My leg gave out

[Jemal]

This year I have noticed several times that my left leg suddenly weakened for a few seconds. It was like I was stepping into a hole, losing my muscle power. Today my left leg totally gave up for a second and I crashed to the ground, resulting in me breaking an ankle

Did anyone ever have symptoms like these? I thought symptoms were mostly limited to numbness and tingling, but now I have a limb that quits on me. This is starting to look more like MS... though I don't think I have that. I fit the classic CFS symptoms more, though many are overlapping between these 2 diseases, I understand.

This leg weakening is very temporary, a second or 2 at most.

I have had problems with a vitamin D defiency and will have a new test soon. I never broke a bone before, so I am a bit suspicious.

 

[Dainty]

So sorry to hear that, Jemal.

I've had episodes of complete temporary weakness in both legs, causes me to suddenly collapse but there is not hint of loss of consciousness, it's just a sudden inability for my leg muscles to hold me up. Thankfully it has not yet caused me any serious injuries.

 

[ukxmrv]

Oh Jemal, that's terrible. Broken ankle. Ouch indeed.

I developed a problem a few years ago when suddenly my leg started to give out. Started falling over regularly. The closest that I could get to it was just before one fall I saw the muscle that connects to my knee suddenly restrict and pull back. Around the same time my legs started spasming when I was lying down.

 

[Marg]

The same thing happened to me. My left leg was so weak that I starred to fall and the him joint actually popped out of place for a moment. Now that is frightening. It only happened once, and that was enough.

 

[beesknees]

Yes. I know exactly what your experiencing. I have had the same thing happen to me. I've never fallen but that may because I dont have much issue with muscle weakness.

 

[anne_likes_red]

Jemal - so sorry about your broken ankle ((
I hope you've got supportive people around to help you manage.

At my absolute worst (usually in the evening after a relatively busy day) my left leg gets weak too. I have to be extra careful to favour my right leg if I'm going up or down steps. I'm sure I'm close to an accident sometimes.
...I didn't recognise the sudden leg weakening as a standard ME/CFS symptom but after reading this thread I wonder if it's quite common?
And I wonder if the left side is significant, as it's been mentioned by a few here?

Intriguing.

Heal soon Jemal!

 

[Tulip]

Sorry to hear about your broken ankle.

My legs have been doing this for almost 2 years. Remember M.E./CFS is a neurological disease, so it can do everything that MS does. Paralysis and seizures also occur with M.E./CFS.

 

[helen41]

what an interesting thread. My left leg gives out, with a sensation of suddenly having water rather than blood running through. I've only actually fallen to the ground twice, because I can usually recover with the right leg. I also have persistent burning and charlie horses in my thighs, mainly on the left side. anyone else?

 

[ahimsa]

This year I have noticed several times that my left leg suddenly weakened for a few seconds. It was like I was stepping into a hole, losing my muscle power. Today my left leg totally gave up for a second and I crashed to the ground, resulting in me breaking an ankle

So sorry to hear about your ankle!

I used to have the very the same problem with my left leg. Fortunately, I never fell, I would just stumble a bit. I've been told that I have very hyper reflexes so maybe my reflexes saved me from falling? One neurologist commented on them being extra brisk and added a joke that I should be a soccer player (which sounds like an insensitive thing to say to someone with ME/CFS but he was actually a nice doctor).

Getting back to the leg issue, it is a weird feeling. Your description, like stepping into a hole, is a very good one. I used to describe it as if my left leg had suddenly turned into rubber and buckled under me.

I have not had this problem for a while now. I think it started for me after I recovered a little bit from my worst point. Once I was no longer completely stuck in bed I pushed myself to go back to work (a horrid cycle of medical leave, work, medical leave, work, until I finally got too sick). I've been sick since 1990 so my memory of when my leg problem was happening could be wrong. But your description was so similar to my experience that I had to respond.

It's one of those weird symptoms that was so minor compared to my other problems that I can't remember whether I even mentioned it to any of my doctors (of course, if I had fallen then I would have mentioned it!). My husband saw it happen a few times but I think it happened most often while I was walking to my car in the evening after working all day. I would go for days (weeks?) without it happening and then, boom, out of the blue, my left leg would buckle underneath me. Reading your story makes me feel lucky that I never fell.

I've never had an MS diagnosis by the way. While there is some symptom overlap (lots of folks with ME/CFS have symptoms in common with MS) I don't have most of the classic symptoms of MS.

 

[Wayne]

Today my left leg totally gave up for a second and I crashed to the ground, resulting in me breaking an ankle

Sorry to hear about your broken ankle Jemal. I too experience what you describe, though I get it in both legs. For me, this seems to go in cycles, where I have to be very careful and vigilant when I walk, especially if I'm on some kind of stairs (I hold on tight to the guard rails). Other times I can walk just fine.

I guess our legs haven't gotten the message that ME/CFS is psychosomatic, and insist on acting as if it's some kind of physical thing.

 

[searcher]

This is the first time I think I have seen anyone mention this symptom. I sprained both of my ankles when stepping off a curb around the time my other CFS symptoms started. I was able to laugh it off then, even though I had never met anyone else who sprained both of their ankles (at least not while sober.)
I think it is most likely a neurological symptom of CFS vs. a sign of MS, unless you experience some of the other MS symptoms like numbness or tingling. That said, it sometimes seems hard to differentiate CFS and MS with all of the overlapping symptoms.

 

[ixchelkali]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear about your ankle. That, you didn't need.

I, too, have had it happen that my leg suddenly gives out and doesn't support me. I haven't fallen, knock wood, perhaps because, what with my orthostatic intolerance, I tend to have something handy to grab hold of. I've had something similar happen with my arm. I never gave it a lot of thought because it seems part and parcel with all the other odd neurological symptoms.

 

[Jemal]

Thanks for all the replies. It's comforting to hear more of you have experienced this symptom. If I had to choose, at the moment I still rather have CFS than MS. Though I would not be surprised if both illnesses in the end will turn out to have the same cause...

Once I have recovered I am going to have an interesting conversation with my doctor. Maybe he will take this symptom more seriously...

 

[maryb]

Hope you are soon recovered Jemal, what rotten luck,leg giving way does seem to be a common symptom doesn't it?
The person asking about persistent burning - yes - and yes on my left side (usually thigh)

 

[Jemal]

Hope you are soon recovered Jemal, what rotten luck,leg giving way does seem to be a common symptom doesn't it?
The person asking about persistent burning - yes - and yes on my left side (usually thigh)

Thanks Marby. I hope I will recover in 4 - 6 weeks. It's not that I ave 6 months old twins at home that need a lot of attention My wife now has 3 children to take care of...

 

[Wonko]

I've had it happen several times, sometimes it feels like the leg just isnt there so of course not having a leg to support me when I expected to have one I fall, on other occasions it feels like my foots nailed to the floor, it just wont move, so I fall. I've fallen down stairs, fallen in roads etc. because of this. I've had several broken ankles (or rather both ankles have been broken repeatedly). I always hold onto a rail when using stairs (not an issue now as most of the time I need the assist anyway so it's automatic) and I wear boots to give my ankles some protection when I go over.

It is normally, although not exclusively, the left leg that fails.

 

[Jemal]

Weird, it is mostly (maybe even always) my left leg as well. And you broke your ankles multiple times?? Yikes!

 

[taniaaust1]

I can get my legs (with me its both of them), giving out suddenly at same time (like as if someone suddenly took your legs away) without warning thou it only happens if Im tired and done a bit. Ive fallen right onto the ground due to that last time I had a day out doing more then just doing grocery shopping. I was just standing at the time.. no dizziness.. just my legs gave way.

Umm Ive never thought about it before, but they have missed that symptom on the symptom list.

Come to think about it, its basically the equivelant to what I can get with my hands.. hands suddenly giving way and a cup can suddenly drop from my hands. (I end up smashing a lot of things). I guess others here also would be getting it with their hands too.

Sorry to hear about your broken ankle. Fortunately I havent injured myself with the body giving out yet. (I probably jinx myself saying that)

 

[Wonko]

Weird, it is mostly (maybe even always) my left leg as well. And you broke your ankles multiple times?? Yikes!

not as bad as it seems, thats over 20+ years and I didn't find out they'd been broken repeatedly until several years ago when I ended up in hospital with what turned out to be a bad sprain and they asked me why I'd come in for a sprain when xrays showed I'd had multiple untreated broken ankles. A simple break can be less painful and heal faster than a bad sprain.

 

[Jemal]

not as bad as it seems, thats over 20+ years and I didn't find out they'd been broken repeatedly until several years ago when I ended up in hospital with what turned out to be a bad sprain and they asked me why I'd come in for a sprain when xrays showed I'd had multiple untreated broken ankles. A simple break can be less painful and heal faster than a bad sprain.

I have a simple break, at least the doctor told me, but after I fell I tried walking again and I felt bones move against each other repeatedly and it hurt like hell. You must have a huge pain treshold

Thanks for all the further comments. This is certainly a symptom that is more common then I thought.