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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / May 2007Question re thigh cramps
This is a long & I've never posted here before & hope it's ok to do so. I would appreciate any & all responses. I'm a 62 female, rather active, living in North Carolina. I've been up most of the night having on & off HORRIBLE PAINFUL CRAMPS in my inner thigh & some near ankles. They always hit when I'm in bed. I do have some RA in my hands (and probably other places) & I am wondering if cramps are or can be a side effect of RA? I take Celebrex when I have a flareup with my handa. I think I'll start taking it EVERY day though. The cramps I mentioned are unbelievably painful. Two years I went to doctor re them but didnt really find out why. I had very few cramps after I lost alot of weight. My weight is still the same but recenlty the horrible cramps have started again. CAN THEY BE CAUSED BY ARTHRITIS? Tonight/today I've noticed that my bones are sore if that makes sense. . WHen I press rather hard any where on my body near a bone, it hurts.... doesnt hurt much unless I press. ALso I've noticed that my knees & shoulder joints are sore. Aaaand I've had stiffness in my hands for a year which does go away each morning after soaking them in hot water & using them. Sorry this is so long. I'm afraid to go back to bed; that's when the horrible cramps hit me. Thanks for any advice. > This is a long & I've never posted here before & hope it's ok to do so. > I would appreciate any & all responses. I'm a 62 female, rather active, [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > bed. I do have some RA in my hands (and probably other places) & I am > wondering if cramps are or can be a side effect of RA? Hi Kay,,,, Going to speak bluntly. You do not get a little RA here or there. You either have it or you do not. There are over 170 different types of arthritis or problems that a arthritis doctor treats. You could have one of those but a person doesn not have a little bit of RA. As far as the cramps or muscle cramps lots of people have that I eat a banana almost everyday to keep that from happening to me. > I take Celebrex when I have a flareup with my handa. I think I'll start > taking it EVERY day though. The cramps I mentioned are unbelievably > painful. Two years I went to doctor re them but didnt really find out > why. I had very few cramps after I lost alot of weight. My > weight is still the same but recenlty the horrible cramps have started > again. CAN THEY BE CAUSED BY ARTHRITIS? NO,,,, type are caused by something else. > Tonight/today I've noticed that my bones are sore if that makes sense. . > WHen I press rather hard any where on my body near a bone, it hurts.... [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Sorry this is so long. I'm afraid to go back to bed; that's when the > horrible cramps hit me. Thanks for any advice. Please do not worry about using lots of words to talk about your condition or how you fell. We have people that will talk longer about their cats or dogs. You are what this newsgroup is for. When you start talking about hurting and being achy on both sides of your body and having to soak early in the day to get to going,,,, I am sorry to say that might be inflam.arth. or it could be Lyme disease and it is something you need to see an arthritis doctor about,, A Rheumatologist.... Please do not just continue to live with the way you are. You will cause a great deal of damage to yourself by doing that,,, ,,,, maybe... You need to be looked at and when you see an RD,,, let it all hang out,,, tell the doc the whole story about what your day is like and how you feel,,,, how many places hurt,, and the cramps. Come back and talk about it some more. Many people here have been where you are. Harv > Hi Kay,,,, Going to speak bluntly. You do not get a little RA here or > there. You either have it or you do not. There are over 170 different > types of arthritis or problems that a arthritis doctor treats. You could > have one of those but a person doesn not have a little bit of RA. Harv's quite right about that. Are you seeing a rheumatologist for your RA? If not, you really need to be becuase Celebrex alone is not adequate treatment. We have folks from several areas of NC and someone can probably recommend a good rheumatologist to you.  SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Went to my sports doctor and told him I thought I had a strained or partially torn groin muscle because I was having cramps in my groin. At one time or another I was also having problems with my quad, knee and calf. I thought the problem was with my abductor longus. Turned out it is a bad hip. >I've been up most of the night having on & off HORRIBLE PAINFUL CRAMPS >in my inner thigh & some near ankles. They always hit when I'm in >bed. Hi, I was having very painful cramping that ran from the backs of my thighs to across my ankles. I attributed it to OA and PA, especially in my knees (a past rheumie told me that the muscles weaken around the joints), but it worsened when I increased my walking over a vacation this summer. When I could not sleep at all, I made an appt to get cortisone shots in my knees. The alert NP was suspicious that there was another cause - my back. I was not having more than the usual aches, but I had some tests done and took the muscle relaxant she prescribed. The medication, plus PT, has worked wonders - the MRI showed degenerative disk disease that I was not aware of. So, my advice is to see your doctor (or NP!!) Cindy, also a nurse KayM It sure sounds like you need to be checked out more. Some of what yo said in your post could be coming from Fibromyalgia. So I think you need to get into a RD and get things looked at to see if arthritis or fms. Also are you getting enough to drink. Dehydration can cause muscle cramps. Just a thought. SignatureLove and hugs to all Good thoughts coming your way too. Squirrely Jo > This is a long & I've never posted here before & hope it's ok to do so. Sure it's ok. Post away to your heart's content. <g> > I've been up most of the night having on & off HORRIBLE PAINFUL > CRAMPS in my inner thigh & some near ankles. They always hit > when I'm in bed. > > Sorry this is so long. I'm afraid to go back to bed; that's when the > horrible cramps hit me. Thanks for any advice. A potassium suppliment is helpful (some people eat a banana daily for potassium). What really did the trick for me it seems is Magnesium 250mg daily. I haven't had a cramp/spasm in my legs since beginning to take that. Stretching exercises of the legs just before bedtime also helps. These relieve the tensions/tightness that can often lead to cramps. A favorite of physical therapists is to stand straight, arms' lenghth from a wall. Slowly bend the elbows in such a manner that your face approaches the wall and your nose can touch it. You will be able to feel your legs being stretched Push away from the wall to the upright position by straightening the arms, then repeat 11 times, for a total of 12 stretches. Hi Kay, welcome aboard. Just to add to what some of the others have said, I also get cramps at night. If I lay in one position awhile things freeze up and that seems to cause my cramping. I know mine is RA related because it only happens when the RA is not under control. You need to see a rheumatologist and get on a DMARD (disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug). Celebrex helps the inflammation but does not control the disease. There are a lot of DMARDs out there. Do a little research and learn all you can about RA and the meds, then you and your RD can sit down and pick the right treatment path for you. Here is the addy for a site that can help teach you what you need to know: www.arthritisinsight.com Sarah L "Friends are those people who know the words to the song in your heart and sing them back to you when you have forgotten the words." (unattributed) Good Morning Kay, I about fell out of my chair when I read your message!!! This is my first time on this sight so I hope this isn't too long!! I also have the leg problem you are having!!! Except my cramps are in the back of my right thigh and my left ankle.When it happens I can't even sit up or move!! When it happens in my ankle,my foot will turn to the inside so far I am looking at the bottom of my foot ! Normally I can't even force my foot to do that??I can never feel a cramped muscle when it happens but I can't even stand up!! It happens day and night?? It is almost like my bones or arteries are hurting not my muscles if that makes any sense?? I am down to 2-3 hours of broken sleep a night and at my max burn out from this. It also happened when I was driving and I almost wreaked the car!! I am a 55 year old female from Washington State,very active have had gastric bypass and now my weight is about 180 and I'm 5'-7". My back has also been fused from mid back gown and doing fine--no pain. Help-Help-Help Melissa >This is a long & I've never posted here before & hope it's ok to do so. >I would appreciate any & all responses. I'm a 62 female, rather active, [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >Sorry this is so long. I'm afraid to go back to bed; that's when the >horrible cramps hit me. Thanks for any advice. |
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