[Debbie D]

My legs have become so irritating...

my quads (muscles in front of the thighs) stiffen when I stand up from bed or chair...which makes it difficult to get my bearings for the 5-10 seconds it occurs. This just began about 2 weeks ago.

My shins and top of the thighs start to ache after about 3-5 minutes of standing still. I think it's muscle spasms. It dissipates after about 3-4 min. when I sit down.
When it happened last night, DH said, "What exactly does it feel like?" It's hard to explain...just an ache...but it hurts so...
The aching usually increases as the day progresses...even some evenings they ache when I'm in the recliner with the chair reclined.
The shins also wake me up at night, aching...I occasionally will take a 2mg capsule of zanaflex if it's really bad.
I am extremely stiff when I first get out of the car...occasionally I have to use a cane. I loosen up after a minute or so of walking, but I don't walk as effortlessly as I used to...

This has been going on since September. If you recall in past posts, I had a flareup of severe leg spasms and pain from late September to the end of December. The stiffness has continued as explained above, but the pain and spasms aren't as strong as the flare up was.

So...is this an MS thing? Or is it peripheral artery disease?

I am reluctant to call the neuro as I'm going to see him in 2 weeks, and he and his nurse know that I'm having leg pain and stiffness. They've even okayed me taking darvocet for the pain if it becomes unbearable, but I don't want to get hooked on narcotics.

Any advice would be appreciated. I get so confused about these symptoms, not knowing what is going on...