Calf pain / Claudication

[HK7]

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.

 

[Jo_the_boat]

You are Type one, I'm T2. Plus I'm NOT a medic but I have / had similar symptoms to you.
I had calf pain (claudication) and hip pain. It came on over five years, getting gradually more uncomfortable.
I was then diagnosed Type 2 and subsequently sent to a vascular man AFTER REFERAL FROM A PODIATRIST.
Had an angiogram and was diagnosed with PAD. Incidentally, I could walk from the car park but it was after a couple of hundred yards that the discomfort started, usually uphill walking. (Your docs diagnosis seems based on scant information)
The upshot is that my conditions were diagnosed by tests. I sympathize that you can't even get the tests, that just doesn't seem right. Maybe the chiropodist (or a podiatrist) is not as bad idea for you because they can refer you on.

My vascular man said (in my case) that surgery was an option but he could see I was really making an effort through diet and exercise. As you are too (plus your T1 meds presumably).
Crucially he said, maintain good blood sugar, don't smoke, eat well and exercise.

Read up Dr Malcolm Kendrick and others on statins, cholesterol and LDL. Make your own mind up there.

I think the crux for me was the blood sugar which I manage through diet and exercise. That has particularly helped my T2.
I realize you're T1 but maybe ssomething here helps.
Best of luck.
(Message me if you want to)

 

[lessci]

Type 2 not Type 1 but I was experiencing constant calf pain after starting statins, type was changed and it went for approx 9 months, then came back, at mid 40's I wasn't prepared to live with it for the rest of my life, so did some research, checked my ratios and decided that as my ratios ldl,hdl, trigs were reasonable (although the "headline" figure was over the NHS recommended level of 4) and all my other risk levels were low to stop taking them. Do some research, and talk to your GP

 

[domoboy]

This sounds to me potentially a lot like chronic compartment syndrome.

I had the same issue. An extreme burning a pain sensation in my calf's and shins when playing football. And sometimes when walking. Maybe 1 in 5 times I'd be fine and sometimes after exercising for 30 minutes and stopping due to the pain, I'd be good to restart again. But often than not, I wasn't.

I was referred to the vascular department by my GP. Do not let them fob you off. Mine have been great. They did an ultrasound to check blood flow which was great and then a elctromyopathy nerve test to check the nerves. Also very good.

By process of elimination the next step was a compartment pressure test. It's essentially a bike pump into the shin. Sounds unpleasant, but honestly it's fine.

My levels at rest were already above what they should be at exercise. The surgery is a very simple day surgery of vascioctomy with a good success rate.

I might be wrong, but do not let the vascular surgeon say just because you walked there you were fine. I could quote often walk 3km without getting pain but always got it once the intensity was upped.