Please help - my mom has been in severe pain for three months

[Anonymous]

and her doctor is very slow, hasnt identified the problem and doesnt seem concerned about her severe pain.

She is in so much pain that she hasnt been able to work much. Her leg hurts in her thigh area, for no reason she can figure out. Now she has had a cortisone shot, had an MRI and has taken several different pain meds, but is still in tremendous pain. Her MRI results didnt show any abnormalities and now her doctor is recommending physical therapy and waiting to see if it gets better. I cant stand to see her in so much pain - shes 50 and this is out of nowhere.

Any suggestions? What kind of doctor does she need to see? She had been referred to an orthopedic doctor by her gp but I am not sure if there is a different type of doctor she should see. What could this be? I am desperate for any ideas or advice.

[Anonymous]

Is the only pain in here thigh or is she also having pain in other places? Any other symptoms other than pain? What changed or happened 3 months ago - context for the pain starting.

[Anonymous]

Pain from the top of her thigh to the bottom. She says there are three spots that hurt in particular, but the pain is constant and severe. Just the leg pain. No reason she can figure out that it started three months ago.

[Anonymous]

I have milder intermittent pain in my right thigh, no where else. In my case it feels exactly like a bee sting. In fact the first time it hit it came on suddenly while I was driving and I kept swiping at my leg and then ran into the bathroom to see if I could get the stinger out. In contrast a few months ago I was stung on the opposite thigh and all I thought was "shoot, not this one too?". It wasn't until hours later when I got home, took off my pants to go to the bathroom and saw the welt and the hole from the stinger that I realized it really was a sting.

Anyway, I did some investigating with "Dr. Google" and believe I have sciatica. Basically, sciatica is a pinched nerve in your buttocks. Although the nerve is in your buttocks, it runs down to your thigh and your body interprets the pain as being in your thigh. The pain came come from muscle tightness, in which case it seems more likely to come and go. This is what I believe I have, which is somewhat confirmed because when I go on youtube and copy the "sciatica stretches" there it helps. In contrast, I read that if the pain in constant and more severe it's more likely to be a bulging disk or something else pressing on the nerve.

Have they done an MRI of her back and butt or just of her leg.

[Anonymous]

20:57 again. I wanted to add that my mom had a sudden attack of arthritis in her hip that lead to a hip replacement. I can't remember where she felt it, but I remember that it wasn't in her hip itself. It might have been in the thigh. The doctor told her it was not uncommon to feel the pain in a different part of the body, kind of like the way a heart attack shows up as arm pain. The hip replacement cured it pretty much overnight. It was like a miracle.

Anyway, even though it sounds like you'd think it was muscle pain, maybe try a rheumatologist?

[Anonymous]

I would say if this is the thigh it could be referred pain from a spine problem (slipped disc or movement of vertebral bodies) only an MRI of the spine will be able to show this with a neurosurgeon to look at the MRI and see your mom. If this is a problem from the hip replacement: how long ago was the hip replacement? if it was recently she may want to request an ultrasound of the thigh to make sure this is not a blood clot. Other than that if it is not her spine, I am wondering if this is the hip with referred pain.

[Anonymous]

OP,
I had this a few weeks ago and all I can think of is this: Does your mom have any rash? Although, I had pain for few weeks before the rash showed up.

http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Shingles/forum/500224-how-common-leg-shingles

[Anonymous]

Totally agree about nerve pain from a spinal issue. I have an odd pain in my thigh that my doc said came from a damaged nerve during my c-section.

A hip replacement could also bruise or damage a nerve with this result.

[Anonymous]

Go see a pain specialist and/or a back specialist.

[Anonymous]

To clarify, the hip replacement was my mom (poster from 20:57 and 21:00), not the OP's mom. I think I wrote it so it wasn't clear that I was 20:57, it looked like I was talking to 21:00.

In my mom's case the hip replacement worked like a charm. She needed a few days in rehab, but even 24 hours after the surgery she was in less pain than before it. However, as I said, I can't remember where she actually felt the pain.

[Anonymous]

Sciatic pain does not feel like a bee sting, trust me. It feels like the middle of your leg in on a slow, continuous burn. All you want to do is shake (or beat) your leg to make it go away.

A rheumatologist is a good doctor to see. They will dig until they come up with something (most times). Has she tried going gluten free? I had severe muscle pains in my thighs, along with a host of other symptoms, that went away by going GF. I think the gluten was causing an inflammatory response throughout my body. It may not be the answer for your mom, but it won't hurt to try either.

[Anonymous]

What's your mom's SED rate? I think she should see, in this order:

1. physical therapist
2. chiropractor
3. rhumetologist even though I spelled it wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sciatic pain does not feel like a bee sting, trust me. It feels like the middle of your leg in on a slow, continuous burn. All you want to do is shake (or beat) your leg to make it go away.

A rheumatologist is a good doctor to see. They will dig until they come up with something (most times). Has she tried going gluten free? I had severe muscle pains in my thighs, along with a host of other symptoms, that went away by going GF. I think the gluten was causing an inflammatory response throughout my body. It may not be the answer for your mom, but it won't hurt to try either.

I'm the poster with what I believe is sciatic pain. My understanding, from what I've read, is that it's a condition that's got a pretty wide range of severity. I've read other people's descriptions that sound like mine (comes and goes, more stinging than burning, relatively localized, can be relieved by stretching) and others where it's much more serioius or debilitating, nonstop pain, feels like it's burning, doesn't respond to anything. I'm grateful mine is mild, and certainly didn't mean to imply that everyone feels what I feel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's your mom's SED rate? I think she should see, in this order:

1. physical therapist
2. chiropractor
3. rhumetologist even though I spelled it wrong.

I'd see a neurologist and get my spine checked out before I went to either a PT or a chiro. Otherwise, I agree that all 3 of these are good choices.

[Anonymous]

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