Chronic Bilateral Back of Leg/ Hamstring Pain

[westportjill]

I have suffered from chronic back of leg/hamstring pain for 10 years.  Pain in both hamstrings - that is worse when sitting or sleeping.  During deep massage, the pain can be brought on by extremely deep pressure, which for me, feels like scratching an itch.  It comes on for months and them it goes away for months.  I don't sleep well, I'm a light sleeper and I have 3 small children that are up a lot.   I am in pain right now and even taking oxycondon doesn't help.  I have tried so many things: chiropractors, neuromuscular therapy, stretching routines, cortisone shots in my back, physical therapy, acupuncture.  I have seen orthopedists, infectious disease specialists, rheumatologists, and no one knows what it is.   I was pain free during 2 of my pregnancies, but not with the last pregnancy.  The pain is often brought on by nothing, or exercise and sometime but not always, after a night of standing for awhile.  
I sit on tennis balls a lot to get at the pain, but it's short lived.  Does anyone know what is going on?

[algia247]

Hello, I have bilateral hamstring pain and is taking gabapentin 300mg 3 times a day. And it does not help relive my pain when I sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. I use ice therapy and heat therapy I also stretch on a daily basis and it only help for a short time. I am in need of some serious pain management and physical therapy but my health insurance has run out.

  In the mean time I am seeking help from a local medical community health center which take time to process because of the registration process but I have signed up for a appointment which is soon this comming June.

I wish you all the luck because, I know exactly how this discomfort changes your emotional and physical well being.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Jill,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am sorry to hear about your leg pain. It sounds muscle as well as nerve related to me.

You have done a lot of things that should have produced some pain releif. I think Opus offers some good suggestions. If it is nerve pain Neurontin (gabapentin) can be an effective treatment. Have you tried that yet? It sounds like Opus has "been there."

My PCP is a Doctor of Osteopathy. I have found that they seem to understand issues such as yours (and mine) better than most MD's. I would suggest that you have a consult with a D.O.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. We will look forward to your posts. Take Care, Tuck

[nick30]

opus88 said it all perfectly

[opus88]

Hi westprtjill....I could have written your post myself...to a t..thats exactly how (part of) my pain is and exactly the treatments and doctors I to have tried over the years, even down to the tennis balls except i used soup cans and the harder the pressure the more the temp. relief!!! And I agree oxycodone or oxycontin or percocet of T3's do NOT work for this.
I found out a couple years ago quite unexpectedly by a psyhiatrist of all people(best doctor in town...and also a pharmacologist...knows meds like no other)..anyway he said to me well ur having sciatica (nerve pain) hasn't anyone told u that already?? NO they sure hadn't anyway I'll stop babbling on...I tell u GABAPENTIN (neurontin) 1800 mg. is an absolute life saver!! the 'nerve' pain has stopped...
all this has since been confirmed by 2 specialist that I see...I also take oxycontin but that is for back pain.
get a doctor to prescribe the gabapentin for you, you'll sure be glad u did. for me there were zero side effects...just maybe a little sleepy, but that was welcomed after all the years of no sleep.
good luck let us know how u make out ok.