I am a 44 year old male with AMN. I have used a wheelchair for 11 years, though I have some ability to stand. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning my legs are completely taut and hard to straighten again. I presume that they have been this way all night. When this happens, my legs are very weak and not able to bear much weight. I presume it is because they have been busy all night staying so taut and have not had any chance to rest. Has anyone else experience this or know of the explanation or ways to prevent?
-Chris Phillips
Written by
cdp71
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I am 38. My symptoms are less than yours (I don't use a wheelchair) but they are definitely worse first thing in the morning than at other times of the day. I find that doing some exercise on the leg muscles helps. The problem with exercises is that usually there are too many other things to do first thing in the morning to find the time.
Hi. I have a similar experience where my legs are relaxed but evrytime I scratch my head for example my legs contract violently . Not the same and don't have an answer I am afraid.
I am 53 years old and have been in a wheelchair full time for 21 years; I can not stand. My hamstrings tighten during the night. Even if I sleep on my back my hamstrings pull my legs up. In the morning my feet are tight against my butt. I have not found a solution.
Thanks for everybody's comments. I fear that I sound like a broken record on this message board, always complaining about my legs. While my legs do get tight at night as described, I now think that my real problem is the antibiotics that I took for a urinary tract infection. This is because my whole body, not just my legs, feels very weak now. Of course there are conspiracy theorists on the internet who claim that antibiotics cause muscle weakness and we all know that everything on the internet is true. I hope that is my problem and that I will recover shortly. If I do, I am committed to buying an elliptical machine and working out my legs on a daily basis. I really do not want to give in to this disease any more than I have. If I lose my ability to stand (which I am very close to doing) I will lose the ability to do many things. What gives me comfort is that only a short period of time ago I was able to stand up from my wheelchair without using any outside support. Hopefully, I can get myself back to that point soon. However, AMN is a weird disease and no one seems to know what it does to any given person.
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