Finding Answers to Leg Pain and Cramping

Editors note: Always consult your doctor if you are experiencing any new pain or pain that you are unable to manage.

Leg cramps, aching, and sometimes a burning feeling come with having hepatitis c.

Early on, before I was actually diagnosed, I was having severe fatigue, was not able to eat much, and the muscles in my legs hurt. This was especially if I stood all day or did lots of walking.

Leg cramping and hep C

I had no idea leg cramping was part of hep c.  After being diagnosed in 2005, I did lots of digging into what hepatitis c was, and all I could learn about it. 

Back then, however, not much was available, and certainly, no one was on social media saying they had hep c. So, it was difficult for me to find answers to my thousands of questions. 

I was desperate and felt alone.

The years passed and fast forward to 2010 when I found my life-saving liver doctor at the University of Colorado Hospital. I began to find answers.

I found answers to the questions that for years were troubling me. I was beyond relieved when the answers began to come as far as the fatigue and my ever-growing muscle pain and joint pain.   

Someone understood this and was able to help me.  It was then that I began trying various ways to soothe this pain in my legs.

How to relieve leg cramping

I found the following to be my saving grace for pain relief.  I must state that having a liver condition, such as hepatitis c, you should not be taking very many medications as those may settle in the liver and can cause you more trouble.

Taking over-the-counter pain meds should be done gracefully and under your doctor's supervision.

I have found that doing one of these three things will help your leg pain:

Warming up a blanket or towel in the dryer on high for several minutes, then wrapping around the legs.  Instant comfort!

Take a warm bath.  I do this nightly to get ready for bed. It helps calm those nerves and muscles so that I can rest. Add a little Epsom salt, and you have a spa.

Get a heating pad and lay it over your legs.  After doing this, I have found putting it on a lower setting will prevent a heat burn on the legs.  You can sleep with this or use it while watching tv.

Unfortunately, hep c does have many side effects, and it is all about learning how to treat on your own without medicating, and getting through it to your cure.  Reach out to us here in our community and we will be glad to share our insight based on what worked for us. 

We are not physicians, but we do carry experience in living with hepatitis c.