Statins causing leg pain?

[eastex]

Hello everybody,

I think the following could relate to ADR and Fusion patients. It's been a while since I posted anything, but I am still dealing with severe leg and tailbone pain after my L5/S1 Fusion. As of 2/6/10, I was 1 year post op. Their recent attempt to help my leg pain was last Monday 2/22/10. I had Sacroliliac Joint Injection and a Sacrococcygeal (Midline) Joint injection. The nurse circled occygeal in the word sacroccygeal. I am confused on what she meant. Will someone explain? I have heard so many big words in the last year and I just get lost now.

In the last year I have also had Facet Joint Injections and a nerve block. Honestly, I cant remember what locations all of these were done. My MRI and CT scans look "excellent" from my surgeon and Pain Mgmt. doctors view. A nerve test was performed (a while after my nerve block) with good results. Wouldn't the nerve be dead and give a false reading?

Now, finally to my main question. Would my statin (Tricor) be causing my pain? I take Tricor for my triglycerides and Micardis HCT for high blood pressure. I am hearing that statins have a side effect that have been linked to leg and back pain. I am tired and depressed from this ongoing pain. The Opana ER and compounded hydrocodone aren't helping much with the pain. My pain doctor has my hydrocodone compounded due to the lipid levels from blood tests. The Tylenol was causing this and liver discomfort.

Sorry for being so long, but I feel like I can let it all out to fellow spineys!!

[2cool4U]

Statins can indeed cause leg pain. There's a very long list of things that can cause similar pain, including decreased potassium, vascular disease, medications, etc.

I, too, had calf pain for longer than I expected. I was walking 3-4 miles/day, but they always hurt. Stretching didn't help. At about 9 months post-op, one of my doctors had me tiptoe and toe-walk, and my calf muscles were so weak, I couldn't even elevate to my toes for more than 1 second. I was surprised, since I had been walking a lot. He had me do some very simple calf strengthening exercises, and my calf pain was gone in 3-4 weeks.

You may want to get some instruction by a PT or at a local gym. Don't overdo it, just low impact balance exercises on a BOSU or several sets of toe lifts scattered throughout the day to see if these help. I'm sure there are websites that have specific suggestions, as well.

Good luck.

-tc-