I've had MP for about 5 years. Only recently has it gotten painful though. Working 4 or 5 hour shifts constantly on my feet at work are almost impossible to get through. I went to an orthopedic and she advised me to stop sitting cross-legged (which I do all the time). Any second advice on if that really is an irritant? She also prescribed oral steroids, and doing some research it seems like they won't do much good and I'm hesitant to take them. Any advice on that as well?

Thanks!

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

Some things that might trigger MP if you have not had surgery, or bone marrow tests, or an injury are:

Tight clothing... Jeans in particular can pinch the nerve as it exits the abdomen, in the upper thigh. Very tight belts, along the waist, constrict the nerve as it leaves the spinal cord. For males, sitting on a wallet in the back pocket. Or even one leg longer than the other has been implicated.

I got my MP from a C-section. Some people get it from abdominal surgeries.

Some people get MP when they are diabetic or have nutritional problems that result in low B12 , so the nerve cannot repair itself.

After I got control of my MP (which I had for years) with Lidoderm patches, I can still twinge it with heat, from a steam room, hot tub or heating pad. I and also twinge it from overextending my leg. But today...it is a distant memory compared to the 1000 bee sting jabs I used to get often!

Capsasain creme, although it seems to burn the skin of most people, worked for me.

My pain only starts when I lie down at night and fall asleep. Within a few hours I wake up with all the pain symptoms.
If I don't do much walking, and sit in a good posture, I am practically pain-free all day.
Anyone else have a similar pattern?

Lying down flat? That extends the leg and stretches the Lateral femoral nerve.

Mine which is in mostly a remission, will twinge if I over extend the leg doing something, or expose it to heat of any kind.
(hot tub, hot bath, steam room, heating pad, etc).

Try putting an ice pack on your groin area when you lie down.
Or if that is not the trigger, put it in the lumbar area on your back
at L4-L5 area and see if that helps.

A strong magnet may help too... Here is my magnet thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread118248.html

I sometimes use a strong magnet in my groin area for about 20 minutes if I have twinges lying flat. But not often.

I really fixed my MP pain with Lidoderm patches, applied to the area where that nerve exists the abdomen...at the top of the thigh. I thought that was a miracle at the time! Now I don't need anything often anymore, after years of anguish.

Similar, yes. I have MP with my Left thigh. I'm on CPAP therapy and normally sleep on my back with legs out straight. But with MP I either can't get to sleep or I wake up a couple hours later with pain. Lying on my left side knocks down the pain significantly. I can also knock down the pain while lying on my back by raising my left leg on top of several pillows or rest the left knee against the wall. I guess it relaxes the tension in the nerve. I'm on my feet at work 7 hours per day, and am have constant symptoms. Best of luck, CUBuff.

First, MP is the one condition that gets worse from Standing and walking. No if ands or buts, OUCH!!!! You are going to need to do some Occupational Therapy to find a position while standing that does not cause inflammation and pain. Which basically means, you need to be standing on the other foot, and the MP leg, raise it up on a stool, or something. The OT people have many options. Cane or Crutches if you are walking anything to get pressure off that nerve. Standard Anti-Inflammatories will always help, I used Cataflam, alieve, ibuprofin, and a few other Prescription ones.. cause I needed to rotate them every few years.

Sleeping! Lidocaine Patches! On a Shaven Leg only!!! numbs the pain, and adds a buffer between the skin/hair and the bed/cloths. MP is light touch only, so hair moving, or just brushing of cloths is all the pain. I suffered for years before I figured out that shaving my leg makes all the difference.

Steroid Injections: Steroid Injections for MP are just under the skin right at the point where the LFCN dives under the hip at the waist. Very minor in the doctors office every few months took care of a lot of the pain. Shortly after they figured out I had MP, and started the Injections, I had the surgery to cut the nerve. So I am not sure how effective it was for my standing tolerance, but I know it went from 5-10 minutes to at least a 1/2 hour.

Strength and exercise always helps too, as well as the weight loss. The only way that worked for me is Deep Water Aqua Aerobics. Arthritis Foundation has classes at almost all YMCA's for $1. We also have a Lazy River in our Rec Center, and it is used more for people water walking than people floating around. Greatest Accidental pieces of exercise equipment in the place Local hospital even does their Water Therapy in the Lazy River now.