Leg Pain, but not a charley horse.

[aunteater]

Only 4w2d, basically just found out I'm pregnant, and suddenly for the first time in my life, I'm getting terrible leg pain. I looked it up in the tags, but most of the "leg pain" entries deal with charley horse/calf cramping, and that is definitely not it. This is a deep, horrible ache in my thigh that runs from deep inside my left hip joint, down

Comments

[acheuleanhandax]

It could be that your hamstring is really tight. Do you sleep with that leg bent? Does stretching it out help at all?

[aunteater]

I do sleep on my side, with both legs bent, and I do get temporary relief from it by doing straight-legged stretching, but I can't tell if that's because it stretches a cramped muscle, or if the pain of stretching that far just masks the underlying leg pain. Certainly, it only feels better for as long as I'm stretching, and goes right back to aching afterward. I'm willing to consider that it might be a cramp, it just doesn't feel like one. I used to get cramps in my lower legs all the time when I was a kid, but never in my thighs, and this feels totally different. I'm stumped.

[hisrisingstar]

Sounds like sciatic nerve. I had it early in this pregnancy but went away by 10 weeks or so!

[hisrisingstar]

Sorry should have read your whole post. Either way, I had it very early in my pregnancy, whatever it was, but it seemed like my symptoms were very consistent with sciatic nerve.

[aunteater]

Thank you. If it's actually possible for it to show up so early in pregnancy, that may well be the cause. What did you do to relieve it? (and I'm so glad to hear it went away after a while!)

[thiscantbesoy]

Have your thyroid checked. Low thyroid/Hashimoto's can cause excruciating joint & muscle pain.

[aunteater]

Thanks. I actually just had blood drawn this week for a thyroid panel, but haven't got the results yet so I guess I'll see about that soon.

[herladyship]

It could still be sciatica. And also remember that it isn't necessarily related to your pregnancy, so if it doesn't get better on it's own within a day or two, it's worth getting it checked out by a physiotherapist.

[herladyship]

It could still be sciatica. And also remember that it isn't necessarily related to your pregnancy, so if it doesn't get better on it's own within a day or two, it's worth getting it checked out by a physiotherapist.

[aunteater]

Got it. Thank you.

[nickelshoe]

Yeah, my husband had sciatica and he sure wasn't pregnant. There are simple exercises you can find online that can help relieve the pain.