Swollen heavy leg with muscle pain - Arthritis Action

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Swollen heavy leg with muscle pain

Krawlins profile image
10 Replies

Noticed on Monday morning on my walk from car to work (3 mins) my leg went heavy and painful. Thought no more as sit down at work for 6 hours, same happened again on walk back. Got in and took my trousers off, looked at this leg and it's swollen from ankle to thigh including the knee, the muscles had burning heavy pain and when I bent down leg felt stiff as if it had been filled up too much with water and was tight. Got GP appt 2 hours later and he doesn't know what's causing it and didn't seem concerned. I was though because I had a coronary angiogram on the 17th, they couldn't go through my wrist artery so had to go the femoral route, it was on that right side, because I didn't stop bleeding I had to have a femoral plug. It was agony for me and I nearly cried, it had to go through a nerve? It's hurt ever since and I wasn't allowed home for several hours after taking paracetamol (did nothing) then codeine (took edge off) I've felt the pain in groin ever since and now this problem with my muscles and swelling. Pain not so bad when doing nothing, sitting/lying, dr gave me diazepam but question is would you take it further, go beyond him and try and contact the surgeon who inserted the plug or call 111? I feel like I have something else going on. My angiogram was brilliant by the way but I'm to stay on beta blockers for tachycardia and stop the aspirin I'd been in for a month cos I don't need that.

So basically with your arthritis (which I have in spine, hands and feet) has your whole leg ever swollen or given you this intense, heavy muscular pain and how long did it last?

Thank you, Kay

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Krawlins
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10 Replies

Hi Kay...I'm new to this forum and have had no experience such as you describe . However if I had I would want a second opinion. Perhaps contact the surgeons secretary to put your mind at rest.

Krawlins profile image
Krawlins in reply to

Thank you Yatsura, fortunately I have a pain management appt on Thursday so that is great timing for once. I've been reading an American forum and it seems I'm not the only one with on going pain after an angio seal. It can cause bleeding, leakages, neuroma and hematomas which are normally seen in MRI or ultrasound, when I rest its ok it's once you start walking it worsens. I'll try and update once I get a possible explanation. Kay x

Gertzm profile image
Gertzm in reply toKrawlins

Good morning Krawlins,

I feel for you the pain and agony you must be suffering from.

It is so sad that Doctors at times can be so unwilling to deal with ones problems, especially more so in your case where you needed him most. I do hope that you are feeling a lot better.

I take this opportunity, to wish you and members on HealthUnlocked a very Merry Christmas..

Krawlins profile image
Krawlins in reply toGertzm

Thank you so much Gertzm, I am relieved to say the problem with the leg subsided after a week but for a while there I panicked!

Wishing you a happy, healthy Christmas too x

Lolarufus123 profile image
Lolarufus123

Hi Kay I have never experienced a swollen leg. I experience nerve pain which manifests in feeling like I have a bowling ball in myy vagina. Pain in the back of my thighs and a feeling like I have a knife stuck just under my left butt. It's everyday and I assume that it's because s1 and l5,won't heal. Even so I am way too scared to have the surgery. Lola

Krawlins profile image
Krawlins in reply toLolarufus123

Oh that is awful to hear, so have they offered surgery for L5S1 ? I literally had no option but to have the surgery because it had trapped the sciatic nerve so that I couldn't move but then mine was a herniation so not the same as yours, except it sounds like you're in agony too and that's hard to live with. As long as you're seen on a regular basis and have ongoing appointments I suppose you can wait and see, hopefully it will heal on its own in time and you won't need the surgery but if it's seriously affecting your health and your mobility it might be something you eventually have to consider, I'm sure you could always get a second opinion if necessary, it seems a lot of people do.

Good luck x

Lolarufus123 profile image
Lolarufus123 in reply toKrawlins

Hi I have been lying on cushions on the lounge all day due to pain in my groin, it's nerve pain. With surgeons I have been very lucky. My surgeon is a Professor of Orthopedic Neurosurgery. When I asked about surgery he got all my scans together and we went to the orthopedic neurosurgery research centre at Macquarie university. About 8 neurosurgeons looked at my scans. They said that they would need to insert a long rod between s1 and l5. That because I am small and thin I would feel the rod through my skin. Also said I only had 50 to 70 percent chance of getting better and no guarantee that the pain would stop due to the nerve pain. So I said I wouldn't have the surgery. They basically said good decision. I can change my mind at anytime. I need to be more careful about what I do. On Saturday night I was with my 5 year old grandson and he wanted me to sit on the floor and play with him. I did it and now I feel like I'm paying for it. Thanks so much for you're reply.

Krawlins profile image
Krawlins in reply toLolarufus123

Oh my goodness that's awful to hear, that even with the best of teams they can't guarantee such a massive operation would free you of nerve pain. I am so sorry to hear that and can see why for now you have declined the procedure. Have they ever mentioned spinal stimulators, not that I know if that would work for you but I thought they helped in some way to bypass the pain? are you also seen regularly for pain management? I wish all things better for the future xx

Lolarufus123 profile image
Lolarufus123 in reply toKrawlins

Hi Kay thanks for you're kind reply. I thought about spinal stimulation but I've heard it costs 65000.00 dollars. There's no way I could afford this. I had a very bad experience with a pain clinic earlier this year. My pain doctor kept commenting on how thin I was and was telling me I had to go to a rehab hospital 40 kilometers from my home. He,wanted me to go 3 times a week and exercise for 2 hours each time. My doctor and neurosurgeon said this was crazy because I couldn't do it. When I told him he screamed at me and threw me out. So I don't trust pain clinics now. I will just have to see what happens. I hope you're leg is,better and thanks.

Furl profile image
Furl

Yes I have the swollen heavy legs too!

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