Disability, Chronic pain, illness Forum

Jim,

I thought you might be interested to know that deep muscle aches in the legs can be a Vitamin B12 and/or protein deficiency. I had the same problem, not related to the rheumatoid arthritis, and by the end of the day my legs hurt so bad I wanted to scream. It even kept me awake at night. There are several causes of leg pain and not necessarily contributed to the fibromyalgia.

However, the deep muscle pain in the legs is different from the pain felt with Restless Leg Syndrome. With this syndrome, the legs tingle, burn, feel like something is crawling on them, etc. The biggest difference is that with RLS people can't seem to keep their legs still. There is a new drug out for that called Requip. As for other leg pain, it could be neuropathy caused by other problems or a vitamin deficiency. You need to ask your doctor about checking your B12 level but even it's normal, some people get better with B12 injections. Mine was and my doctor prescribed B12 and protein anyway. I will let you know how it works. Neuropathy is a pain caused when the sheaths of the nerves are damaged due to circulatory problems, diabetes, and even viruses. Two drugs that alleviate or reduce the pain are Neurontin and the newest one, Lyrica. They are very effective.

My point is this. Don't contribute all the pain you have to the fibro. It could be caused by something else that is treatable. Please talk to your doctor and have him test you for other possible causes of your leg pain. If a B12 injection once a month or a drug will help alleviate the pain, isn't it worth a try?

Take care my friend and ask your doctor about what I suggested. I hate to think of you being in pain if it could be treated.