Totally agree with all of this! I have had sciatica flare up since college (I used to show horses, sometimes you fall off horses, and it royally jacked up my back) and it can be totally miserable.
In addition to the muscle relaxers I have found acupuncture works absolute WONDERS for my back pain. Before I started having acupuncture done it'd take over a month for the pain to totally go away, but 3 trips to the chiropractor for acupuncture over one week and that usually completely clears up any flare ups, usually without bothering with prescription meds at all. I know some people are squiffy about needles, but if you're really worried about not being in good shape for your trip, it definitely can't hurt to try!
I've heard others have had GREAT success with acupuncture, too. Definitely something else to consider. Works wonders for my 60 year old mom!
Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me. Not because I'm needle squeamish (I'm not)...but because my issue stems from a small bone spur (the remnants of a childhood injury) on my tail bone. When my back goes into spasm (usually from a disc issue at L4-L5), it "realigns" my sciatic nerve to rub right over that bone spur. To the point, when it's REALLY bad, it starts to cause numbness on the outside (not arch) of my foot and the back of my knee. Basically, it's two issues that make one major pain in my rear end (literally) and down my leg.
Only thing that solves the problem is getting those back muscles out of spasm, reducing the inflamation, and stretching the living heck out of those muscles til everything goes back where it belongs. There are other things that can help reduce the pain, short term, in my actual BACK (chiro helps there)...but not, it seems, the sciatica. My PT, earlier this year, couldn't believe how bad it was. Think: hunchbacked and listing to the right...NOT the S shape from a herniated disc...without an ability to take a full stride with my left leg). I looked like Igor (except 6 ft 3).
Treatment, for me, is a predictable pattern:
Drugs to relax the muscles/reduce pain/reduce inflamation til back pain subsides.
Heat (physical or "rub"/patch) to keep it loose, continue pain/inflamation meds.
Exercise/stretch/PT til sciatica finally goes away.
Backs and knees are the WORST....