[Serra Britt]

So I'm not sure what to say, but basically for the past 7 months I started having constant leg pain, accompanied by light headed feelings if I stand or walk for more than an hour. I have of course been to the doctor, several of them in fact, and aside from me being rather normal on all tests they could give me no insight as to what was causing my affliction. The most recent doctor, the neurologist, seems to believe I may have Restless Leg Syndrome, and has been treating me for it, but none of the different medicines he's tried have done much for me. Besides, as far as I can tell RLS doesn't explain my light headed/dizzy feelings, and that's the big problem for me. I can't work at jobs where I have to stand up. I quickly get to a point where I feel like I will faint, so even at home I rarely do anything that requires me to stand up, such as washing dishes, or cleaning. I HATE IT. Honestly I feel like a useless lump sometimes, though my roommate always says it's alright.

I have applied for state assistance and I do get food stamps, however, since there is nothing explainably wrong with me, I do not get unemployment nor disability benefits, and I am required to look for work, though there seem to be very few jobs I can actually do, as without something explaining what's wrong with me most jobs cannot accomodate my need to sit down regularly.

So I'm asking for advice. I've talked to a lot of my friends about this stuff and have gotten several condolences and ideas already, so don't worry about repeating anything, it might have merit :3 I just wanted to vent a little about this, and thanks everyone who reads this.

[Espy]

Have you considered being anemic, or having low potassium? The latter causes lightheadedness and cramps...

....This makes me worry >.<

[Serra Britt]

Espy, yes, those were both tested. My blood count is normal and because of my hormone therapy my potassium is usually a little higher than usual.

-adds Espy to list of people worrying about me-

I do get abdominal cramps every 4 weeks but I think that's related to something else :P

[Fey]

How is your blood pressure? To me these both sound like a low blood pressure issue, as I've been told to watch out for them since mine is ridiculously low itself. The light headedness can also be caused by minor forms of asthma.

As for what to do, it's gonna sound nuts, but walk. A lot. Not long walks if you're worried about fainting or something, but go for a couple 10-15 minute walks a day. Often leg pain is due to issues with the blood flow and muscle mass. The small amounts of cardio will slowly help with both those issues.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Does it get any worse when your period kicks in? I'm usually okay but I would get the occasional day during my period where I wouldn't be able to stand up for more than three minutes or so because of getting anemic. Apparently, in cases like that one's hemoglobin might be normal but reserves can be low so it takes longer for the body to recover from any blood loss. That's in part just what I've heard though.

It doens't sound like resltess legs. I've had that and it's more of a constant need to move or twitch. Laying still is practically impossible and it's very frustrating. Many times I wasn't able to get to sleep because of it.

Dehydration can explain leg cramps (I know this one from personal experience) and water by itself wont always fix it. Juice or something with salt like broth can be better, and salt will also help to raise blood pressure if it's dropping to far since it encourages fluid retention (but not in the bad, bloaty way).

As for jobs, are you experienced enough with computers to try something like data entry? It's something I did myself for a job once. Since it's not reception I'm not delivering messages back and forth to people and I spent most of the day in a computer chair. Get's boring but it's an easy job if you can focus on small things for long periods of time. I had no specific skills when I started my data entry job, just some minimal computer skills. Some jobs like that you can do from home too. Just thoughts. :).

[Kotomi]

I think this last month I had a few similar occurrences
and I haven't figured it out as well: but don't know if it is from different reasons

possible reasons:
allergy
dehydration
stress
standing for long periods of time when your not used to it can cause it so some exercise could help
standing up quickly
pinched nerves...
possible other reasons, that I haven't found yet...

hmm some jobs you might be able to do:
-if you can handle kids, working in an after school program
-being a tutor- for any age
-daycare
-hmm you could also have a desk job but with that, and any other sitting job, you need to exercise... or symptoms may worsen when you stand

[Serra Britt]

@Fey, my blood pressure was always fine when checked, back near the start I did have it checked repeatedly while I exercised, and it stayed in the normal range even at the end when I felt dizzy and had to be wheeled out of the hospital -.- I haven't been checked for asthma so that IS a possibility, sometimes I do get out of breath quickly. As for walking I have been trying to do that, I go with my roommate just in case. I don't last long unfortunately. I do walk around the house some, however.

@Quiet, I've mentioned it a bit around other threads but I'm a transgirl so my periods involve amdominal cramps and some major mood swings. I used to think it was random but I was taking note of when they happened and it turned out they were about 4 weeks apart. Anyways though, I don't bleed during my "period" because that would be kind of scary considering my body, I did have to go to the doctor once because I had been bleeding. I have a lot of leg pain and it was interferring with sleep so I'm guessing why they diagnosed it as Restless Leg, but after looking at what it usually does I'm more inclined to think it's something else. I do drink a lot of water and sometimes eat some salty snacks so I'd like to believe it's not dehydration, I don't drink a lot of juice because it's fairly expensive, and I don't like soda at all really. As for jobs I have applied for office/computer work, just no answers to any of it yet. I have a lot of retail experience so I've been applying at banks too. Sometimes I think I just can't give enough information on the job applications, I rarely get called for an interview but every interview I did have, I got the job. Ideally I would get something to do from home, I don't want my roommate to have to drive me around.

@Kotomi, Allergies could be possible, I moved to where I am only 6 weeks before this started, but the doctors didn't think that had anything to do with it. Stress is certainly possible but I have a happy-go-lucky state of mind usually, though I am prone to psychosomatic illness as I tend to get headaches when those near me have them. I also doubt that it's because I'm not used to exercise, before this struck I was riding a bicycle for my main transportation, and this came on seemingly randomly. Pinched nerves should be out as I had an MRI and nothing was reported in that aspect. Another idea I thought would be poor circulation.. all the doctors seemed to write that off as I didn't have any noticable swelling, I'm just concerned maybe my heart hasn't been strong enough to pump blood.

Thanks again for all the input, I appreciate it :3

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Ah, okay.

Stress could be part of it, though it's an answer that I think few people like to hear. I was getting odd symptoms at one point and my doctor chalked it up to stress and I felt it was cheap because there isn't a very good *fix* for stress issues. I know now that i do get averse ractions to stress, nausea and inability to sleep among them, and I get very bad nausea and somethings upset stomache from lack of sleep. I have depression and likely anxiety issues, and working to deal with those has helped a little but it's not an easy go. Just a possibiliy. :). I'm not about to deny that anything may be physically wrong. Hope things get better and you find a job soon. That may even help a little.

[Serra Britt]

I had a retail job when all this started, just one day I was there I was having a lot of trouble getting up off the ground every time I sat down to work on the lower shelves. I ended up sliding across the ground a few times rather than getting up and moving. It wasn't until a coworker asked if I was okay that I really noticed how close to fainting I was.

I'm not going to deny it might be stress related too. I haven't had every single test that could be done but no job means no insurance which means.. no money for doctors >> I just hate not knowing exactly what it is. In some ways that makes it worse ><

I do hope I get a job soon though. That would be a little bit of stress off me at least xD

[Hoshi Astarte]

I have trouble standing as well among several health issues. I would suggest having your blood sugar checked. Diabetes can cause swelling in your legs and lightheaded symptoms among a number of other issues. Also, have your thyroid checked. You would be amazed how much your thyroid can affect your body. I have hypothyroidism and type 2 diabetes. Since you are low on finances, I will give you a link that might help you decide if you have some form of thyroid disease. http://www.medicinenet.com/thyroid_disease/article.htm

[Serra Britt]

A friend of mine suggested hypothyroidism back when this first started. So it was checked along with a diabetes check, both of which I don't have according to the numbers they pulled. Thank you for the link though, I do seem to have a slot of the symptoms caused by hypothyroidism even if I don't appear to actually have it.