Hi,
I am experiencing a sensation of very tight lower leg muscles on one side. Almost like the leg is beginning to go into cramp. Stretching out doesn't seem to relieve it much. Is this fibro related do you think? Any suggestions how to cope with it?
Thanks
Kanga
Hey Kanga,
I have this happen with my legs a lot. The best thing I can think to recommend is to take a muscle relaxant and try to stay off your feet for a while. I am not sure what causes our legs to freeze up like that but I do think it is nerve/spasm related.
Feel better!
Thanks for your reply. I was thinking it had to
Hi Kanga and welcome! We're happy to have you at our site and hope you come away with some good info and friendship.
In answer to your question, yes, tight muscles are generally fibro related. My lower thighs do this, right by the knees. Feels like the muscle underneath swells up, causing the skin to be way too tight. Can't move my knees much as a result. I'd guess that your issue is also fibro related but I'd make sure by asking your doctor. And I'm really sorry that you're suffering from this and from fibro. It's not fun. Whenever I have a day that's good, I look back on the bad ones and don't know how any of us get through it, let alone as well as we do. I guess we're tougher than we realize.
I cope with it by putting Salon Pas over the counter pain patches on the worse spots. I put several in one area. They do help loosen the tightness up a bit. I also just got steroid injections in the knees, which also helped to reduce the tightness. I don't know if that would work in your case.
Gentle hugs to you,
Petunia
Hi,
thanks for the welcome and the suggestions. This darn fibro is a pita to be sure :-(
Hugs
Kanga
I have just started on the "Neurontin" which deals with the nerves. Have only been on it a couple days. I am having such a debilitating attack this time, it's never been this severe. Having problems lifting my arms all the way up & bending down with no strength to walk but just a short distance before I have to stop. I am sure hoping the new med helps me!
Also take Flexeril, a muscle relaxer. The only problem I've had thus far is -----I stay soooo sleepy.
Has anyone heard it said that to keep moving more is key to feeling better????? My husband brought this statement home with him from church this morn. I can hardly get out of bed on my own this time around, this has never happened before where I find myself so weak in the arms & legs.
I used to be a ballet dancer so I was doing loads of moving, it never helped. My leg muscles are so weak now. I can walk on a flat surface but slopes and stairs are like climbing a mountain. I know moving is supposed to help but.....:-(
My right leg always hurts worse than my left leg and the calf muscles seem hard and stretched to the limit if that makes sense. I had veinous closure done on that leg about 6 years ago because the blood flow was horrible and I have horrible varicose veins and extreme swelling. I don’t know if the fibro pain is worse in that leg because of the previous surgery but that has been some of my worst pain. After sitting for a couple of hours, my calves are so stiff and the first few steps would make me want to cry.
Ouch! How awful for you :-( . My right leg sounds very similar but nowhere near as bad as your's. How do you cope?
Hugs
Kanga
I know how you feel. This is my worst attack ever (5 months now) arms and legs extremely painful and tired. Walking does help me though. Always a double edge sword with meds. Sometimes they help the pain, but then make you sleepy. Tough balancing act. Hope this episode goes away soon.
Hi Micahel,
I have found walking eases it a bit. It seems to be worse when I sit for more than a few minutes. As you say, the meds vrs side effects is a very tough balance.
Hugs
Kanga
I have that in my right leg, mine is related to Chronic low back pain. The sciatica is what usually causes it. Not sure that is what is going on with you but you might want to look in to it.
Hi Kygirl,
I do have sciatica from time to time so I'll mention it next time I am at the doctors.
Hugs
Kanga
Hi Tina,
Thanks for your reply. I should go see my doctor and I have a BP check coming up but I have a fairly new GP and, though she is very pleasant, just don't feel very settled with her. Not sure she is the person I could talk to about Fibro and it's related issues.
Hugs
Kanga
Hey Girlfriend! I have this a lot, very rarely is it both legs at the same time but I have pain that runs from ankle to groin. Feels like a severe bruise in my case. My physical therapist says that those ligaments have knots of inflammation all up and down them. She puts the hurt to me when she tries to work these out, then she gives me ultrasound massage with 'BioFreeze' from ankle to knee. She has me freezing a bottle of water at home and then sock up and roll my feet back and forth in a stretching action...I can feel the stretch into those same leg ligaments. I'm supposed to do this twice a day for 10 minutes each foot. Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't...just try.
Also I have severe Restless Leg Syndrome and was told when I did a hospital workup/sleep clinic that I didn't just have it in the legs but in my arms as well and mine occurs anytime I sit down after being on my feet for more than an hour. My hands would fly off the steering wheel when I drove, totally random occurrences. One of the reasons I stopped driving. I take up to 3 mgs of Requip a day depending on what I have to do. Any travel would be impossible without the requip. Anyway, where I was gonna go with this...LOL...it started with deep pain, kinda the same thing I get still...but a deep pain that turned into a crawling charlie horse kind of feeling. I describe it as my wicked witch of the East syndrome. (From the Wizard of Oz, her legs curl up under Dorothy's house) Anyway, my PT has me put my foot against a stair, heel on floor and then bend knee and lean till you feel the pull in that muscle/ligament and hold for 30 seconds, do other foot and then do the same thing over without bending your knee, just by leaning forward. These really hurt me but I do think my RLS symptoms have lessened since I've been working on those inside calf muscles,tendons and ligaments. I know with your professional experience you know how to stretch everything but I thought I would tell you the specifics on the RLS part of my PT.
New pain is scairy for us isn't it? I don't know how many times I was just sure I had bone cancer and would beg my NP at the time to check me for it. I was in a panic from the pain and was having a hard time getting a grip.
I'll panic these daze too when something new pops up..it sucks but I now take a little control by making any notes on it I can and if it persists or gets worse you have those notes to take to your practitioner. One more thing that I keep thinking about, if there seems to be a bruise of any kind in the painful area but that you don't know where it came from you need to get that looked at quickly as it could be a blood clot or thrombosis and that's risky business there. You already have blood pressure troubles so watch yourself carefully and get medical attention if you need it please.
I'll be thinking of you. Feel better!
PeacenLove Always~Laurel
I totally get that, in both legs, and it's totally Fibro related!! It was actually one of the first symptoms I had that took me to the doc. Rest has really been the only thing that helped me! It can be very, very frustrating!!! *Hugs*
Hi Laurel,
I get RLS as well and am on Ropinerole for it. But even the RLS is getting worse. I did mention the leg cramps at an appointment but doctor just told me to stitch the legs regular. I do this anyway so just feel now I can't battle anymore.
Hugs
Kanga
Thanks Butterfly,
Hope you are feeling as well as you can with this wretched Fibro. It causes so much hassle, doesn't it.
Hugs
Kanga
Hi Kanga,
Yes, it certainly can be fibro related! I had exactly the same thing happen to my lower left calf in the back. It felt like I overstretched it or something. Kind of like a cramp but not quite. Or like the feeling you get when you run too much and the leg gets over-tired and tight. Mine lasted for months and then mysteriously went away again. So that's the good news, that yours might also just disappear in time. In the mean time, have you tried using soothing agents like Ben-Gay on the leg? Or there's also pain patches, like Salon Pas, that you can put on that are also soothing and help to ease the pain.
Good luck, kanga and I hope your pain dissipates soon.
Petunia
Kanga, this is going to sound silly but my mother read about it, tried it and likes it for leg cramps. When she gets into bed, she puts a bar of soap on the area that hurts. She said that she gets terrible cramps at night and the soap helps right away. I've never tried it but it's worth a shot. Cheap and easy to get a hold of.