My right leg is getting worse. | Arthritis Information

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Much pain today. I tried to go med-less. And well I cried like 3 times from shear pain and my BP raised too. Probably not good, but I am tired of taking pain meds! It was from my right leg. Now I cannot lift my leg, it is very weak and my knee is still swelled. My hip hurts and has sharp pains shooting thru it, my thigh muscle has sharp pains shooting thru it. If I sit in one position too long... I have bad pain in my right buttocks. I cannot lift my right foot off the the ground but maybe 6 inches and that is pushing it. I had to get hubby to lift my right leg up for each time I got in and out of the car. And of course pain shot staright to my head. When at rest my muscle just twitch non-stop. When I walk for a little ways my muscles tighten up throughout my whole leg, including my buttocks and lower back. If I sit down the muscle tightening goes away until I stand up again, but it is then replaced by sharp shooting pains as stated above. 

I cried and cried because I felt so helpless, having to depend on hubby to help me get my leg in and out of the car and for him to help me up and down steps and out of chairs.
 
I know... I am not trying to be a martyr. I was actually 65 miles from home. No pain meds no muscle relaxers with me. I left my purse at home, because well... we were only suppose to be going to town, but hubby changed his mind. If I knew we were going further than 7 miles... I would have brought pain meds with me, because that meant more walking and I just figured I would ride the pain out in town and come home and rest. But no!

But got good news! My thigh muscle is not that tense anymore! Since I kneaded it, and I continued kneading it today and all last night. But there is a catch... I have more pain in that muscle in my thigh plus throughout my whole leg  and my leg got weaker when that muscle loosened up, too.

Some thing is really wrong with my right leg. It is not muscle spasm and RA and getting old like ER doctor told me Oct '07. And it is not fibro, like RD told me 2 weeks ago. There is something seriously wrong with my right leg. And Come Monday, my next RD appt, I am not leaving her with her telling me it is fibro and muscle spasm. I take muscle relaxers they do squat. The Darvocet N-100 3 times a day does squat for this pain and problem!
 
I am off to go get all drugged up with my nightly meds and hopefully fall asleep with not much pain. And the stupid ghost and alien waking me up a little after I have fell asleep. Oh and I am sooo sure my right leg is not what they keep telling me it is. That I am in good mind to take a sharpie and mark all the areas on my right leg that have pain! And use a different color for each day to show it is not migrating it is in one spot!Even # [QUOTE=joonie]Oh and I am sooo sure my right leg is not what they keep telling me it is.

i  wonder what  they keep saying you right leg is   Thanks Mike & Boney for the laugh!
 
They did make a visit to me last night, but the alien with the cattle prode did not get a good zap in, but there was a zap! Darn, ghost keeps jerking my leg. Maybe one day I will kick the ghost in the face and he will stop jerking my leg.
 
I keep telling my hubby about the ghost & the alien. And he just looks at me and says whatever you gotta tell yourself. Then he goes into how he does not believe in ghosts & aliens.
 
It is better than complaining. At least this way it is amusement for myself.
Could you be having problems with your sciatic nerve?  I am having similar things with my right leg.  I have DDD  and have never had a flare up of the sciatic nerve until a couple of months ago.  I have had the full gamut of symptoms you have described - even the muscle twitches.
Thanks for the reply graciesmom.
 
Would pain meds & muscle relaxers take care of the pain? If so then it might be. Because when I had this going on last year, never really got better only worse, I looked up my symptoms and I kept getting sciatic nerve and bruitis. But when I had my hip looked at thru nuclear bone scan they said my sacroiliac joint had uptake in them. So I googled and the symptoms of that joint being inflammed was what I was experiencing at that time. But now it has gotten worse and many more different symptoms.
Oh I know why I ruled out sciatic nerve... because my pain that does not go away is in the front of my leg to the outside of my hip. Everywhere I read about sciatic nerve said it was the back of the leg.

You can have pain that mimics sciatica but that is caused by tightening of the piraformis muscle (a muscle in your bum).  Can you walk on your heels without the ball of your foot hitting the floor?  There are a few different tests that will tell you exactly where the sciatic nerve is pinched.  I will see if I can find a link for the site that I read about the different tests and types of sciatic problems there are.  I have had very similar pain to yours.  Last Sunday it got so bad that I called my back doctor for a prednisone taper.  I can't heel walk so we determined that my L5 is probalby the source of the problem.  That is where I have the worst disc degeneration by the way.  Once I started the pred taper I got relief of the sharp shooting pain, but that has been replaced with intense pain in the front of my shin.  I also have severe numbness in that area as well.  The only thing that helps (aside from pain meds, vicodin and lyrica) is moist heat. 

You can relieve the pressure off of the sciatic nerve with a couple of stretches if you are able.  My physical therapist suggested these.  Lie on your stomach with your legs stretched out behind you.  Lift your upper body up gently by propping up your weight on your elbows with your arms pointing straight ahead.  Keep your head in line with your body and look straight ahead.  Hold this position while relaxing your muscles for 30 seconds or longer.
 
The other stretch is done by lying on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor.  take the leg with the pain and cross it over the other leg with your ankle resting near wear your knee is bent.  Now place both hands behind the leg that is holding your ankle, and gently pull it toward you.  Hold the stretch 30 seconds and then switch sides.  For me the longer I hold the stretch, the more relief it gives me.  I probably haven't done a great job describing the stretches, but hopefully you can figure out what I am trying to describe.  I hope this helps.
Thanks for the help, graciesmom. You made me remember about the pains I have been getting in the front of my right shin! The pain is in the same place of my shin all the time and only get pain there if I walk alot and then rest.
 
I cannot set my heel on the floor flat. I kinda walk on my toes. I think that is from where my right knee will not straighten and is bent even when I stand because of the inflammation in it right now. But when no inflammation my right leg can go straight.
 
Thanks for all your indepth knowledge, it has helped me.
 
I hope your goes away real soon. Much hugs to you.
joonie2008-05-04 21:58:40Joonie - I almost replied earlier and didn't, but now that I see gracie's mom's post and your replies, I've go to say - take out the swelling, and what you describe is what I went through from scoliosis.  PT helped SO MUCH for that, like what she says.  The first exercise was too difficult for me (maybe because of the rod?), but second does give you relief she describes.  Thanks Suzanne. Yeah the first exercise sounded a little more than my right leg could do. I thought I might have been able to do the second one. I was going to give it a try anyways.
 
My leg is much better today! Have not had much problem out of it, other than it being swelled still. No pain, no nothing. Kinda odd. But RD today told me it was fibro because of where the pain was and how it got better with pain meds. I do not know. I am still going to go to a joint Dr to get my knee seen about.
I am glad your leg is better today.  I had an epidural injection today to try and get mine settled down a bit.  I'm still numb in the shin area, but maybe not as bad... we'll see.  I hope you continue to have relief joonie.

I hope the epidural injection really helps settle it for you graciesmom. From the pain & problems I was having for a week straight I can only image how much pain you are going thru.

Oh and I am missing the numb part too. But thank you for telling me of your experience and all.
 
Much hugs & hope you get better soon. Please let me know how it goes for you.
I think your good wishes are helping joonie!  My leg is feeling better and after 8 long weeks of continuous sciatic pain, I am without that pain.  The injection is doing its job and I am elated.   I am happy to hear your leg is feeling better & the injection is doing its job! 8 weeks is a LONG time to have that same pain. It probably would have drove me to the looney bin if I kept a pain that bad for that long.
 
Hope the rest of your week improves.
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