posted
I was diagnosed recently with Lyme, although I have had it for over 13 years. My question is for those of you with leg pain...
I get severe pain in my shins and calves. It feels like the shin splints I got in High School when I was on the track and cross country teams. What do you do to relieve this pain? I also have arthritis (diagnosed as Psoriatic Arthritis, but now I am wondering if it is the Lyme) in my feet and ankles. I have used a cane for the last 5 months. I take vicodin for that pain, but the deep muscle pain is not affected much by the meds. I have a hard time walking and standing, and am in need of some relief!!
Any thoughts/ tips are greatly appreciated.
Posts: 427 | From Pacific Northwest | Registered: Oct 2010
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I have a lot of leg pain. And like you, I just found out it was from Lyme after many years. Random shooting pain, dull constant aches, and at all times, if anyone (including myself) touches them the wrong way--it hurts. My shins have a bumpy surface to them.
If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll try to massage my legs myself. But that is PAIN-FUL. But if you're taking vicodin, you might be able to handle the pain.
The main thing that helps my legs from hurting is constantly alternating hot/cold water in my showers, or going to steam room or hot tub for 5 mins, and rinsing in cold shower water (3-4 times, taking about 40 minutes or so).
That, and exercise and lots lots lots of water.
I also bought a machine, LYMPHSTAR PRO. it's spendy, but it helps me. Might be some local practitioners that do "Decongestive Lymphatic Therapy" PM me if you want me to help you search.
There is a lot of lymph congestion, i dont know if its from the bacteria itself or what. But basically I find lots of relief through getting my lymph to move.
I hope you find something to help you. If I can think of anything else i will surely post.
My foot and shin pain started after I started to get treated.
If I rest alot, it is not as bad.
I am trying magnesium.
My ND is ordering a special powdered magnesium which is suppossed to be a lot better.
I think it may resolve after you have been on treatment for a while. I have been in treatment for Lyme and co-infections for 1 year, so for me, it may take yet another year.
I am also going to try Tiger Balm. It used to really work, but i haven't used it since I have been in treatment for Lyme.
-------------------- I am not a doctor. I have no clue. Posts: 606 | From somewhere out there | Registered: Sep 2009
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sutherngrl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16270
posted
I have the same pain in my shins and also in my feet. This is actually the last pain that remains for me. It is especially bad in the morning and when I sit for a while and then get up and try and walk.
I don't really have any answers, except to continue treating. I got rid of my most severe pain with constant antibiotic treatment and feel that in time this pain will also disappear.
I guess if the pain is too severe you could resort to pain meds. I had to take Lyrica for about a year when I had extreme pain. It didn't get rid of it, but it did dull it.
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
Bartonella is known for causing shin bone pain and calf pain.
The Bartonella Quintana strain is very well known for causing shin bone pain. In fact, this strain has historically been called "Shin Bone Fever" and also "Trench Fever."
Here is a list of just some of the symptoms that can be seen with various Bartonella infections:
Bartonellosis
Common symptoms of bartonellosis include:
___Fatigue (often with agitation, unlike Lyme disease, which is more exhaustion)
___Low grade fevers, especially morning and/or late afternoon, often associated with feelings of "coming down with the flu or a virus"
___Sweats, often morning or late afternoon (sometimes at night) - often described as "thick" or "sticky" in nature
___Headaches, especially frontal (often confused with sinus) or on top of head
___Eye symptoms including episodes of blurred vision, red eyes, dry eyes
___Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and sometimes hearing problems (decreased or even increased sensitivity - so-called hyperacusis)
___Sore throats (recurring)
___Swollen glands, especially neck and under arms
___Anxiety and worry attacks; others perceive as "very anxious"
___Episodes of confusion and disorientation that are usually transient (and very scary); often can be seizure-like in nature
___Joint pain and stiffness (often both Left and Right sides as opposed to Lyme which is often on one side only with pain and stiffness that changes locations)
___Muscle pains especially the calves; may be twitching and cramping also
___Foot pain, more in the morning involving the heels or soles of the feet (sometimes misdiagnosed as plantar fasciitis)
___Nerve irritation symptoms which can be described as burning, vibrating, numb, shooting, etc.
___Tremors and/or muscle twitching
___Heart palpitations and strange chest pains
___Episodes of breathlessness
___Strange rashes recurring on the body often, red stretch marks, and peculiar tender lumps and nodules along the sides of the legs or arms, spider veins
___Gastrointestinal symptoms, abdominal pain and acid reflux
___Shin bone pain and tenderness
Bartonella is a bacterium that causes illness, the most commonly known of which is a disease called "Cat Scratch Fever." Thousands of known cases of Bartonella occur in the U.S. each Year, with the vast majority of known cases due to bites from fleas that infest cats or infected dogs (may also occur directly from bites and scratches from infected dogs or cats). Bartonella can also be transmitted by ticks that transmit Lyme Disease. In fact, in a study published recently, deer ticks from New Jersey had a higher prevalence of Bartonella organisms than of Lyme organisms.
It is unclear whether the organism that we see transmitted along with Lyme disease is actually a Bartonella species (such as B. henselae or B. quintana) or is "Bartonella-Like Organism" (BLO) that is yet to be fully identified. While BLO has features similar to organisms in the Bartonella family, it also has features slimiar to the Mycoplasma and the Francisella (causes tularemia) families.
posted
hello! Well, me too!...magnesium glycinate is crucial for me to manage pain. I also swear by epsons salt baths (which is magnesium transdermal), Moor mud baths, Lymphstar Pro (mentioned above), Thera cane or Back buddy to work trigger points really helps because my hands cannont apply the necessary pressure! My ten dollar opionon...be cautious with that vicoden. Low dose Naltrexone is very helpful for pain, immune function and is non- addictive. We have brain infections basically; and opiates of any kind are very risky for us. I understand the pain, I have it. my hands feel broken or my feet or my back or knees stabbing abdominal pains at any given moment...but I really push back from pain pills unless I'm on the brink of tears. if you take them every day you are on a one way ride to more and more and then not enough...and that place is deadly. this diease is bad enough.
-------------------- AzDaisy life requires action Posts: 58 | From Tucson, AZ | Registered: Apr 2010
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I get leg pain and weakness also. Someone said babs. Is what I am treating for now. Anyways, someone here suggested lavender oil in baths or soaks. I tryed it last night and it really helped with my leg muscel pain. I used epsen salts and lavender oil. Also helped relax me, and I slept real good last night.
posted
Thanks for all the tips. Peripheral neuropathy, huh? I looked into that, and it sounds like I should ask my doc about it. My husband is always screaming when he puts his hands in the dishwater that it is scalding hot. It doesn't bother me a bit. Maybe he's just a wus though!
As for the Bartonellosis, are your shins painful to touch? Because mine are the opposite. I absolutely melt if someone massages my legs. Its the only thing that helps my leg pain. I am going to try the magnesium glycinate.
As far as the Naltrexone, it is used for opiate addicts? It is very taxing on your liver, and I am on other medications that are so taxing to my poor lil' liver that I need monthly liver tests. So I do not think that is an option. I am fully aware of possible addiction issues, and have fully discussed them with my doctor. I am in excruciating pain everyday, and do not think it is good for my recovery or health to be in that much pain. I cannot walk, and I am 34 with 2 children. The pain meds do not get rid of pain by any means, just brings it down a few notches. I am in tears and the vicodin is used sparingly, so no one needs to worry. But I do not really need to justify myself, I just wanted to put out any fire that was going to start over this. Thanks for all the tips, and keep 'em coming if you have any more.
Posts: 427 | From Pacific Northwest | Registered: Oct 2010
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TX Lyme Mom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3162
posted
quote:Originally posted by searching4truth: My husband is always screaming when he puts his hands in the dishwater that it is scalding hot. It doesn't bother me a bit. Maybe he's just a wus though!
Numbness to heat in the hands and feet is typical of Lyme (or maybe it's the Bartonella, as someone else above suggested). Your husband is not a wus just because he has normal reactions to heat. You are the one who is abnormal when it comes to heat tolerance. When you finally recover, your hands and feet will no longer be so insensitive to heat.
Our daughter's feet and legs were so numb that when she stepped in a bed of fire ants which were swarming all over her feet and ankles, she didn't even notice it until someone looked down and told her to move away from the ants.
Also, when she attempted to help a friend with a newborn baby by bathing the baby, she nearly scalded the baby because she could not sense the heat of the bath water. Luckily, the baby's mother caught her mistake before the baby was harmed. That child is a healthy teenage now.
The ant bed incident occurred nearly ten years ago. The nerves are very slow to regenerate. Thus, the numbness in her feet and legs was one of her very last symptoms to disappear, even after almost all of her other Lyme symptoms had all gone away.
Or perhaps the poster is right who stated above that numbness in the hands and feet is a symptom of Bartonella because we believe that her Bartonella was the hardest and slowest co-infection to treat of all of her Lyme co-infections, so maybe Bartonella explains why her symptom of numbness was so slow to go away.
Posts: 4563 | From TX | Registered: Sep 2002
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