Pain in left leg would like to know what the cause is.

[sallyk]

Doctors told me it was athritus but I don't know what kind and they could not see anything on an X-ray. When it flares up I have trouble sleeping and walking. What can I do to prevent it?

[helixhelix]

hello, sorry to hear you're in pain. If your problems are mainly in one leg, then it is more likely to be osteoarthritis rather than inflammatory arthritis. Did they do things like blood tests and so on? And are you being referred to a rheumatologist? If it is osteo, then the best approach is a mix of non steroidal anti inflammatories (called NSAIDS) such as ibuprofen which you can get over the counter, also hot and cold packs. And tho' it sounds strange when your leg hurts, but exercise is also helpful. there's an arthritis forum that has more people with osteoarthritis than we do here, at arthritiscare.org.uk and you might find more advice there. polly

[sallyk in reply to helixhelix]

thanks for your reply, no doc did not do any blood tests.When i am at work and have to sit down for a long tiime(on till for at least an hour at a time)when i stand up i can bareley walk,have to hobble off and its really painful, it does not hurt when i am moving about normally but after sitting for a while or trying to sleep on a night is when its bad,also i feel really hot all the time, maybe thats menopause,i think,don,t like taking too many tablets as feel really worn out if i do

[Hidden]

Hi Sally,

sounds like you need to know more or you won't know what to do for the best. I suggest you phone your doctor and ask them whether they think you have osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis.

The kind of pain & inconvenience you are having isn't acceptable. There are plenty of people on this site who have put up with similar things and then wished they'd done something about it sooner. If you have osteoarthritis (sometimes called 'wear and tear' arthritis) or if it's inflammatory arthritis which can be more serious you need to see a consultant at the hospital. Hobbling, having trouble sleeping, trouble walking - all these things need to be taken seriously and the consultants are usually the ones who can help most.

So whatever form of arthritis you have, ask your doctor for a referral to a specialist. Sometimes GPs don't act as quickly as they should so just tell them what you want. Hope to hear that you are getting a bit more help with this,

all the best,

Christina x

[sallyk in reply to Hidden]

thanks, have just been to docs today, am going for xrays next week,sorry did not reply sooner have been going to bed earley as not sleeping well

[Hidden in reply to sallyk]

Glad to hear things are moving forward! xx

[Hidden]

Hi Sally. I agree with Polly and Christina that its not on to just leave you in this kind of pain without a proper explanation. Use your GP to push for more answers. Polly is right however that you might find you get more information and advice if you post this question in the Arthritis Care site however as RA and PsA are more systemic diseases caused by a defective immune system and unfortunately most if us have no choice but to take powerful and potentially toxic drugs to try and halt the disease from doing irreparsble damage. So while you don't know what type of arthritis this might be, and it does sound more like osteoarthritis to me too, you would be better off getting a broader pool of people supporting and advising than you will find in here. Tilda

[jenna]

hi there just to say i have ra and have had pain in leg for months, not getting a lot of sleep. Had x ray on knee and nothing found, then had to go for cancer check (thats another story) told them about constant pain in leg this resulted in having an ultra sound at back of knee, and the result is its a bakers cyst, still got to have an mri to confirm this, but it is a bit of a relief to know what it could be, i find ice packs gives relief plus pain killers at night. so this could be your pain prob,, x rays do not show soft tissue, hope this helps. jenna