Hi All,
First time posting here as I'm at my wits end with calf pains that I have had for a couple of years now when walking and I don't know where else to turn. I can generally manage ~1km at a time on a flat surface before I have to stop and rest for 5 mins at a time, then set off again and so on and so on. The pain usually starts in the lower to mid calf area but can seem to change to under the arches of booth feet, around the ankle etc too. Resting for 5 mins at a time does help and after a few stops I can seem to push on a little further but it's frustrating as hell that a walk that should take 45 mins or so ends up taking me twice as long because of this issue and simply isn't enjoyable.
I've seen doctors who prescribed statins for high LDL cholesterol on top of my daily levothyroxine 100mg and I've also started taking a baby aspirin at night in the hope that might help. Had my feet and hips checked (pulses) with no issues by my GP and was referred to a vascular surgeon who told me that since I had managed to walk from the car park to his office there was nothing wrong with me (As far as PAD goes), he then rechecked my pulses and told me I was basically fine but that if I was a smoker I should give up, and that was that.
I've tried stretching, sports and deep-tissue massage (Very painful), foam rollers, better footwear, some magnesium and potassium supplements and even knocking back cider apple vinegar twice a day but nothing seems to work. What drives me mad is that I can seem to jog or even play an hour of football without any issue but walking at any kind of moderate pace (My tests on the treadmill this seems to be anything upwards of 5.3Kph) becomes agony very quickly, usually between 600m to 1Km based on experience.
I'm trying my best to push through and keep exercising daily without always pushing through the pain, but it's been nearly two years now since this started and I'm wondering if surgery might be my only way out, but again where should I start with that, see a chiropodist as my GP last suggested? Ultrasound scans, Angiogram? I feel exhausted being referred around to different specialists and just ending up out of pocket each time with something that doesn't work.
Any advice is really welcome as this is really starting to get me down and I can't see a way out.
First time posting here as I'm at my wits end with calf pains that I have had for a couple of years now when walking and I don't know where else to turn. I can generally manage ~1km at a time on a flat surface before I have to stop and rest for 5 mins at a time, then set off again and so on and so on. The pain usually starts in the lower to mid calf area but can seem to change to under the arches of booth feet, around the ankle etc too. Resting for 5 mins at a time does help and after a few stops I can seem to push on a little further but it's frustrating as hell that a walk that should take 45 mins or so ends up taking me twice as long because of this issue and simply isn't enjoyable.
I've seen doctors who prescribed statins for high LDL cholesterol on top of my daily levothyroxine 100mg and I've also started taking a baby aspirin at night in the hope that might help. Had my feet and hips checked (pulses) with no issues by my GP and was referred to a vascular surgeon who told me that since I had managed to walk from the car park to his office there was nothing wrong with me (As far as PAD goes), he then rechecked my pulses and told me I was basically fine but that if I was a smoker I should give up, and that was that.
I've tried stretching, sports and deep-tissue massage (Very painful), foam rollers, better footwear, some magnesium and potassium supplements and even knocking back cider apple vinegar twice a day but nothing seems to work. What drives me mad is that I can seem to jog or even play an hour of football without any issue but walking at any kind of moderate pace (My tests on the treadmill this seems to be anything upwards of 5.3Kph) becomes agony very quickly, usually between 600m to 1Km based on experience.
I'm trying my best to push through and keep exercising daily without always pushing through the pain, but it's been nearly two years now since this started and I'm wondering if surgery might be my only way out, but again where should I start with that, see a chiropodist as my GP last suggested? Ultrasound scans, Angiogram? I feel exhausted being referred around to different specialists and just ending up out of pocket each time with something that doesn't work.
Any advice is really welcome as this is really starting to get me down and I can't see a way out.