excruiating pain in my legs

[Cohomojo]

I am on day 2.  Took my first shot on 2/2.  My leg muscles/joints are in some serious pain.  I couldn't sleep last night.  The pain is excruciating.  Is this normal as being one of the side effects?

[bbj2856]

I am not on triple  but I stated my first inj with peg on Jan14. I didn't have any bad side affects from it did the rib400/ 2 times day. so far my only sx is fatigue and not sleeping ,    but not doing triple

[PJR1126]

Is Tylenol the only OTC pain reliever that you can take on with this treatment?

[Revalation]

Glad to hear you're feelin better.I'm sure with time your pain will go away since you got relief withthe heating pad and Tylenol.

I have general pain all the time I've found if I can force myself to get up I feel much better. Just don't give into the pain or it will take over.

Reva

[Cohomojo]

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I started using a heating pad which seemed to work pretty well, but finally took some Tylenol and got up and walked around for a while and that worked. I woke up last night about 2am with some pains in my hips...took a couple more Tylenol, got the heating pad under me and was able to sleep ok.
I'm gonna go to work today and see how I handle things.  Maybe being up and not laying on the couch all day will help.

[crigger]

I have had leg pain I take tylenol and use the heating pad. I also have had this heaviness in my leg. I think Pooh described it very well "lead boots in the snow"

[blondie717]

I had a few nights of bone-pain in the leg. I took Alieve and a hot bath. It worked and never came back. Good luck

[hcvJames]

We started pretty much @ the same time. I took the shot, Riba, and Incivek @ 23:59 02/01/12 .. the next day I ran a slight fever and legs did ache. It wasn't as bad as yours but it was working on it. After a nights fitful sleep it went away. Hopefully the same happens for you. Starting these powerful drugs is a shock to the system.  All the best.

[Bovary73]

I had problems sleeping the first two weeks and had restless legs at night. But it went away after 2 weeks and now I feel ok (on week 5 now). The first two weeks were hard, but now it's better. I sleep well again. Hope it will get better for you too soon.

[Advocate1955]

My husband has not had severe leg pain with triple therapy or with either of his two previous therapies.  He has had some moderate body aches/flu like symptoms.  However, I have read about some people having severe leg pain, cramping, and joint aches and that it can be a side effect of the interferon.  If that is the case, you may notice a pattern of feeling this side effect more in the 24 hours or so after your injection.  Great advice above:  use heat, elevate, drink water, etc.  I suggest talk to your doctor and ask if you can take a pain reliever when it's bad.  
Advocate1955

[pooh55811]

I did not have as severe pain as you are/were having. However, I did have muscle aches, joint pains and aches, and lead legs (I felt like I was slogging through 2 feet of snow or mud with lead boots on).

Do you know if your calcium level is normal? Low calcium can cause leg cramps. I take calcium (Citracal + D)every day so mine is okay, but if you have not had your calcium level checked it might be a good idea, either that or just take some calcium (with the approval of your doctor). The best absorbed calcium product is Citracal. That is the name on the bottle. It is calcium citrate and absorbs well. There is also a Citracal + D which contains Vitamin D (something else you may want to check, your Vit. D level, as it is very often low in people with Hep C and some studies indicate Vit D is important in successful treatment). I know this brand and type is fine with the meds because I ran everything past the specialty pharmacy and my doc, plus I checked on the drug interactions site. You do have to be careful of some calcium products depending on the type of calcium and what other ingredients are in the pill as they could bind with your other meds.

The other thing I do is take a 325mg tylenol about a half hour before my injection and another one about a half hour or hour after my injection. I usually take another one the next am. That has worked well for me.

If this continues you may want to talk with the doctor to be sure all of your blood levels are okay. Low potassium can also cause leg cramps.

This may just be a side effect of the drug, but if anything will help alleviate it, is is worth trying (with your doctor's okay). The other thing is, si8de effects come and go and they vary in intensity (for the same individual). One time they may be severe and other times they may be minor.

I hope you can figure out some way to address the pain so you are more comfortable.

[Dee1956]

I had leg cramps as well, tried to force more water, then took calcium magnesium, potassium in case there was an imbalance.  Propping your legs up is a good idea as well
Wish you luck
Dee

[Cohomojo]

I think I'll try the heating pad this afternoon/night if I start experiencing it again.  I've been up for a couple hours now and all the pain has seemed to gone away.  Not sure if this is one of the side effects from the triple therapy or not.

[spectda]

I had many weeks of pain in my legs, back and hips that made it very difficult to sleep during tx. I treated with interferon, ribavirin and victrelis. I used a heating pad, tylenol and a lot of pillows to to prop my legs up which helped a little. It came and went a few times during tx.
-Dave

[Cohomojo]

Yesterday was my first day on the pills and I felt pretty good most of the day.  Drank a serious amount of water as well as the the day before when I took the shot.  Haven't talked to my doctor yet, but they did say that they did not want me taking any other meds unless I cleared it with them.  The pain I'm feeling in my legs is a Deep pain that kind of radiates btwn the back side of the knee up to my hip.  It's so bad I couldn't sleep hardly at all last night.  Took my pills this morning and was able to sleep on the couch for an hour.  I'm up now on the couch having coffee and the pain has subsided a little.

[JasmineT]

I had this to different degrees and only for some shots.  I seemed to have more pain when my body was not well hydrated when I took the shot.  Some people take a Tylenol prior to doing their shot.