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What Causes Severe Leg Pain At Night?

Posted on Wed, 29 Apr 2015

Question: I suffer from bad leg pain at night. The only thing that works is Hydrocodone. I have been to a back specialist, no help. I have been to a vascular surgeon, I have bad circulation in my legs, said It was not that. I cannot find a Doctor that can help. Can you?

Answered by Dr. Heera Lal Poonia (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
get a comprehensive health check up.

Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXXXX welcome to hcm and thanks for choosing us.

I understand your problem and severity of your pain as you have to take opioid for pain relief. You need a comprehensive assessment of your health. I would like to know about your smoking history, blood pressure levels, any chronic illness like diabetes, any surgery in past, any history of injury , treatment given by back specialist, investigations done to guide you in better way.

In my opinion you have some problem related to vascularity because you get pain in nights only. In nights blood flow to legs decreases. In day time due to vertical posture blood flow is adequate in legs. However there are several other possibilities like trapped nerve at lower back, neuropathy , old injuries, problems with bones and joints.

Please get a comprehensive health check up , we will be able to get a diagnosis and then can decide about treatment.

I hope my reply will benefit you. Please write to hcm or me for follow up queries or any new question. Please write a feedback. Thanks. I wish you good health and rapid recovery.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D

Follow up: Dr. Heera Lal Poonia (29 hours later)

I do smoke, 1 and 1/2 packs a day. I have type 2 diabetes. I have had hip surgery in 'January. Hip replacement. I can't get a doctor to percribe the pain meds. Can you help more?

Answered by Dr. Heera Lal Poonia (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
control smoking, take care of diabetes

Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXXXX welcome again and thanks for the detailed information about your health history. After going through details of your health history, it looks like there are multiple factors responsible for your leg pain. Smoking contracts blood vessels, diabetes can cause neuropathy, surgery can affect nerves etc.

You need to control on your smoking, take care of your diabetes by diet and medications for long lasting relief. You require painkillers but I am extremely sorry to say that online prescription are not valid. You need to get hydrocodone prescribed from any doctor available in your area.

I wish you good health. I hope my reply will help you. Please feel free to contact me or HCM for follow up queries. Kindly provide a feedback. Thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Pradeep Vitta

Follow up: Dr. Heera Lal Poonia (2 hours later)

What type of specialized doctor do I need to see?

Answered by Dr. Heera Lal Poonia (18 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
neurosurgeon or for pain medicines visit anaesthetist

Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXXXX welcome again. Best option for you is to visit a hospital, because your exact diagnosis has not yet been established, and you may require opinions from different doctors like neurosurgeon, endocrinologist (for diabetes), vascular surgeon, orthopaedician and anaesthetist (for pain relief).

However if you want to visit an independent expert then i would say following. After going through your symptoms and your health history I would suspect vascular and neurological cause. Since you have visited vascular specialist, and findings have been normal, you should visit a neurosurgeon now.

Or to get pain medicines prescribed you can contact anaesthetist. However in some countries even GP can prescribe pain medicines.

I hope my reply will help you. Please feel free to contact us for follow up queries. I wish you good health and better life ahead. Kindly provide a feedback. Thanks

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Pradeep Vitta