Muscle Atrophy and Me

I used to have amazing legs when I was a teenager and for the first 2 years of being an adult. My legs were strong and I had rock-hard calves.

I remember in high school physical education class, we had to do a section on weight lifting and our high school had really good weight lifting equipment for the sports teams. I loved working my legs because even though I was short and had a little belly, I could handle 180 pounds with no problem.

An active time in my life

After high school, I spent 2 years working a job where I had to wear steel-toed boots and was very active on my feet, including lots of up-and-down on ladders. I was so proud of my legs and what I had managed to accomplish.

I hardly experienced any restless legs syndrome (RLS) issues at this point in time, which was a nice break from my childhood woes with RLS.

Muscle atrophy took my legs from strong to weak

Between 2012 and 2013, I ended up developing a little muscle atrophy in both my left and right legs. I was in so much pain and extreme fatigue that I was sleeping 14 to 16 hours a day. The rest of the time, I was too exhausted and in agony to get off the couch.

My legs had gone from being strong to weak and experiencing atrophy. This was scary because I watched the medical drama Grey's Anatomy, so I knew that atrophy was definitely not a good thing to be experiencing. I was experiencing different leg pains all at once – RLS, fibromyalgia, and now atrophy.

Slowly regaining my strength

I lived in a place with a very steep driveway, and it was hell walking up and down it; my husband and I did not own a car. Then I started using medical marijuana, and after a couple of months, I found I had the energy to start going on walks.

I was also able to handle having to walk everywhere, like to the doctor's or to get groceries. My driveway no longer was hell; it was a great way to strengthen my legs again.

Enjoying nature once again

I think it was about 4 months later that I did my first mini-hike, with lots of breaks to rest. I felt so happy to be able to hike again. Being out in nature was something I missed so terribly.

It has taken quite a while to gain strength back in my legs, although to be honest, I don't know if right now they are back to what they used to be. I have to face a lot more challenges than what I did when I was a teenager – like the other diseases I live with. My joints are a lot worse, especially my knees, so it makes it challenging to do most leg-strengthening exercises.

Always aware of my legs

I feel like my RLS isn't as bad as it was when my legs were so weak and suffering from atrophy. It's been hard to learn to like my legs again when I know that they are the source of a lot of grief for me. I always have to be aware of my legs and think ahead to how what I am doing might impact my RLS.