Legs giving up

[CyprusPat]

Does anyone else suffer legs which don’t seem to work these days. I can only get upstairs one at a time by pulling myself up by the rail. Any suggestions you good people?

[ProudYorky]

Hi Cypruspat I have slot of problems I had a knee replacement in one 14 yr ago at the age of 49 due to completely being worn away with work and sporty other knee swells making it difficult to pull myself up from chairs ect Now I purchased a heat pad that plugs in to electric and I can set to different heats I lie on bed with it under my leg and wrap it over for 30 mins the difference is incredible it gives me better mobility for a while I also use it on my back too Also every other day I get a bag of peas out of freezer wrap in a tea towel and place this on .My wife also gives my calf's and thighs a massage all these things do make it a little easier sorry it's not a cure and I won't be running for a bus but it's better than tablets

[CyprusPat in reply to ProudYorky]

I'm glad you get some relief. My problem is not relating to bones and I'm in no pain (fortunately). It seems to be the lack of strength in my thigh muscles causing the problems. I was just wondering if it's yet another side effect of the inhalers or the emphysema.

[ProudYorky in reply to CyprusPat]

Sorry wish I new the answer to that hopefully someone on here will know take care 😃

[tomc]

For many years now, they have given me handrails in toilet to rails on the stairs a rise recliner chair various aids and call it recurring pain..

[CyprusPat in reply to tomc]

Sorry to hear that, but thankfully I'm in no pain. It seems to be my thigh muscles causing the problem.

[Mooka]

Yes I’ve had this problem. I was told at one time that steroids can cause this. I have been feeling a bit better recently and have been able to walk the dog a bit and this seems to have helped with the weakness. So I guess a lot of it was muscle wastage. I also do Pilates which mostly involves stretches and not too physical activity and so work on my thigh muscles with that. Sorry I guess it’s not what you want to hear when you are struggling to walk but perhaps you could build up gradually. I hope this helps

[CyprusPat in reply to Mooka]

Thanks for your response. Initially I had prednisone for 3 months last june/July doc said the weakness was probably due to steroids. Eat more protein he said. Well 12 months down the line I'm worse and only use a corticosteroid inhaler. Don't do much exercise as the oxygen only has a 5m canula. At the moment it's 35 degrees so going for a walk isn't advisable. Also get very sob just crossing the room so I tend to sit and watch TV. I guess I must look into armchair exercises.

[WheezyAnne]

Have you mentioned it to your GP? In the back of my mind is a thought that I had this when I had had another flare up and loads of steroids. My legs felt heavy and wouldn't work properly. It could be an imbalance in maybe Potassium or something like that? I would see your GP about it and he/she could get your bloods checked if needed?

[CyprusPat in reply to WheezyAnne]

Thanks for your response. I've just had a blood test due to all the bruising on my shins. Even my bruises have bruises 😉 And apart from thicker blood due to the emphysema everything was fine. Although I doubt whether low potassium was tested. Think I'll look at foods which contain high potassium and see what happens.

[Yatzy]

I had serious muscle weakness in my legs and arms after taking erythromycin. I needed help to climb any stairs, brush my hair, etc. It gradually faded when I stopped the erythromycin. Had more tests but all became normal again. Frightening at the time though. Hope yours resolves too.

[CyprusPat in reply to Yatzy]

Thanks for your response. It's amazing the amount of side effects we get from drugs which are supposed to be helping us. They're rarely listed in the side effects.