weak legs -- is this a neuro problem?

[el_squared]

Hello there,
I have fibro and a CFS diagnosis (dx'd 3 years ago) as well as Celiac Disease (dx'd 13 years ago). Over the years I have contended with crushing fatigue and weakness in my limbs, among many other problems. In the past few years, however, the weakness in my legs has gotten a lot worse. I often have a hard time going up a flight of stairs. I can only get up them if I pull myself up using a railing. Sometimes I'm so weak I just can't do it. I find myself wondering if I will need a motorized cart (I'm 48 y.o.). Needless to say, I haven't been strong enough to work out at the gym or do other physical things that I used to do, for a few years now. On good days I can walk for a mile or so on flat surfaces, but even walking up hills and even moderate grades can be hard.

So: Are the weak legs just a byproduct of chronic fatigue, or is there a specific physiological thing happening that explains this? I have had two brain MRs in the past three years, and they were "normal." I also had an EEG, EMG and a nerve conduction study on my legs three years ago. Those tests were normal. No doctor can explain my weakness, other than attributing it to chronic fatigue syndrome. Even the fibromyalgia doctors say their patients typically aren't so weak.

I appreciate your thoughts.

thanks,
Laura

 

[Dechi]

I’ve always attributed my muscle weakness to lactic acid build-up but I never had the proof of it. Any muscle that I use more than a few seconds will become weak, even my jaws. Climbing stairs is the hardest. Some days I just can’t do it.

Sorry I can’t help you more.

 

[gregh286]

Yea in a crash i get this, but at times feel nothing.
My ME waxes and wanes a lot but can relate to this problem.
Just not enough energy to leg muscles and lactic build up on top.

 

[Eastman]

You may also want to rule out nutritional deficiencies.

Can Certain Vitamins Help Weak Leg Muscles?

 

[andyguitar]

Weak legs are part of CFS. There are many here who would be very,very pleased to be able to walk a mile. It strikes me that if your phsical abilities fluctuate as much as it sounds they do, and you have coeliac disease, you might be allergic to something else as well. A long time ago I met a woman who had coeliac disease- I was in a band with her husband- she had what I would describe as severe CFS. To get from the sofa to the kitchen was hard for her. But on some rare occasions she was fine. Totally fine. Eventually she had allergy tests done by the NHS. Eggs were identified as an allergen for her. After avoiding them her health problems totally went. Never came back. You ever been tested for allergies? If you cant afford to then simply stopping the well known potential allergens might work.

 

[BadBadBear]

Have you had basic bloodwork in a while? Wonky potassium or sodium levels make my legs really weak.

 

[Tammy]

This is one explanation from Anthony William's book: (Thyroid Healing).......from Chapt. 5: "Muscle weakness is a part of the neurological fatigue I mentioned earlier in this chapter. When EBV's (Epstein barr Virus) neurotoxins get to the brain, they can cause very mild, undetectable encephalitis (brain inflammation) that affects the nervous system and weakens muscles."

 

[Dechi]

This is one explanation from Anthony William's book: (Thyroid Healing).......from Chapt. 5: "Muscle weakness is a part of the neurological fatigue I mentioned earlier in this chapter. When EBV's neurotoxins get to the brain, they can cause very mild, undetectable encephalitis (brain inflammation) that affects the nervous system and weakens muscles."

Thyroid should be one of the first things to check when you suspect ME. It’s important to rule it out. But ME will have the same effect with a perfectly normal thyroid and blood work.

 

[AnnaDove]

@el_squared,Vitamin B1 is the leg fatigue vitamin. You might want to check your levels. Can make a difference with many things in the body.

 

[Tammy]

Thyroid should be one of the first things to check when you suspect ME. It’s important to rule it out. But ME will have the same effect with a perfectly normal thyroid and blood work.

Anthony believes that the EBV is responsible for thyroid problems.

 

[Wayne]

I appreciate your thoughts.

Hi Laura,

I can sure relate to your quandary. I began experiencing serious leg tiredness about 3-4 years ago, and became quite concerned about it. I began looking at all the foods I may be allergic to, and made a few modifications.

The thing that did the most for me however, was to begin doing leg lifts. Laying on each side, I would lift the leg up and down a few times. I would do the same while laying on my back, and on my stomach. I started VERY slowly, and gradually built up over a fairly long period of time.

I now do about 50 leg lifts per day in each position (25 in the morning and 25 in the evening). I've thought about adding some weight to my ankles while doing them, but the improvements in my ability to walk and carry myself has improved so dramatically, that I've so far not felt the need to do so.

Don't know if this would help you, but it may be something for you to consider. Given the extreme weakness you describe, it sounds like it would be best to proceed VERY cautiously, perhaps only 1-2 lifts in each position to start out with.​

 

[pattismith]

@el_squared ,

standard EMG does not always detect all kind of myopathies,

Did you notice any weakness in your face muscles. For example did you notice if your eyelids are droping more than before. (This can be difficult to see, and sometimes it's easier if you can see on a photograph).
Or did you notice if some of your wrinkles are less pronounced than before?

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

In Sarah Myhill's paper on mitochondrial failure here she talks about the build up of lactic acid and the problems it causes:

"However there is another problem. If the body is very short of ATP, it can make a very small amount of ATP directly from glucose by converting it into lactic acid. This is exactly what many CFS sufferers do and indeed we know that CFS sufferers readily switch into anaerobic metabolism. However this results in two serious problems - lactic acid quickly builds up especially in muscles to cause pain, heaviness, aching and soreness ("lactic acid burn"), secondly no glucose is available in order to make D-ribose! So new ATP cannot be easily made when you are really run down. Recovery takes days!"

I expect this is likely one of the causes of this muscle weakness, as the body is literally out of energy to use your legs - which bear the brunt of most of your exercise when walking around!

She also mentions low cardiac output:

"If the blood supply to muscles is impaired, then muscles quickly run out of oxygen when one starts to exercise. With no oxygen in the muscles the cells switch over to anaerobic metabolism, which produces lactic acid and it is this that makes muscles ache so much.

As well as the above problem, muscles in the CFS patient have very poor stamina because the mitochondria which supply them with energy are malfunctioning."

So as soon as you start to use your legs, they run out of fuel. This also explains why MRIs would come back normal. I'm sorry to hear your legs are struggling! D-Ribose supplements can help to treat this, I hope you find something to help you feel better soon