Painful leg muscles

[kia cat]

Hi Sqad and fellow medics. I suffer from a pain in my right leg. It generally starts around my achilles heel, sometimes further up the calf. It started, I think, about August last year with really bad cramp. This would occur during the night, painful enough to wake me up. I was prescibed Quinine, which has stopped the cramps, yet the pain persists.
Since visiting the doc he prescribed "Amitriptyline" saying it was due to painful nerves. Reading the side effects etc has put me off taking them and I'm not a fan of anti-depressants. I have the beginnings of varicose veins which both my Mum and brother have. At work I walk between 7½ and 10 miles a day and nedd to rest my right leg in a raised position after a shift. My feet feel achey all the time, too. Any advice, please?

[Sqad]

$million dollar question:

Is this a muscular problem or is this a Vascular(Blood vessel) problem?

Only a doctor who has examined your legs could decide that and by the treatment, feels that it is muscular............and I must say that I agree.

However, if there is a vascular component here, then it must be investigated and treated.

You could go back to your Dr.and pose that very question.