars out of five. Michael said in his confessional that as expected, Lauren put up a good dish, but he was confident in his as well. Indeed, Michael’s flank steak was also found to be nicely cooked, and despite the somewhat simple presentation, Ramsay said this was a great start for both teams, as again, both he and Elliot each gave it a four.
With the score tied at 8, it was time for the battle of the hanger steak. Lauren stayed where she was while Faye brought her dish up to the pass. Elliot was impressed that Lauren had cooked two dishes for the challenge, although he noted that the hanger steak could’ve used a little more cooking time, which Ramsay agreed with, saying that was the one thing holding it back, and Lauren kicked herself in her confessional, as she said she should have been able to stay on top of it. Elliot only gave it a three due to the undercooked steak, though Ramsay said it still delivered enough flavor to get a four. Faye’s dish also got mixed reviews, as both chefs praised the cook of the meat, but questioned her garnish choices, with Ramsay pointing out that the presentation seemed slightly off. Elliot said she got the most important part right though, and gave it a four, to which Ramsay agreed, which put the red team ahead 16-15. In the third round, the teams’ ribeye dishes went head to head, for which Ramona and Grace stepped forward. Unfortunately for Ramona, her ribeye was badly overcooked, and Ramsay took her to task for serving something practically inedible to him and his guest. Ramona groaned in her confessional, as she couldn’t believe she had fucked up this badly. Both judges gave her a one, and Ramsay said she was lucky to get even that. Grace’s dish got mixed reviews, with Ramsay saying the presentation was shocking, while Elliot noted that the ribeye again was overcooked, though not nearly as much as Ramona’s. Ramsay said this was not what he expected from these chefs at this stage of the game, and gave Grace a one, but Elliot was more generous and gave it a two, as at least it had some flavor.
With the scores now tied at 18, it was time for the battle of the top sirloin, as Thomas and Melody brought their dishes forward. Melody’s dish earned praise for it’s stylish presentation and garnish, and after tasting the steak itself, Ramsay noted that it was cooked perfectly, and said this dish was a strong four, but Elliot went a step further and said it deserved a five, which made Melody giddy in her confessional, as she never could have imagined hearing those words before. Next was Thomas, with Elliot again noting the stunning presentation, and after tasting, he said that these two had really raised the bar today. Ramsay agreed and said it was the best pair of dishes yet, and this time, he would be giving out a five. Elliot agreed, giving Thomas a perfect score, which he took with a calm smile in his confessional, as he said Melody gave him a good run, but he never had any doubts. With the red team now back in the lead 28-27, it was time for the final round, as Everett and Carole would face off in the battle of the New York Strip. Everett went first, with Elliot saying, after a long pause…that the strip was absolutely delicious. Ramsay agreed, also praising the presentation, and said this was one of Everett’s best dishes yet in Hell’s Kitchen, as that deserved a very strong four. Elliot gave the same score, bringing the red team’s total up to an impressive 36, meaning Carole needed close to a perfect score to keep the blue team in it. Everett was absolutely fired up in his confessional, saying this was just the boost that he needed, and there was no stopping him now. Meanwhile, Carole presented her dish, which got good marks for presentation, but as Elliot sliced into the strip, he said it looked undercooked, to which Ramsay agreed, and said it was a great shame. Though it was only a formality, both Elliot and Ramsay gave the dish a two, giving the red team a 36-31 win.
Reward / Punishment
Ramsay thanked Elliot for helping him judge the challenge, and once he had left, Ramsay turned back to the chefs and congratulated the red team on winning the challenge, in particular praising the efforts of Everett and Thomas. He then said they were in for a fun reward, as he was sending all of them off for a day of paintball, followed by dinner at an exquisite LA steakhouse. Ramona was relieved in her confessional, as she knew she could have blown it for the red team with her ribeye, while Everett was ecstatic to have redeemed himself in this challenge, as he said in his confessional that he was still a beast at cooking meat. While the red team ran off to get changed, Ramsay turned his attention to the blue team and said that for today’s punishment, he had decided to put it towards a good cause by volunteering them for community service, which meant picking up trash on the side of the road. Grace moaned in her confessional, as she said that they always seemed to save the worst punishments for her. Ramsay reminded Melody that she still had that punishment pass, and offered to let her use it. Melody replied that she was never a paintball type of girl, and would rather help out the environment. Ramsay accepted her choice and told the blue team that they too would be changing…into their stunning orange uniforms.
The red team came back downstairs, and Michael joked in his confessional that it looked like Hell’s Kitchen had turned into a prison, while Faye apologetically said goodbye. While on the way to the paintball ground, the red team talked amongst themselves in the car, with Thomas saying that no one else was going home from the red team, and Michael agreed, saying they were all getting black jackets. Faye wondered aloud who their biggest competition might be from the blue team, but everyone quickly agreed that Lauren was the strongest. Ramona said in her confessional that she knew everyone was sleeping on her, but she would simply have to prove them wrong in service. Later, the chefs arrived at the paintball ground, and Faye said she hoped none of them would go easy on her just because she was a woman. Everett joked that she had nothing to worry about there, and the team ended up having an enjoyable afternoon, with Ramona and Everett trying to team up against Thomas, but he was able to shoot both of them. Michael said in his confessional that it felt great to just get outside and let loose without having to do some exhausting punishment. As evening approached, the red team were then taken to dinner, which Everett said in his confessional was some of the finest quality steak he had ever tasted, though not quite as good as the home cooking back in Oklahoma, which got some laughs from the others. Faye said that the next winner was sitting right here at this table, to which the others enthusiastically toasted, and the chefs continued to bond as a team over their meal.
While the red team were living the good life, the blue team were working in the hot sun to ensure that the environment could do the same. While the others tried to get on with their task, though, Grace’s constant complaining quickly got on all of their nerves, as Carole said in exasperation in her confessional that they were all well aware of the fact that Grace didn’t want to be here, and she didn’t need to broadcast it every five seconds. Lauren joked with Melody that she wouldn’t mind going on that paintball reward just to take a few shots at Grace, which Melody said in her confessional was tough to argue with, as even her optimistic outlook was being challenged right now by Grace’s incessant whining. Carole said in her confessional that she and Grace were definitely the most vulnerable on the team, but as long as Grace kept this up, she was making the decision easy for everyone, and as far as Carole was concerned, that was perfectly fine. Despite having their patience tested, the blue team worked through their physically exhausting community service and, for the most part, left feeling that at least some good had come of it.
Back in Hell’s Kitchen, the blue team arrived first and tried to unwind in the dorms until the red team returned later in the night. Grace quickly became annoyed with the red team talking about their reward, while Ramona said in her confessional that she didn’t mind rubbing it in her old rival’s face a bit. Lauren said in her confessional that the red team could have this one, as she was keeping her eyes on service. As the night dragged on, another topic came up, that being Travis, as everyone on the blue team aside from Grace admitted to missing him, and Lauren jokingly said even the punishments just weren’t the same now. Faye sympathized, as she said it was tough to watch a chef who had put everything on the line and pushed through an injury go out like that, even if this was a competition. Thomas agreed and said that everyone here deserved a chance to fight for their dream, as for these chefs, it was a potentially life changing opportunity, and he knew he would be devastated to lose it. Michael said in his confessional that it was no time for fucking around anymore, as they all needed to cook like it was their last night in Hell’s Kitchen.
The chefs chatted amongst themselves for a while longer before finally trying to get some sleep.
Pre-Service
The next day, the chefs went downstairs to begin prep, as Ramsay said that this was the stage in the competition where he wanted to see the best begin to shine, and warned that there would be nowhere to hide for chefs who were struggling to keep up. With that, he told the blue team that despite being a man down, he expected absolutely nothing less than a stellar performance, and told the red team not to get too comfortable with their challenge win, as they still needed to be locked in for service. With all nine chefs seemingly read to go, Ramsay allowed them to get started on prep.
In the blue kitchen, Melody and Lauren were in good spirits, though Melody admitted she still missed having Travis here, despite the fact that the blue team was all women now. Carole said in her confessional that the ladies should have no problems taking this service, as while she didn’t mind the format change, having all girls on one team was how it was done in the old days, and it would be even better if Grace was gone. Grace, meanwhile, seemed to be in a bad mood after her ribeye flopped in the challenge, as she said in her confessional that it couldn’t have been as bad as Ramsay said, as much as she respected his opinion, and refused to acknowledge Melody’s attempts to talk to her. Melody said in her confessional that nobody wanted Grace here, but the least she could do was try to reach out, as futile as it seemed. Lauren said in her confessional that in order for the blue team to win tonight, they needed Carole and Grace to step up big time, as she and Melody couldn’t do all the work here.
While the blue team was hoping for a miracle, the red team seemed loose and ready to go, with Michael saying that he had a good feeling about tonight, as there were no excuses for losing to the blue team now. Ramona said to Everett that this was their redemption night, with Everett agreeing and saying they were going to kick some culinary ass, and Faye said it was great to see both of them committed to bouncing back and leading the red team to another win. Everett replied that Grace was going home tonight for sure, which got some laughs from the others, as Michael said in his confessional that this was the one thing he was sure literally everyone else could agree on. Thomas, though, said in his confessional that everyone being this hyped up actually worried him, as he hoped they weren’t getting distracted and forgetting that they still had to earn the win. Michael encouraged him to lighten up, as they had a virtual all-star team here, but Thomas still maintained his serious demeanor, with Ramona saying in her confessional that this guy seriously needed to get a hobby.
Ramsay reminded the chefs again that he was looking for these chefs to show him why they deserved to become the head chef of Gordon Ramsay Steak, and with that, he called out to Marino and told him to open Hell’s Kitchen.
Dinner Service
Guests began to enter Hell’s Kitchen by the dozens, as it was once again the center of the culinary world for tonight, filled to the brim with celebrities and Hollywood elites. It was not long before orders began to make their way back to both kitchens.
In the blue kitchen, they were looking to Grace on appetizers and Carole on fish to give the blue team an early edge, while Lauren was on garnish and Melody was on meat. Early on, Grace managed to successfully deliver her first table of lobster tail risottos and capellini, with nicely cooked tails from Carole along with an acceptable order of scallops. Carole said in her confessional that they absolutely needed to keep this up, as both of them were effectively cooking for their lives right now. Unfortunately, communication issues cropped up again, with Grace not talking to Carole and bringing up her dishes without waiting for Carole’s scallops. Ramsay called out for the scallops, saying food was dying at the pass, and demanded to know why the fuck they couldn’t just work together as a team. Carole did eventually bring up the scallops, but they were raw, much to Ramsay’s disgust, and Grace said in her confessional that Carole just needed to get out of here as she clearly wasn’t cutting it. Despite these issues, and an overly salty risotto from Grace, the blue team did manage to finally start getting appetizers out into the dining room, with Ramsay even praising Grace’s risottos at one point, and telling her that’s what she could do if she would focus more on cooking than starting shit with her team. The blue team did eventually complete appetizers and began working on entrees.
In the red kitchen, Everett was working appetizers, while Michael was on fish, Ramona was on garnish, and Thomas and Faye were together on meat. Everett was glad to be working closely with Michael again, as he said in his confessional that they made a good team in the last service on meat. Early on, that familiarity seemed to be paying off, as Everett and Michael worked in sync with each other on the first few tickets and got their orders out in a timely fashion. Things did get bumpy, however, when Everett served mushy, overcooked capellini, and started dragging on orders, while Michael served overcooked scallops due to them getting mixed up on their times. Michael said in his confessional that they needed to get it together quickly, as they couldn’t afford to be falling behind so early in service. Meanwhile, Ramsay wanted to know where the energy was, as right now, Everett was going quiet and not responding when asked for times, and nothing was going out. Michael urged Everett to wake up and fight through it, and Everett did manage to get his next attempt at the capellini accepted. In his confessional, Everett said he was trying his best to keep it together, and admitted he had been thrown off his game, but he was far from done. With Everett’s newfound determination, the red kitchen finally had some life again, and after Ramsay praised both Michael’s scallops and Everett’s risottos, the two of them managed to get their rhythm back and serve the rest of their tables.
In the blue kitchen, they looked fo Melody to lead the way from the meat station, and thanks to strong communion between her, Lauren on garnish, and Carole on fish, they managed to get their dishes to the pass for the first table, but Carole’s turbot was undercooked, which left the entire order waiting for her, but she was able to recover quickly on her second attempt. On meat, Melody said in her confessional that it was pretty overwhelming to have to serve all of the blue team’s customers by herself for the first time, but despite dragging a bit on orders, she managed to push high quality Wellingtons and New York Strip out into the dining room consistently. Lauren, meanwhile, seemed at home driving tickets from the garnish station, and the blue team was finally starting to settle into a groove. Melody did serve a rare New York Strip, while Carole served raw turbot, but both were able to bounce back, and entrees were soon flying out to grateful diners. Melody and Lauren once again had no problems communicating and working in sync from their stations, with Lauren saying in her confessional that she and Melody could probably run the kitchen by themselves. But it was Carole who once again held up the kitchen when she inexplicably fired off halibut despite it not being on the ticket, which got her schooled by Ramsay for not paying attention to the ticket when he was standing less than five feet away. Despite this, the blue team managed to complete the rest of their entrees, and were soon ready to get started on desserts.
The red team was starting on entrees with Thomas and Faye on the meat station, and Faye said in her confessional that with meat being a station she felt comfortable in, she hoped tonight could be the night she stood out for the red team. On the first ticket, she and Thomas managed to serve beautifully cooked Wellingtons and New York Strip, along with nicely cooked turbot from Michael, but Ramona was holding the table up by dragging on garnish. Though she eventually managed to bring it up, Ramona would continue to drag on her section, frustrating her team, but especially Ramsay, as he kept calling out for times, with Ramona becoming flustered and not responding to her team. Ramona said in her confessional that the nerves were absolutely getting to her right now, and she seriously needed to bounce back. Meanwhile, Faye ran into some trouble on her Wellingtons, as she undercooked them for one table and said she would need several minutes for a refire, though she was able to recover. Thomas also had a rare mistake as he served undercooked New York Strip, and Ramsay said he didn't expect that from the executive chef. Thomas kicked himself in his confessional, saying that could not happen again, and he did manage to serve a beautiful New York Strip on his refire. However, on the next ticket, Ramona served a pot of runny mashed potatoes, and also seemed lost on what was actually going, as she couldn’t recall the ticket when Ramsay asked her. Ramsay had seen enough and took her into the pantry, asking her what the fuck she was doing, and if it was some kind of joke to her. Ramona insisted it wasn’t and said it was just nerves, but Ramsay replied that she needed to shake those nerves right now, or he would send her out the front door, immunity pass or not. Ramona said in her confessional that it was do or die, and she did manage to finally serve acceptable garnishes. Faye was still dragging on Wellingtons, which frustrated Ramsay, but finally, the red team managed to complete their remaining entrees.
Both teams finished their desserts in good time, and Ramsay told them to clear down.
Post-Mortem
Ramsay had the teams line up and started by saying that this was still not the complete performance he had been looking for. For the blue team, appetizers had been underwhelming, but they improved on entrees. For the red team, it was a decent start on apps, followed by a nightmare on entrees. However, he noted that one team in particular had a slight edge, and that was the blue team, as despite their issues, their customer comment cards gave them a satisfaction rating of 90%, to 84% from the red team. Ramsay said that the fiasco on entrees cost the red team this service, and told them to think long and hard about which two should be going up for elimination tonight. With that, he dismissed both teams to the dorms.
Back in the dorms, the red team’s deliberations were kicked off by Thomas, as he said he hoped everyone could agree that Ramona had dropped the ball tonight on garnish. The others seemed to agree, with Michael saying it was her worst performance in a while. Ramona only half-heartedly fought back, as she said she was better than this, and knew she still deserved to be here, but said if they wanted to put her up, it was their choice. In her confessional, she said she knew that immunity pass wouldn’t last forever, and it was better to get her bad service out of the way now, than during black jackets. With the first nominee having been an easy choice, the second would be more challenging, as Everett acknowledged that Michael and Thomas both had great services despite each having a mistake, and didn’t deserve to go up, which left either him or Faye. Thomas said that he felt Faye had struggled on meat, and that Ramsay rightfully had high expectations of both of them, due to his experience and her being a past chef, so he would vote for her. Michael, though, said that he had to vote for Everett, as he was just too inconsistent at this stage. Faye seemed torn but said she had to vote for Everett, even though they were friends, as he had struggled the most of the available options. Ramona was left with the deciding vote, and said in her confessional that it was impossibly difficult, as Faye had been a mentor for her here, while she had also bonded with Everett.
On the blue team’s side of the dorm, everyone was pleased to have won service and avoided having to send anyone home…well, almost everyone. Lauren admitted to Melody that it sucked having to put up with Grace for another day, while Melody tried to get her to think more positively, as if they were winning with Grace on their team, Ramsay definitely had to be taking notice. Lauren smiled and said she was definitely right about that, and the two of them continued chatting together while Carole sat off by herself and pondered her future in Hell’s Kitchen, In her confessional, she said she was damn lucky that the blue team won tonight, as she and Grace would have gone up otherwise, and that could have been it for her and her dream. Meanwhile, Grace felt that she had done well, and could have done even better without Carole getting in the way, saying in her confessional that it would be nice to get rid of dead weight, but she would settle for seeing someone from the red team go home.
Elimination Ceremony
The red team entered the dining room anxiously and lined up before Ramsay, who said that this was supposed to be the best five on the red team, but instead, it looked like two completely different teams, and while he didn’t know what the hell was going on, he was going to get to the bottom of it. With that, he asked Thomas for the red team’s first nominee and why. Thomas announced that the red team had nominated Ramona, due to her terrible performance on garnish, and being the weakest chef on the team. Ramsay asked for the second nominee and why. Thomas hesitated briefly before announcing that…the red team was nominating Everett, due to his declining performances and up and down service on appetizers. Before getting to any elimination pleas, though, Ramsay told Ramona to step forward and had her hand over the immunity pass. As she did so, Ramsay said that if not for the pass, Ramona would have gone home tonight, and urged her to take advantage of this second chance, before sending her back in line. Ramona appeared visibly shaken as she went to rejoin the red team. Ramsay said that the red team now had 30 seconds to talk amongst themselves and come up with another nominee. In the huddle, the chefs quickly determined that Faye would go up, as she had been their other consideration. As they broke the huddle, Thomas announced that Faye was the red team’s new nominee. Ramsay accepted this and told Everett and Faye to step forward.
Deliberation music
First, Ramsay asked Faye why she should stay in Hell’s Kitchen.
Faye: “My time away from Hell’s Kitchen gave me a whole new perspective on cooking, it made me realize why I’m doing this. It’s for my family, it’s for me, I can’t imagine doing anything else. That’s why I’ll never give up on myself or my team.”
Ramsay asked Faye if she thought she was a better chef than Everett.
Faye: “...Everett is a fighter, chef, and a good teammate, but yes, I do believe I’m stronger than him in terms of consistency and leadership.”
Ramsay moved on to Everett, asking him why he should stay in Hell’s Kitchen.
Everett: “This competition is a marathon, chef. I’ve had my ups and downs, I’ve had my stumbles, but I feel like I’m just on the cusp of hittin’ my stride.”
Ramsay said he had been waiting and waiting for Everett to emerge, and it seemed like he was trending downwards.
Everett: “I’ve had a slump, chef, I ain’t gonna deny that. But I’m fightin’ through it. I know I can be your next head chef.”
Ramsay asked Everett if he thought he was a stronger chef than Faye.
Everett: “Chef…”
Dramatic music
Ramsay waited on Everett’s answer, and after a tense moment, he finally spoke…
Everett: “Chef…at this time, no, I can’t say that I am.”
Faye glanced over at Everett in shock, as did everyone else from the red team, and even some of the blue team.
Ramsay: “I appreciate the honesty. Please, give me your jacket, your time is done in Hell’s Kitchen.”
Elimination music
Everett handed over his jacket and shook Ramsay’s hand.
Everett: “Thank you so much for this opportunity, chef.”
Ramsay: “Let me tell you something, young man, you have so much passion and fightback within you, I’ve seen it throughout this competition. Unfortunately, I didn’t see enough of it in service, or just now, but I hope you can find it again, because you are bloody talented. I wish you all the best.”
Everett thanked Ramsay again and waved goodbye to his team as he exited Hell’s Kitchen.
Everett’s comment
“Oh man…when I first entered Hell’s Kitchen, I never thought I’d be walkin’ out the door like this. I thought I was headed straight for the top, no problem. Each day was like this crazy mixture of anxiety, thrills, and drama. I fought, and I fought, and I fought for my place, until, I guess I just couldn’t fight no more. I’ll always have good memories of my time here, but I sure as hell wouldn’t do it again! (laughs)

With Everett’s elimination, Ramsay told Faye to get back in line, and addressed the chefs collectively as the final 8, saying that tonight should be a reminder to each of these chefs that a downward spiral at this point was unacceptable, as things were not going to get any easier. With that, Ramsay told them all to get some rest, because tomorrow, he was going to start separating the chefs from the cooks.
As the chefs went back to the dorms, several of them had confessionals. Thomas said that Ramona was definitely a bigger liability than Everett, but hopefully losing her immunity would wake her up. Michael said that it sucked that Everett left when he was far from the worst tonight. Ramona was clearly still shaken from the experience, as she said she felt awful about Everett going home when she had a worse performance, and knew she had to bounce back tomorrow or it would all be over for her. Melody said that between Travis and Everett, watching their fellow chefs go home was just getting more and more difficult, but she knew there were still seven more between her and the grand prize. Grace said none of these chefs were on her level, and she was going to keep being herself and kicking ass in the kitchen, regardless of her team’s hate for her. Lauren said that with only four on each team, there was nowhere left to hide, and everything they had done up until now was just the warm up for the real tests that lay ahead.
Placement
https://preview.redd.it/rpdx9533yw0d1.png?width=2447&format=png&auto=webp&s=52806b2d14807ba57be90bfa8261368e2dbea4cb

For the past year I've had unrelenting sciatic nerve pain, likely due to "ischiofemoral impingement." So sort of like sciatica except my nerve is being pinched close to my femur not in my spine.
I got up to like 700mg / day on gabapentin before I couldn't tolerate the side effects any longer. I had some relief but not nearly enough. I've tapered back to 400mg / day and the pain has ratcheted back up.
I also had a bit of withdrawal symptoms (minor) today, so I made the call to hold the gabapentin dose as is for now and trial 10mg nortriptyline. I just took my first nortriptyline capsule less than an hour ago. I'll try to continue the gabapentin taper when I'm able to do so.
I have heard reports that nortriptyline helps nerve pain anywhere from "immediately" to 2-4 weeks. I hope I get some relief in the next few days. But if I don't, I'm kind of at a loss for what to do. Over the last year I've done five different medical procedures with varying degrees of success. I can't mess around anymore, I need to get this nerve pain under control. If nortriptyline turns out to be a dud, what do you think would be my best move here? (I'll ask my doctor in any case.)

Was diagnosed with advanced bilateral facet arthropathy on L4-L5. What procedures, medications, and activities worked for you to get you relief?
I was diagnosed with Advanced bilateral facet arthropathy on L4-L5. And minimal facet arthropathy of L3-L4.
I also have a disc bulge on L5-S1 and L4-L5. I’ve done one round of injections to treat the nerve pain on my L5-S1 (one injection on my left and the other on my right) but was told that I would still have to treat the arthritis.
Mild bilateral sacroiliac joint osteoarthritis is noted on my MRI as well.
Symptoms: nerve/sciatic pain is gone but my lower back hurts everyday as well as left leg pain. Back pain is on my lower back and hips.
Current medications: Tylenol and Meloxicam (7.5 mg twice a day)
Next procedure: another injection but only one right in the middle of my lower back.
Nerve ablation.
Has anyone had the same or similar diagnosis and if so what have you done and/or tried?

I was diagnosed with Advanced bilateral facet arthropathy on L4-L5. And minimal facet arthropathy of L3-L4.
I also have a disc bulge on L5-S1 and L4-L5. I’ve done one round of injections to treat the nerve pain on my L5-S1 (one injection on my left and the other on my right) but was told that I would still have to treat the arthritis.
Mild bilateral sacroiliac joint osteoarthritis is noted on my MRI as well.
Symptoms: nerve/sciatic pain is gone but my lower back hurts everyday as well as left leg pain. Back pain is on my lower back and hips.
Current medications: Tylenol and Meloxicam (7.5 mg twice a day)
Next procedure: another injection but only one right in the middle of my lower back.
Nerve ablation.
Has anyone had the same or similar diagnosis and if so what have you done and/or tried?

This has been a great avenue for myself as a caregiver to share freely since the beginning of this journey when my 13 yo son had been diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma. It has been 6 cycles in and already it has been one heck of a journey. Hearing replies and affirmations as well as words of encouragement has helped me in my darkest days as I sit beside my son in the hospital room. It has lifted my spirits and positive spirits are infectious and my sons feels spirited and more inclined to smile in the midst of adversity.
In the midst of his treatments, I can’t fathom the journey ahead. I tried to envision the future where my son is fully recovered and there I am dropping him off to school but I am scared that with so much hopefulness, I won’t be able to handle disappointments down the road. With every passing day that the tumor remains in the body, the anxiety that overcomes me with every PET and MRI scan that the tumor has spread or grown bigger overcomes me with overwhelming nausea. Thus, I ask myself, what am I supposed to think and feel at any one moment. It just boils down to steeliness of the mind and calmness in demeanour, words and actions. It makes me tired tbh. And again, I want to curl in a tight ball and shut everything out. I want to buy that plane ticket and fly off to a beach destination and sip mojitos all day with no care in the world.
Today the panel of doctors will be discussing the way forward. Given that the tumor is digging deep on his left sciatic nerve, surgery would result in amputation of his left leg!! Thus, further chemo and radiation might be recommended to hopefully reduce the tumor near the nerves to allow for a wide margin for surgery!
I ask myself. Cancer gives him pain - yes. Chemo removed that pain - yes. But, amputation though removing the tumor might possibly incapacitate his mobility is such a cruel alternative. It’s almost ironic! Walking with pain due to cancer to not being able to walk post surgery. It’s just so cruel and mind bending. I worry about his potential surgery. And I feel so sorry that it has to be my 13 yo son having to face these decisions. My heart breaks again for him.
I ask my heart. How many times were you broken this year. I can’t bear to count. I ask my heart, are you strong enough to bear more. My heart says, please no more. My mind tries to overcome the heart - tries to rationalise it. My mind is blank. My heart is in overdrive. Then once again, I want to curl myself into a ball.
I can’t describe how much I really hate cancer. I hate that the treatment process is so long. I hate that it causes so much suffering. I hate that it causes so much uncertainty. I hate that it sucks the life out of you. I hate that it knocks your breath out in wild anticipation of whatever news it might bring. I hate that you wonder if the doctors are ever telling you the 💯 truth or are they just buying you hope. Yet you also wonder if it’s your fault that they are not telling the entire truth because I haven’t as a parent shown the steeliness and calmness in the face of breaking news.
I beg for mercy for my son’s wellbeing. That his suffering is not a life sentence. Because that is not a life to live. I beg for his strength and continued motivation though he has already shown so much (this I would not take for granted). I beg for strength to continue to care for him. I beg for a full recovery and a smooth treatment plan.

This is a long one but I had to give background for context.
So, this happened a few years ago. I was an Assistant Department Manager at one of our local grocery stores. I was friends with my Manager outside of work and we would do a lot of stuff together. That year we had insane rain and a major flood that meant the only way on and off our farm was to get a ride in our neighbour's massive tractor through the 3' deep water. I was morning shift so my sister and I got off the farm at 5:30am and didn't get back on until we both got off work. This meant I was occasionally a few minutes late but since I opened the Department, and the General Manager didn't have a problem given our situation, I didn't give it much thought. That wasn't where the harassment from my "friend," let's call her Sharon, started but that's when it amped up. She would constantly tell me how much worse she had it because one of her roads was flooded and she had to drive an extra 15 minutes to get to work, and if she could make it on time, so could I. Normally we should've been evacuated since we had no cell service and our landline was flooded but we have farm animals and were unwilling to leave them.
That year my sister had bought me a horse that was "kid safe," I'd been in an accident on a horse and lost my confidence, so I was riding him at the seller's place until the water got too high and we couldn't easily get on and off our farm. That was when I fell into a VERY deep depression. The constant badgering from Sharon on top of dealing with the flood was just too much. It had gotten to the place where I couldn't do anything right at work to the point of her even making fun of the way I sign my initials.
Fast forward to the end of the summer when the flood waters subsided and I was able to get out to ride my "kid safe" horse again. I was just regaining the courage to lope when this horse took it upon himself to dirty buck me off. I landed hard on my hip and did permanent damage to my sacrailiac and sciatic nerve. Still, I came in for my shift every day. A couple days following my accident I went to the Dr, concerned I'd done more than bruise myself. He took xrays of my back as he thought I may have fractured my lower vertebrae. He didn't write me a note about lifting yet in case I had to be of work to let my back heal. He just told me zero heavy lifting until my results came in.
I went in for my shift as usual and told Sharon what the Dr said. She got pissy but I ignored it until the cases of rotisserie chickens arrived. Each case weighs around 50 lbs. She ordered me to unload the pallet and put them in the cooler. I reminded her what the Dr told me and that I might have fractured vertebrae. She told me if my back was fractured I wouldn't be walking around and it was no excuse. At this point I'd had enough. I told her, "it's not my fault I got bucked off a f#*king horse." She yelled, "do not use that language with me!" She would swear like a sailor, by the way. So, I put my order forms down, took off my apron, walked out and never returned.
AITA?

I am not diagnosed with Cervical instability, but my primary actually listened to me when I brought up all of my issues and they line up with that type of diagnosis.. I am waiting on my neurologist to see what he wants to do after I get an EMG on my nerves in my arm and leg..
This is one that I forget because it isn’t constant and it happens once in awhile, depending on head position while asleep. I sleep on my back and only my back. Sometimes my head can fall to either side, but when I woke, my head was flat and facing forward but on a small incline. I have to sleep a bit propped up due to me being a heavy person. I cannot sleep flat. Anyway, I woke up from a dream because of my ears whooshing with my heartbeat. I slowly started moving my head to find a position to get it to stop. When I finally got up, I felt tension at the base of my neck. I am pretty sore up my neck and back but I am also having sciatic issues over the past few days and lower back pain. I guess my neck wanted to invite itself over to the pain party.. it’s not as bad as it can be at times, but it sure brought anxiety with it..
Of course, I fell back onto Google to “reassure” me like I usually do. Trying not to focus on the “omg you’re going to die of some sort of disease or cancer!” articles and went for the real possible ones.. The only issue was, there were less that agreed that neck issues can be the cause and that it is something more..
I want to be clear that I do not always have this type of pulsing in my ears. It is once in a while, it happens when my head is in some position that I guess my body doesn’t like and there can’t be proper flow? I do have the regular more common tinnitus daily.. Ringing of different pitches and it happens randomly in one ear, but has happened in both at different times. Who knows.. but I wanted to ask this community because I felt that if anyone here has pulsatile tinnitus, I could get some reassurance. I have no head pain or throbbing, I only have some neck pain. I am in a pain flare, and I can tell I’m super inflamed all over.