periodic warm sensation in lower left leg

[amani]

For the past 2 days I have a very slight heat sensation in my lower left leg (no other problems). Is this some thing I should be concerned about now, or wait for my drs. appt in a few weeks?

[macmercian]

I am a 68 year old male, in pretty good shape, 5'-11" and weigh around 144 lbs. I am an active cyclist going on 15 to 30 mile rides, 3 to 4 days a week. I have in the past experienced the warm sensation on the outside of my lower left leg, which puzzled me but not sufficiently bothersome to seek medical advice. I am experiencing the sensation again right now and was amazed to find how many of you have had similar symptoms!! One connection I have made is fatique and stress, or maybe I should say, stress and fatique. I also have mitral valve prolapse, with mild chest pain at times, which also becomes more noticable when I experience stress and fatique, so I wondered if there is any connection between the two?
I have a healthy diet, only 1 cup of coffee in the morning (which I am going to try and quit) and I intend to try the B12 tablets dissolved under the tongue. Good to know there are a number of folk who experience this sensation and also that it is generally not a serious problem!!
  

[brainjammed]

WOW! I finally read through all the posts. I think that there may more than one reason for everyone's problems although it is reasonable to suspect nerve as it is the nerves that transmit sensation (pain, touch temperature). The exact nerve in question is different depending on where you experience your warm sensation. Someone with Meralgia Paresthetica would experience pain numbness or maybe warmth on the outside of their upper leg. The sciatic nerve will give people sensation down the back of their buttock to as far as the foot. More specifically a peroneal nerve issue as one person mentioned might give sensation issues in the lower part of the leg. Compression of a nerve at any location from muscle, bone, external trauma, tumor (don't panic) etc can lead to weird sensation (paresthesia).
However, I did notice from the beginning of the threads another thing in common ie B12. As many of you have probably looked up a vit B12 deficiency can cause distal nerve issues. Many people here (especially at the beginning of the threads) reported taking proton pump inhibitors which can cause vit B12 deficiency especially if taken for longer durations. Other people wrote that they have diabetes and at least one mentioned taking the common medication Metformin which can also lead to vit b12 def. There are a number of other things that can lead to a b12 def including diet, GI issues etc etc.

[adi143]

I am male 29. My work involves working in front of computer and also working in sites in factories.
Its not very stressfull though.My problem started all of a sudden in March 2009 when I started to feel tired, fatigued and a feeling of weak legs.
I consulted general physician , she suggested me to take some b-complex and keep healthy diet.I followed
her diet plan.I was going to Gym in the evening, started 2 weeks before. After 1-2 weeks I was feeling more fatigued and weakness was growing in my legs.
I observed after working out in gym , my calf muscles were becoming as hard as a rock.I stopped going to gym and preferred taking rest.
In a few days time my condition deteriorated.I felt pain in my knee and ankle joints too with pain radiating to my back while walking along with burning sensations in my feet while standing.
I went to neighbouring hospital and took x-ray for my spine, Blood sugar test and CPK level.Everything was normal.
I was given oral steroids for 15 days days along with vitamin B-12 injections for 10 days. I took them regularly.
I found my appetite got increased and i got red rashes all over my body but my pain didnt get better in 1 week time.
Then I went to see a neurologist. He suggested me to stop taking steroids by reducing the dosage.
A complete blood test along with urine test was done.It was normal.
Then MRI and Nerve conduction tests were done. Everything came out to be normal.
Doctor prescribed Maxgalin-M (lyrica,Pregablin 75 Mg ) to me 2 times a day. I took it for 5 months.
I was feeling better with pain only sometimes and burning sensation in my feet which reduced considerably with time.
I was back to normal life in the month of September.In november I got some warts near my genital area and also a few on my wrist.I took aclyvoir for 2 weeks.
Sores healed in 2 weeks.My life continued quite normal after that.In March I got a little lower back ache.I used some
pain relieving cream and I was fine in a weeks time.I was very happy and everything was normal.However In May'2010, I started feeling pain on the inner side of my thighs, just opposite to the knees.
Then again feeling burning sensations in my feet started, calf muscles getting cramped.It was not as severe as I had before but still it was there.
I went to doctor again.Series of Blood tests including sodium and potassion.It came out to be normal.Then he did
ultrasound of my legs to find if there was any clot.It was normal.Then Ultrasound of my thyroid, he fould it was a little bit inflammed and my ESR level was just a bit more than normal it was 20.Although my Thyroid blood tests were normal.
He gave me some steroids again for a week.After 1 week my ESR was normal, But I still had burning feet, fatigue and lack of energy.
Some days were bit better, some were bad.I started taking Pregablin again.I still got some days with burning sensation in my feet.
Visited one more neurologist, he told me that may be my weight ( 67 kgs , height 162 cms ) is a bit more to be supported by my legs.
He told me to continue taking pregablin along with Vitamin-E. I did that for 2 months and stopped taking pregablin.
Only sometimes I used to get burning sensation in my feet.In November 2010, I decided to start going to gym again , to keep a check on my weight.
May be I am 70 now. I am eating i should say very healthy diet. Good breakfast ( cereals, milk, egg , juice ), lunch and early dinner.
I started doing work out 20-30mins a day. 2-3 days was ok. On the fourth day , I started feeling fatigued.And I started feeling burning near my genital area and was feeling over acidity in my stomach.a bit burning sensation below my abdomen.
I found I was developing sores near my genital area. I stopped doing work out. Didnt take oral aclyvoir this time.
I used Aclyvoir gel for 2 days. Sores got healed, but then I got sores again in the nearby area and after healing got them again.
It lasted for 2 weeks when I started applying Ice on them , it healed.But I started feeling more fatigued, less energy and burning in my feet.
Sometimes burning sensation in my legs too. At night before getting to bed ,i can feel my feet and legs are bit hot too.but if i touch my feet , its not as hot as i m feeling.
I have started taking pregablin again one a day at night. I got a little bit of lower back ache again.Applied pain healing cream. feels better.
I dont have fever, no diarrhoea or headache. In fact I dont remember last time when I got fever.My main problem is fatigue, leg cramps and feet burning.Sometimes i can feel some water is running through inside my legs, but its just a feeling no pain.
And my feet are having tingling feelings.While laying on bed I can sometimes feel twitching of nerves like a heart beat in both legs.
I can walk normally but if I stand for a minute or two, my feet start burning.And while sitting feeling of warm shots keep on flickering from one feet to another. And a mild feeling of tincling in my feet.And If i walk very long 1-2 kms, my legs get cramped.
I was quite a healthy person, I dont know what happened to me suddenly.I sleep for 7-8 hours, but still dont feel very refreshed.
I have done most of the tests :
Series of Blood tests , MRI , X-ray , Untrasound,Nerve Conduction test and even HIV
All were negative.
About my sores I am not sure if it is herpes but its not so severe and I dont know if it has any relation with my problem, as my problem started
much before i got sores.
I dont understand by maintaining good life and healthy life style , how could i be so fatigued.
Is it Fibromyalgia
or MS
or RLS
or herpes
I am so scared and terrified. I was quite young and healthy for this problem. Its affecting my life a lot.
Please help me to have find a right diagnose or a direction and any suggestion for treatment.
May God bless you all !!!

[notcrazy523]

I have it lso. It has been going on now for about a year. It is in my left inner thigh. At first, I thought there was water running down the inside of my lower left thigh. I mentioned it to my Dr. He said not to worry if there was no pain  or minimization of my exercise routine. The feeling comes and goes. I had  not noticed the feeling was missing until today. The sensation had actually disappeared for about two to three months. During that time I had started taking Red Yeast Rice plus CoQ-10, with flush free niacin. I am a 57 year old female with no health problems. I have noticed that salt and sugar plays a part in the sensation. (Those two things will be the death of us all). Hopefully someone out there will diagnose this problem and put an end to this discomfort.

[mtgdiva24]

For the last 10 days or so, I, too, had the 'warm water running down my left calf' feeling like some of you. I initially thought it was the result of a heat vent in my car warming up my leg. It clearly was not and I began to feel this warm sensation 5-6 times per day and even got a pins and needles sensation in my left arm at one point! After a trip to the doc, a physical exam to test my neorological system and blood work, it was determined that I had somehow injured my neck and maybe my neck from hunching over my laptop at night (on my lap) and/or sleeping with too many pillows in various positions (I have trouble sleeping and fall asleep sometimes watching tv or reading). Next week, I will visit with an orthopedic doc and hopefully, will be re-alligned. I will post again to share my results. My neck and back are sore but it never occured to me that the warm sensations in my leg and arm could be related to my neck or back! Meanwhile, taking ibuprofen has helped tremendously and also gave me piece of mind when the pain subsided some, that this was a muscular situation and not one of neurological nature.

[martij283]

I want to thank Eleanor360 for her post.  I was so surprised to read all these posts because I'm having the warm sensation in my lower left leg.  I actually injured my knee somehow recently and this sensation did not start until after this injury. So, Eleanor360, your post hit home with me. I'm just glad to have some kind of answer.  Here is her post:

To: All--A Neurologist's Diagnosis
Short answer: Fibular (also known as peroneal) nerve entrapment (Google it).

I had precisely the symptoms described--sensation of spilt hot coffee down my left outer calf.  Fortunately, I have access to an actual board-certified neurologist.  A few quick tests can confirm.  In particular, the fibular nerve runs from your knee, down the outer side of your calf, then across the top of your foot to your big toe.  See if you can flex your big toe up and keep it up when someone presses down on it...I was surprised to discover I couldn't when the neurologist tested for this.  It's another sign that this nerve is getting pinched or otherwise irritated.

The irritation can just be from hitting the side of your knee (like bumping it hard on a coffee table...I'm a klutz), or it can be from a number of other causes, including getting the nerve pinched as it wraps around the top of the fibula or passes through the upper side calf muscle, or diabetic neuropathy.  It might get better on its own in a few weeks/months, or may even require outpatient surgery if the pinching is due to a structural problem.

Note that this diagnosis is specific to pain/burning/numbness localized on the calf.  If you're also having symptoms in your upper leg and lower back, the problem is further up, e.g., sciatica.