Leg aches - post op

[Kathy M]

Question #3 trillion and two!

I'm nearly 7 weeks post-op (yay) and feeling pretty darn good.  BUT, for the last week, I have muscle soreness from my hips to my ankles all the time.  It is not related to exercise (admittedly, I'm not doing nearly as much of that as I should so I know this to be true).  I toss and turn all night and can't remember when I've really rested well and despite the Ambien that my dr. prescribed (about a week ago), I am awake at night more than I'm asleep.

What the heck is this?   I called my Dr.'s office and his clinical nurse said it could be related to the Ambien, so I'm stopping that for a few days to see if there is any relief.  I've taken Advil before bed a few nights and that helps for a few hours, but as soon as it wears off, my muscle aches are right back and the tossing starts again (my husband even notices and he is a really sound sleeper!!!).  I've read about "restless legs syndrom" but since I feel the achiness during the day, too, it doesn't sound like this is it.

Has anyone been down this road?  I can't remember who said it, but someone said "ANs.. the gift that keeps on giving!"  Now I know what that means!!! 

Kathy

[leapyrtwins]

I can't remember who said it, but someone said "ANs.. the gift that keeps on giving!"  Now I know what that means!!! 

I confess, it was me.  Seriously.

I've got a great expression about BAHAs too, but I'm not revealing it.  I'm going to market it to Cochlear America, make millions, and retire.  (Yes, and I'm going to win the lottery, too) 

The leg aches are a new one on me.  I didn't experience that one and I don't recall anyone else mentioning it - but then again, I haven't read every single post on this forum yet 

So I did a little search and here is what I found http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=2713.0

Sorry it's not very helpful; seems to be no conclusion given from the original poster plus it's a few years old.  It also talks about only one leg, not both legs 

Hopefully someone else will have some more helpful input.

Hang in there,

Jan

[Jim Scott]

Kathy ~

I'm sorry to learn of your leg soreness/ache and I can understand why it would negatively affect your sleep.  I didn't experience this problem post-op and as Jan ('leapyrtwins') observed, this is certainly not a common after-effect of AN surgery, so I'm speculating that it has little or nothing to do with your AN.  Of course, I could be wrong - and it wouldn't be the first time.  I hope you can find both the cause of this pain and an efficacious means to relieve it, very soon. 

Jim

[Kim Zingale]

Hey Kathy,

I had that a few nights ago. I attributed it to my having taken a long walk that evening. I was kind of thinking that my legs were just trying to get used to walking again and that they wanted to do some more But since you mentioned that you haven't been doing a whole lot of exercise, I'm not exactly sure if this is the same thing. Also, I don't know if you have this issue too or not, but my right knee is still numb from being laid on for 10 hours during surgery, and I figure that once the nerves start waking up again, that I'll have some more restless symptoms.

Hope you get it figured out! Some nights I sleep all the way through like normal, and other nights I wake up and toss and turn. Ughh.

Kim

[TP]

When I woke up from surgery my leg was killing me. That was due to me laying on my side for 9 hours while they operated on me. It took a few months for my side of my leg to get back to normal. I had some physical therapy right after my surgery but i ended up on my own just walking and messaging my leg as much as i could and eventually it went back to normal.

[Kaybo]

Hi Kathy~
I have no idea how I felt after surgery - I guess I was REALLY messed up b/c I don't remember any of this.  I was under 14 hours and don't remember anything being sore from lack of movement that long!  Of course, it could just be that I am a dumb, blonde that can't remember anything!! LOL!!  I have occassionally had what I thought to be restless leg syndrome, but I can usually get up & take some Tylenol and it goes away.  I also can usually attribute it to the shoes I have worn that day &/or what I have done (been on feet too much or hard floor).  I have never thought of the connection between the AN...hope you get some relief!

K

[Kathy M]

You guys are just the best!  I avoided a nap today in hopes of getting a better night's sleep...boy will I be mad if it doesn't matter anyway.... I wonder how many calories one can burn tossing and turning?  Thanks, Jan, for providing the quote.  I'll never forget it!!!! 

Here's hoping for some sleep after the finale of "The Bachelor" !!!!!

Kathy

[Jwh]

Hi Kathy,

I had the WORST sleep all of last week.  I thought getting up every hour was bad but when I couldn't fall asleep until 3 am the other nights; I was really upset.  I stopped napping and started taking Tylenol pm and that seemed to help me out.  I had so much on my mind (almost a post surgery stress) I couldn't relax. 

Jen

[lori67]

Kathy,

I had really bad leg pain after my surgery, but not at 7 weeks out.  Mine was caused by the steroids, which caused more problems than I care to remember!  The best way I can describe the pain I had was just "bone pain".  Not like a sore muscle or a joint you twisted the wrong way, just a deep down pain.  I felt it mostly in my legs and hips but also a little in my back.  Once I stopped the steroids, the pain went away.

I took Tylenol PM before bed when I got past the point of needing anything really strong.  I think Advil makes a PM product too.  Maybe that might help?

Lori

[QRM]

I was told by Doc Stephan at the HEI to expect pain in the legs and lower back a few weeks after surgery, apparently its all the blood that was mixed in with the CSF slowly settling down the spine, blood is very caustic to the body if its in the wrong place. Which explains the pain until all all gets absorbed.