Czar
Happy to hear you are able to do more and your pain is less. It is a good feeling when you can walk and your MP is under control. I am happy for you. Keep us posted on how you are doing.
All good thoughts are with you.
Lookinup58

Thanks for the comments back..

Well the drugs are still effective, much less pain then before. I forgot to mention in my last post the new doc I have has 11 patients with MP, I presume that is why he knows what works and what does not.

Yesterday I was like a little kid, a friend let me take his Harley out for an hour…..sold mine almost 2 years ago because I kept dropping it at stop lights (cant pick a bike that big up alone…) Legs just couldn’t support me and the bike. Ahh the freedom of a good ride.

Came home completed all the laundry, made a cake and washed all the dishes, a lot for me. Actually, it turned out to be too much and I am paying for it today. I did too much, so I am being taught some moderation. It was just so unusual wanting to do things and being able too.

Today I stated a new website (what I used to do for a living). I am creating a portfolio of all my work and am going to see about getting some small projects to start out now that I can sit at the computer longer then 20 min. I am even looking into a Healthcare Agent provider franchise that I have found interesting.

Funny how the mind works when your pain lessens enough to begin to see opportunities.

God Bless..
Today the Czar of opportunities.....

I started having MP when I was in the Air Force in the early 80's. Needless to say it was never diagnosed, and the doctors thought it was just a muscle strain. Every time I ran at full speed I would get a burning sensation in my left upper thigh that would last only a few minutes followed by 5 to 10 minutes of numbness. About 5 years ago I was playing softball and had the pain when I ran to 1st base. Then the numbness came and the feeling has never returned. It has been both a blessing and a curse. I haven't had the pain caused by exercise since. But I have had what I can only describe as phantom pain. On several occasions, I have been wakened up by extremely sharp pain in my thigh that is very short in duration but repeats every few seconds. On a few of those occasions, after about 5 minutes, I stated having muscle contractions in every muscle in my body. It seemed to me I was having convulsions. the muscle contractions kept happening every few seconds like clock-work even after the nerve pain stopped. The first time it happened I went to the doctor about 8 hours after it started. He gave me a drug used to treat panic disorders, and explained what was happening was sort of like hiccups. It stopped a few hours later. For the next few days every muscle in my body ached. I still get the phantom pain once in a while, but the severity has decreased to the tolerable level without the muscle contractions.
Has anyone here completely lost feeling from MP? Is there any treatment for it when it gets this far?

Marc,
Yours sounds very different then mine. In mine the pain starts after standing for about 20 minutes, slight burn in my thighs at first quickly progressing to sharp stabbing pains, then heads into the full sharp white-hot stabbing pain.

The biggest difference in the 14 years I have had it is the intensity and the length of time it lasts after I get the weight off my legs. The last year it has become unbearable, and will last for the whole night if I did too much.

The numbness has been there for at least 10 years, I could draw a ellipse with a pen on both thighs where the numbness is, my neurologist has shown me a book that defines the those areas exactly. The numbness really doesn’t bother me much except some times in the evenings in bed or when I sit in my computer chair too long I cant stand any pressure against those areas.

If you read back to my posts you will see that I have been seeing a pain management neurologist recently, he has defined me 100% disabled. Fun. He took me off the Lyrica; I was having trouble driving on it. I am up to 200 mg of Tegratol 3 x a day but I still need the vicodan to function, that is to get much done, better then I was but not quite were I was hopping to be.

There is an operation to have the top of the nerves clipped, which I was warned would create permanent numbness in the areas I mentioned earlier. (Like I care considering I have no feeling there except for pain anyway.) Problem is I am not a good candidate for any type of surgery at this time. (diabetes, heart and had a stroke last February. I am being told any type of surgery is a year away. Cannot wait I will get it as soon as I am able.

My advice is get a Neurologist that treats this disease specifically, my doc says most people respond well to the tegretol, if not they get the surgery, which is about 80% effective. Good Luck and keep us posted.
~michael

Hi from the UK!

Well my story goes I have a weight problem and I am diabetic. Three weeks ago on holiday I developed Meraliga Paresthetica. How?

Well I am not the most active person, dog walk perhaps twice a day but on my active holiday I walked a lot during the day, rested then attended a concert. Okay so of course I wanted a good spot I got to the venue about two hours before and stood up to secure my place, complaining my back was hurting, concert started and I bopped along with everyone else for over two hours, the pain in my back disappear I then just complained my legs where hurting and I would pay for it the next day!

After the concert we had to walk back into town as we couldn’t flag a taxi, I estimate I walked over two miles – less than three until we successfully flagged a taxi. At the point I was knackered, my legs, back and I complained my right thigh had gone numb and slapped it as a joke!

I made it back to the hotel and collapsed into bed, woke up the next morning and my leg was still numb, initially thought I had strained it from too much walking.

The day we did some walking but I realised that the more I walked my leg started to burn really bad, almost like someone pouring hot water on it and I couldn’t pull my leg away to stop the pain. When I sat down the pain disappear. I got some painkillers from the chemist and drugged myself on them to get through the day and night.

That night it was another concert and I was determined to get a good place and did, same again more standing jumping etc… totally knackered after but walked about two miles back to the hotel.

After that there was break of three days and I rested up the best I could but still had the same walking caused pain, resting I was fine. I did an internet search and found out about Meraliga Paresthetica and knew that was what this was…

Anyway three more concerts, the 3rd one being the worse and I had to drop out to sit down, I was in so much pain I nearly called on the red cross!

I got home, saw my GP two days later and he told me it was Meraliga Paresthetica, I didn’t mention I already knew… he’s given me some Diclofenac 50mg to take three times a day and I’ve been on it 7 days but it’s done nothing. Thankfully being at home I am not as active but still am getting the burning pain when I am walking 10 minutes or more. GP said to go back if no improvement on these pain meds…

Anyone else no what I can do to keep active and avoid the pain! How long can I expect this to last… I know I need to lose weight and I am determined it’s the next step but that’s is not an overnight cure, it could take me two years to get to my ideal weight (356lbs)

The burning pain is pain I have never experienced in my life and it was so bad at times on holiday I could have seriously hurt someone (esp. my non sympathetic travel friend!)

Sorry to hear you are in such pain with MP. It's not fun especially when you are trying to find out what helps control it. And it seems what works for one may not work for another. I have had MP for a year since having my gallbladder removed. Nobody knows why but the day following my surgery, my right leg was numb around my knee and thigh area. A couple weeks later I was getting the burning, shooting, electrical pains that I still get on occasion. My doctor put me on cymbalta which didn't seem to help much for the pain but it helped with my depression. I went to a neurologist in January who dianosed me. He tried giving me a shot in the nerve and also put me on neurontin. The shot lasted a day, the neurontin didn't work. He changed me to topamax. I now take 100mg a day. The first couple of months I had quite a few side effects which have subsided. It has helped a lot with the pain. Even though I still have days that bother me, I am a lot better than I was. I go back every 3 months to the neurologist and he monitors how i am doing. He will try to wean me off the medication however he said some people are on it for a very long time. Only time will tell.

Go see a neurologist and I hope you find the medication to help you feel better

Kellie - Any chance you could help me locate the transverse friction reference you mentioned that Painfree had written about?

Markitwell

I Remember Reading About This Several Times. I Think One Place Was On The Old Braintalk. If I Locate The Information On "transverse Friction" I Will Write Back.

I Once Went To A Chrio Who Gave Me A Round Plastic Stick. He Wanted Me To Roll It Over My Thigh For The Mp Pain. I Was To Apply Alot Of Pressure. He Said It Would Break Up The Soreness. It May Work For Some. I Do Not Like To Cause My Body More Pain So It Was Not For Me Even Though I Think It Is Possible It May Help.

Lookingup

I was diagnosed with MP about 1 1/2 yers ago. This was after 6 months of MRI's to rule out MS. I was given injections in both legs and the pain went away for about 6 months. I also did some physical therapy and continue to stretch which sometimes deals with the pain. On Aug. 1 of this year, I spent the entire day on my feet at my daughter's wedding and the next day I could hardly walk. I got a hold of my dr. and to make a long story shor, I had to see a new guy for the injections. They helped for about one day.
The problem I have now, is the hoplessness I received from the dr. and from reading all the comments. This new dr. said that it will be pain management and has me on Tylonal and Ibuprophine (I can't spell). I'm a teacher and really hate sitting when I teach. Is this condition as hopeless as it sound?
Help!
Lou1

Good day,
I was diagnosed with Meralgia Paresthetica (MP) back in 2002.
At that time a had reached 22 years living with Type 1 diabetes.
Up until that time I was well controlled, never skipping an injection as so many diabetics tend to do. I was and am still today very healthy, no diabetic related problems. At that time I was very fit, but since the leg pain I've shyed away from sports due to worrying if the leg pain will worsen.
The problem I have still today is the diagnosis. Doctors are saying this is typical for diabetics to develop, but it also develops in normal people too.
I'm telling the doctors that I had lifted a wooden crate at work with a co-worker which weighed atleast 400 to 500 pounds. I squatted on the right leg and lifted the crate above my head and then rested it on my head and walked about 3 to 5 steps and had to drop it because it was so heavy.
I believe the injury happened to the nerve in the right leg when I squatted. The boss told us to lift it, so I thought it was liftable. After we couldn't the boss got the forklift to move it. I don't know why he didn't do that in the first place. Later that evening and the following day the pain developed.
They say diabetics with MP have diabetic neuropathy of the nerves. But a Neurologist told me I have no diabetic neuropathy and I'm in great shape. But also said it's common with diabetics. He is telling me this only from medical journals he's read which blame diabetes. There was no further investigation concerning my problem. I like to know why things happen. Medical experts are still learning new things everyday which sometime contradicts earlier known explanations.
I told him I believe it was caused by lifting the crate. He said it's not likely. And that was it. "It's not likely" does that mean lifting a crate can cause MP but with a low probability or does it mean if I pay him money he will tell me what he's really saying. It seems here in Canada most Doctors are only motivated by money or they don't give you the time of day.
I would like more data to determine if lifting a heavy crate compressed the nerve or my well controlled diabetes and fitness caused the MP.

Could somebody please give me your opinion(s) or a proffessional in the field who can shed some light on ALL possible causes of Meralgia Parestheica.

Your help will be much appreciated.
Thanks.