I have feelings of electricity down my left leg that is unbearable

[rebba33]

Hello. I am a 42 year old male who has had feelings of electricity down my left leg for over a year now. I have seen a neurologist and been treated for restless leg syndrome with no success. What started out as a tingling feeling has turned into a felling of strong electricity in my leg all day and night everyday. It has gotten to the point that it is like pain. My neurologist, and a second neurologist do not know what the problem is. I have been told that it is mental, but I know it is not. The only medications that help are methadone and vicodin. I cannot take the methadone for over a week because my breathing is affected, so I have to alternate the two meds. The vicodin stops working after about a week. The doctors have done no tests, but I am scheduled for a MRI of the spine. The last neurologist I saw said that my nerves are fine because I have great reflexes and fell mobility in my leg. I still know that something is wrong. Can anyone help?

[rebba33]

Thank you very much for the information. It has been horrible dealing with this and it is great to finally hear someone who understands. It is now the waiting that is the hardest.

[ggreg]

You can look up "sciatica" online, because that's what it sounds like you got, and I do not know why the neurologists didn't look at that first as a cause.  Now, they said your nerves are fine, you got good reflex and have mobility in that leg, so there is also a chance that you have more of a circulatory problem, where you can get a blockage in one of the blood vessels, and it can hurt very badly.  While you're waiting around for the MRI of the spine, which should show nerve compression going on, you can visit an internal medicine doctor and ask what he thinks about the possibility of a blood vessel blockage, he can run you thru some tests for that.  

I have a friend who had sciatica, he did a form of physical therapy, some yoga type exercises for a while, and it freed up the trapped nerve that was carrying on down in his leg.  So, if the MRI shows that's what you got, despite opposing findings, docs will usually start out with the moderate route, of physical therapy, keeping your medicines in place, and if you don't get relief that way, perhaps they might offer surgery to free up that nerve.  But I wouldn't advise you go and try to do some yoga, you could make things worse than they are, wait and see what the scan shows and also what an internal medicine doc has to say about perhaps a blood vessel problem.

[Dr Sharma]

Hi, I understand your agony well. You have symptoms of sciatica which begins in the back and travels down one lower extremity. It is a shooting pain like electricity, burn like fire or tingle like a sleepy foot. Causes may be a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, may have sciatica on both sides of back, spondylolisthesis where one vertebra slips over another resulting in pressure on sciatic nerve or a pinched or stretched sciatic nerve.
It is good that you are due for a MRI scan because it will help in figuring out the cause of these symptoms.
The various treatment options are physical therapy , cold massages alternating with heat therapy, pain killers like vicodin and others, correct posture, lying down on flat firm bed. Surgical options depending on the MRI findings.
Methadone is a synthetic opioid used for moderate pain, can develop tolerance and driving should not be carried out while on the drug. Vicodine is acetaminophen and hydrocodone.
Take care and all the best.