is muscle pain a part of weakness or new sx

[earnellzwifey]

I know this question my be a little elementary but I am new to this side of MS.

I have been dealing with weakness on my left side for several weeks now. Yesterday morning I woke up to pain in my calf muscle (feels like muscle soreness after a good work out).

By evening the pain was also in my tricep the bottom part of my upper arm also on my left side.

Today the pain has spread into my left thigh. It is making walking very difficult. I started neurontin last night for the weakness,but the problem started before I started the meds.

Now it is speading into my right thigh. I can't call my neuro till in the morning. Should I wait or go to er? I am scared that tomorrow I will not be able to walk at all. Any suggestions?

[earnellzwifey]

please reply

Anyone who has dealt with this please share your experience. I am getting a little scared but don't want to go to the er and sit for hours when they will just tell me its just part of MS.

[cali1892]

I don't know the answer to your question. But I just wanted to chime in. I could have wrote the post myself. I have had the cramping, stiffness, sore, contracting, charlie horse thing before. But the last couple of months I have been doing really good. Then Thursday, it all started coming back again. I wanted to cry. I have not called my neuro, I have thought about it. Let us know what they say.

Hang in there.

[janisphx]

I have had this same problem for years. It is normally on my right side. Muscle contractions and spasms usually starting in the pelvis and working itself down to my ankle. It is extremely painful. It is more common at night and I have lost many nights of sleep to the pain. I discussed this with my neuro. He told me that such muscle spasms were a part of the MS and put me on neurontin. That helped some but after some time of taking it I began to have a reaction to it so we switched to klonipin. It will go away for awhile and seems to be part of a relapse. It is also associated with muscle weakness and problems walking. Lately, the problem is now in both legs. I can understand your fear and can only tell you my experience.

If you feel this is serious (and only you would know that), perhaps you should go to the ER. You should certainly call your neuro tomorrow. I get some relief from massages and that could help you. Also, I normally take the klonipin at night but when the problem is severe I can take it up to 3 times a day. I hope this helps you some. When it first started for me about 3 years ago I, too, was very frightened. I have been formally dx'd with MS since 2003.

**Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Some persons with MS have difficulty reading large blocks of print.**

[dalems]

Most nero's have a Doc on call if they are part of a group and sometimes even if they aren't . Most of the time the hospital they have privileges at can contact the doc on call.

As for the symptoms I really can't say. Most likely if you are not having signs of something like a stroke it is just a MS thing and they will not do much except tell you to call your nero in the morning. If it does get really bad or it is really worrying you it could give you some piece of mind to do the ER thing. If you do go to an ER that has a level 1 trauma center then there will be a nero on call that they can consult with.

Sorry if I have been rambling on I just wanted to cover all of the bases I could think of from 9 years of experience.

BTW my brother is a nero and I was just trying to think what he would tell me to do.

Hope all goes well for you.

[earnellzwifey]

Thanks for the responses. I took some of the strongest pain meds and muscle relaxers I have. (save them for a rainy day as they are hard to come by) The pain subsided a little to where it is tolerable. I will call my neuro first thing in the morning.

The hospitals in this area do not have a level 1 trama center. When my spinal fluid pressure was twice the normal rate the dr. had to call a neuro at home. I really hate having to go to the ER so I will only go if it gets unbearable.

Thanks again and I will let you know how things turn out.

[dalems]

It is to bad that these days we will just ride it out over night or even a weekend so we don't have pay the big co-pays, ect.
This is true and you all looking at this form know it. That is what the insurance company's want you to do,

Really hope things go better this week and let us know please.

Is your nero in a group of just privet?

[dalems]

earnellzwifey, I like your verse posted at the bottom of the page. 2 Cor 4:16

[earnellzwifey]

Dalms,

Thanks for the comment. I like your scripture also. You are also right about being at the mercy of the insurance companies. My DH is the only one working and I am not approved for SSDI yet.

He is paying $60.00 wk for insurance just for me and him. Hey atleast its down from the original quote of $100.00. To top it off he might get a 40 hr week once every 2 mnts.

[cocogirl]

Earnellzwifey, you just described exactly what I experience with muscle weakness. It is the pain that actually knocks me down. I pray that your neuro will be able to get you the help you need and that the pain goes away. Just remember in whom we can do all things. Phil.4:13

[earnellzwifey]

to cocogirl

Thanks cocogirl for the reply. What treatment do you use?

I am going to my pcp tomorrow and would like to have some ideas in mind. After my prednisone course I developed this pain along with 2 diffrent rashes one looks like acne and the other dark flat patches, both are mainly on my chest,back, and face.

I am not sure if it MS related since I am in a flare or from the meds. When I googled side effects of predinisone both of these problems were listed. I will know for sure if it gradually goes away as the pred wears out my system.

Will update when I know more.

[cocogirl]

I am not much help because of major allergies I have been limited to Tylenol ES and Valium which makes me unusable for too much else but it does take the edge off pain and helps with the spasticity. Sorry you have this issue.

[earnellzwifey]

thank goodness the neurontin is helping

Well after er visit tue, my neuro started me on iv steroid treatment for 4 days it has helped a lot. It seems that the neurontin is helping to. My pcp put me on some antibiotic lotion for the rashes and it works amazingly well. Even on the steroids both rashes are almost gone just after a few days of treatment.

Thanks for all the responses guys.