Pain in Left Leg

Hi,

I will be 3 weeks post-op on Monday.  I started having pain in my leg , from my hip to a little past my knee on the left side.  It started yesterday, it is not sharp pain but feels almost like my leg is sleeping and when i touch it, it seems numb.  I put a call into my doctor but they are gone until Monday.  Has anyone ever experienced this??  I do not have a fever or redness anywhere on my leg.  

Other then this problem i have been doing well, no problems eating, drinking or  walking.

Thank you for your help

Jacquie

I am by far NO Dr but our surgery is pretty invasive and does come with risks. Even though it is likely a result of strained muscles ect......It is worth having it checked out by at a walk in clinic or hospital even though you do not have swelling or redness. In the small chance that it is serious......it is treatable and time matters. My intentions are not to worry you but if you were my family member....I would have you rule out a blood clot.

Does the pain originate in your left buttock? If so, it might be Sciatica.

http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v%3Ap roject=medlineplus&query=sciatica

Are you still hormonal? (Sciatica and horme changes can be related - and our hormones change a lot right after our surgeries).

If not, if it is possible that it's pain in a vein, I would definitely go to he Urgent Care centre nearest to you. You don't want to mess with a blood clot.

I agree with Northernlights. I had pain in my right leg (thigh to hip). It started out feeling like it was bruised then progressed to feeling like a charlie horse. A few days later I couldn't bend my leg due to extreme pain! Went to the walk in clinic and was sent to the hospital right away for an ultrasound. It was a blood clot. I don't mean to scare you or anything but even if your doctor is gone until Monday go to a walk in clinic. You just never know!

Wow! that is scary but my pain is mild, more numb than pain.  I will go into work and have it scanned just to be safe.

Hi, it sounds like you're describing paresthetica meralgia

I had this after my surgery and was told its a pinched nerve from being on the operating table for some time. 

There was nothing I could do for it. Once I started losing weight, the feeling was lessened. 

Good luck

Oh I know this pain only too well :\ As the post above me says, sounds like a pinched nerve. Mine started as soon as I woke up from surgery and got progressively worse over about a wee****il I could hardly sleep. Hopefully yours isn't that bad and doesn't get any worse. As your weight comes down it should start to lessen. I've heard anything from three months to a year for it to go away. Right now my thigh is still numb and sometimes it feels itchy under the skin (and no scratching helps) but there's no pain any more. According to my doc all you can do is keep losing weight and withstand it, unfortunately, unless it's really bad and then they can give you steroid shots (I think that's what it was) or go in and relieve the pressure off the nerve. But I think they do that for cases where it's lasted a really long time. \

As others have said watch for worsening pain, redness and swelling etc just in case it isn't a pinched nerve, but that's what it sounds like to me. Hope it goes away asap!!

I was thinking the same thing.. meralgia paresthetica  ..I am a chronic sufferer of back pain (herniation, sciatica, fractures etc...)..

I had day surgery in June and started to suffer the same sensations/same location shortly thereafter....mine would also feel like little electrical shocks spreading under the skin (an almost itchy feeling), and sometimes when I moved a certain way would feel like elastic bands snapping...chiropractor said it was paresthetica meralgia..something likely got pinched when in position on the operating table.Mine lasted for about 6 weeks, but I still have it on and off.

Try googling it...

But either way, keep an eye on it.

Thank you all for the information, i feel it is probably a pinched nerve as described above or Sciatica because it does seem to originate in the buttocks region.  I just hope it goes away soon, it feels like my leg will give way when i stand because it is numb and mildly painful, very strange feeling.  I am losing weight but cannot seem to walk for too long before i need to sit again.  Even when sitting if i rub my leg it is numb.  Definately going to get it checked out. 

Jacquie

Hi Jacquie, sorry for the delayed post.  I have meralgia paresthetica and have had it for a few years.  It covers a large portion of my left thigh and a small portion of my right thigh.  Most of the time, its just numb and feels tingly.  However, about 25% of the time, it hurts badly.  It's like a burning sensation with sharp pain on what I imagine hundreds of nerve endings.  You can physically feel the heat radiating from skin.  It's surreal.  It equates to pinched nerves in my hips, predominately my left hip. The neurologist explained it's like a garden hose pinched stopping the water flow.  There is little treatment...I use an ointment to reduce the pain.   Last resort is surgery but they don't do that often.  I'm hoping it will improve with weight loss.  Good luck and don't hesitate to ask your surgeon and GP.  Take care, Nadine.