Aching legs

[LisaR]

Hi, can I ask some advice. Have been diagnosed 8-9 weeks now and the aching in my legs tonight has hit a new level of pain. Is this all normal???

[mishb]

It shouldn't be Lisa.

I think you are on to low a dose of pred for the time being - has your blood work been good?

When do you go back to your specialists

[LisaR]

Back on Thursday! Last check up she said my bloods hadn't improved, I need to ask more questions of the Dr I think

[mishb]

I think so

They may put your MTX up anyway - I started at 10mg and then went to 15 and then 20
I think they need to put your pred up too, unfortunately.........but it should make the legs, and any other aches and pains, feel better

[drz]

Cramps are often a side effect of many meds or related to dietary problems caused by our meds like low calcium. A good check up with labs to test for various levels ( minerals, vitamins like vitamin D etc) may help sort out possible things contributing to the cramps.

[Rose]

You are not on any cholesterol olowering medication...like simvastatin? A few years ago I was prescribed this about 2.5 years after diagnosis. About a month after taking the stuff my thighs were aching, I could barely walk. When I saw my Rheumy I told him, he didn't seem too concerned as all inflammation markers were fine but what did concern him was a sharp rise in my creatinine levels. I was sent to have more bloods the following month and my levels were still rising. One day, when googling side effects of simvastatin (like I do with all my drugs) one of the main were muscle pain and rise in bloood creatinine levels caused by breakdown in muscle which released creatinine into the blood. Stopped the simvastatin, and creatinine levels dropped to pre simvastatin days and my muscle pain disappeared. Highly unlikely that this is the case with you but just thought I would share my experience

[Geoff]

Hi Lisa,

Welcome aboard and hope you get your painful legs sorted out soon. A good tip is to keep a syptom diary so that when you see your doc you can provide detailed info along with the current meds you are on.
Let us know how you get on.

[gmyi]

hi
I experienced cramps in my legs also as caused by simvastatin my doc. Prescribe me Atorvastatin instead and the clamps become more occasional and when it happens I move my foot towards the knee in the clamps stoped I hope that I hope that you will feel better

[drz]

hi
I experienced cramps in my legs also as caused by simvastatin my doc. Prescribe me Atorvastatin instead and the clamps become more occasional and when it happens I move my foot towards the knee in the clamps stoped I hope that I hope that you will feel better

Some of the older statins seem less likely to cause the severe muscle cramps. I was switched to pravastatin for this reason.

[MikeG-2012]

One of the worst side effects of the pred for me is cramping. Hands, feet, legs...random every other day. Last weekend, I was attempting some carpentry on the house and my right hand locked up with a cramp. When I got that worked out, and got a little farther on the project, my forearm had a HUGE charley-horse cramp that did me in for the rest of the day. No more hammering, switched to the screw gun instead.

i have good good luck with trying to stay hydrated with fluids and keeping my potassium levels up. I can only tolerate a banana every other day, so I munch on dehydrated banana chips on the off days. Plus, I've noticed that the cramping directly correlates to how hydrated I stay. When I'm tired, I tend not to drink my customary amount of fluids, and the cramps come pretty easy then. And, when I'm dehydrated, the nose gets dryer and more crusty too. When I feel like I'm getting really low on fluids, I start up the sports drinks and Pedialite packets into bottled water. The Pedialite has less sodium than the sports drinks. Started carrying the little packs of Pedialite when I was doing some longer rides on the motorcycle a couple years ago. (Unfortunately, it's been parked this summer for all but 150 miles--sigh. I usually put 4-5,000 miles on it a year commuting to and from work. Damned Wegeners!)

i also agree greed with everyone else's opinion on statins. I switched to pravastatin.

MikeG-2012