My problem lasted 9 months. During that time I had some excrutiating days. Once better I have never had a severe reoccurance. It happend about 17 years ago. Once in a while I feel some pain or a pull, but within a couple days I am better.
I forgot to mention you can also take ibuprofen, at least 600mg up to 4 times a day, always take with a glass of water and a little food. That is not just for pain relief it actually relaxes the muscle and reduces inflammation. Personally I wouldn’t take the meds long term, but use them for times of accute pain.
I wrote this second post mainly to say I consider myself completely better after a really really bad bout of it.
Oh, also, make sure not to twist when you get up out of your bed or chairs. When you swing your legs around to the side of the bed or chair make sure your entire body is moving with your legs. One place people really forget this is getting out of the car. Always lift with your knees bent (you should not be lifting much of anything when the sciatica is bad) and hold what you live close to your body, no reaching.
Lastly, deep water water aerobics would be my suggestion for exercise at least initially. It uses a lot of core, doesn’t put pressure on joints or have you in positions that might uncomfortable. Someone suggested yoga, which also can be great for core strength. I personally don’t like yoga and have a lot of trouble doing it so I wanted to give an alternative. When I had sciatica it was hard for me to stand, sit or lie straight. The water also relieves gravity pulling on your spine. I know people say no pain no gain, but my attitude with this sort of thing is if it hurts don’t do it.