Question: My, mother aged 83, suffered two strokes within a five month period in 2017, that left her left side very weak, almost paralyzed and bedridden - except that she was able to sit up on her bed and engage in activities like reading from time to time. Treatment and physiotherapy enabled her to reover to the extent that she is able to get up from her bed and walk for short distances - from one room to another - with the help of others and a walking stick. She also regained the use of her left hand to the extent she could wash dishes and so on and was able to spend most of the day without lying in bed.
But ever since she suffered the stroke she has been facing leg pain - from below the knees to the ankle - often sekeletal (she says she can feel the pain in her bones) - mostly only in the evenings and nights.
She had suffered from arthritis for a long time - even before the stroke - and used to experience joint pains -mostly in the knee. Those pains subsided after the stroke - maybe because of limited movement - but this new pain has been constant after the stroke - whether she is active or not.
During the past month or so the leg pain has got worse and occurs even in the daytime. She is also complaining of general weakness and can barely stand up now. She has has been doing exercises daily but stopped doing those because of this problem.
She has been taking NSAIDs (both tablets and cream) for the joint pain regularly before the stroke but not afterwards because the joint pains subsided. Anyway drugs did not seem to be effective for the leg pain ( we tried those) that she has been experiencing. There is a slight swelling in her ankles, which mostly goes away after a massage.
Any advice to help her gain immediate relief from her pain will be appreciated.
The tablets she has for her other health issues (once a day) are Amtas 5 mg; Tonact and Ecosprin 75 mg.

My, mother aged 83, suffered two strokes within a five month period in 2017, that left her left side very weak, almost paralyzed and bedridden - except that she was able to sit up on her bed and engage in activities like reading from time to time. Treatment and physiotherapy enabled her to reover to the extent that she is able to get up from her bed and walk for short distances - from one room to another - with the help of others and a walking stick. She also regained the use of her left hand to the extent she could wash dishes and so on and was able to spend most of the day without lying in bed.
But ever since she suffered the stroke she has been facing leg pain - from below the knees to the ankle - often sekeletal (she says she can feel the pain in her bones) - mostly only in the evenings and nights.
She had suffered from arthritis for a long time - even before the stroke - and used to experience joint pains -mostly in the knee. Those pains subsided after the stroke - maybe because of limited movement - but this new pain has been constant after the stroke - whether she is active or not.
During the past month or so the leg pain has got worse and occurs even in the daytime. She is also complaining of general weakness and can barely stand up now. She has has been doing exercises daily but stopped doing those because of this problem.
She has been taking NSAIDs (both tablets and cream) for the joint pain regularly before the stroke but not afterwards because the joint pains subsided. Anyway drugs did not seem to be effective for the leg pain ( we tried those) that she has been experiencing. There is a slight swelling in her ankles, which mostly goes away after a massage.
Any advice to help her gain immediate relief from her pain will be appreciated.
The tablets she has for her other health issues (once a day) are Amtas 5 mg; Tonact and Ecosprin 75 mg.

Thanks for the answer, Doctor. Sorry, I forgot to mention the important point that the pain occurs only in the left leg - the side on which she was affected by the stroke. She kept having this pain from the time she had the stroke - more than two years ago - and this was brought to the attention of the doctors treating her then. Most of the time she has no swelling in her ankles - and yet she fees the pain. Strangely, it used to occur mostly during the evenings and nights - and rarely during the day. Besides, her arthritis pain before the stroke was in the knee region of the right leg and not her left leg. I was wondering if it was something neurological - since it started only after the stroke - and would appreciate your inputs on this. Should we try some medication that addresses that kind of pain?
The medicines prescribed at that time did not bring much relief as far as the pain was concerned and we have been kind of living with it so far. The problem is that it has become a bit more acute in recent weeks. We have not been actively thinking of taking her to a clinic for a physical examination becuase of the current Covid situation.
One other general symptom I forgot to mention is that after the stroke, she has been suffering from noticeable shortness of breath when she exerts herself - like when she gets up and takes a few steps. Just in case, if you are suggesting any other medication.

Thanks for the answer, Doctor. Sorry, I forgot to mention the important point that the pain occurs only in the left leg - the side on which she was affected by the stroke. She kept having this pain from the time she had the stroke - more than two years ago - and this was brought to the attention of the doctors treating her then. Most of the time she has no swelling in her ankles - and yet she fees the pain. Strangely, it used to occur mostly during the evenings and nights - and rarely during the day. Besides, her arthritis pain before the stroke was in the knee region of the right leg and not her left leg. I was wondering if it was something neurological - since it started only after the stroke - and would appreciate your inputs on this. Should we try some medication that addresses that kind of pain?
The medicines prescribed at that time did not bring much relief as far as the pain was concerned and we have been kind of living with it so far. The problem is that it has become a bit more acute in recent weeks. We have not been actively thinking of taking her to a clinic for a physical examination becuase of the current Covid situation.
One other general symptom I forgot to mention is that after the stroke, she has been suffering from noticeable shortness of breath when she exerts herself - like when she gets up and takes a few steps. Just in case, if you are suggesting any other medication.

Thanks for the reply, Doctor. The swelling gets substantially reduced when she moves her feet for some time - for example some simple exercises done lying in the bed. And there is no increased pain when she does the exercises. Also it gets reduced when she keeps her feet elevated as you said.
The swelling is only a recent occurance - say for a month or so. Two weeks ago she had a tablet Ethoshine 120 for a few days (on medical advice) but that did not help much.
Anyway the main issue is the pain in the left leg (it is not restricted to ankle area - it is there in the shin region too), which has been happening for a long time even when she was moving around and had no swelling at all. We will try Ibuprofen as you suggested, and arrange the blood tests. Meanwhile, is there any other medication that we need to think of for immediate pain relief?

Thanks for the reply, Doctor. The swelling gets substantially reduced when she moves her feet for some time - for example some simple exercises done lying in the bed. And there is no increased pain when she does the exercises. Also it gets reduced when she keeps her feet elevated as you said.
The swelling is only a recent occurance - say for a month or so. Two weeks ago she had a tablet Ethoshine 120 for a few days (on medical advice) but that did not help much.
Anyway the main issue is the pain in the left leg (it is not restricted to ankle area - it is there in the shin region too), which has been happening for a long time even when she was moving around and had no swelling at all. We will try Ibuprofen as you suggested, and arrange the blood tests. Meanwhile, is there any other medication that we need to think of for immediate pain relief?