Ouchhh... Leg Cramp!!

DietingMommy08

Im not talkin the occasional leg cramp from working out...

Im talkin about the stiff, jump out of bed or off the couch screamin tryin to put your foot down flat kinda cramp...

I have been gettin them ALL my life, at least 3x a month.

My doctor recommended me to take calcium & vitamin D tablets but after about a week of 1 a day it starts to consitpate me and im gettin tired of it. Ugh...

Anybody else have any other recommendations?!

mrsjennifermaffei

I suffer from these in my calves. It seems to always happen more when I'm either about to sleep or getting up from sleeping. I then stretch and it starts cramping. The internet and my husband both say more calcium and potassium so I've been stocking up on OJ and bananas, it seems to be doing well for me so far.

These have gotten so bad for me recently that I've had to cut out my exercise for a couple weeks due to 2 calf strains. It's ridiculous but maybe the oj and bananas will help. Good luck!



Edited: These cramps are crippling, painful, making me cry cramps. I can't move when it happens and sometimes I can barely walk after it happens. It sucks. I also apply tiger balm and ace bandage wrap it when that happens. The next day, if I didnt get a calf strain, it will feel better.

crozierb

Potassium is what I've heard recommended as well, so I agree with the banana remedy. Hope it gets better!!

Cmccracken1

Potassium,, try it definately.

Cmccracken1

also if it happening like mine do when i stretch like yawning or something, try to flex your feet not point your toes..

debswebby

I suffer from cramp really bad. One night I was woken 14 times with the worst pain. I get it in my calves, thighs, toes and even ankles.
No-one knows what causes them and there is no cure. How sucky is that?
The only thing that has worked for me is quinine sulphate tablets that I get from the doctor. I rarely, if ever, get bothered by cramp now.

To relieve cramp in the toes. Relax them completely and place them on a cold surface. The worst thing you can do with cramp is panic from the pain. This will make everything seize up even more.
For calves: Stretch out your leg and point your foot towards your body.

McHeather

I think its potassium you need. I used to get the leg cramps a lot when I was pregnant and started eating bananas which helped. I couldn't go a day without a banana. But bananas are pretty high sugar when you're trying to lose weight so look into different foods high in potassium.

quietlywinning

I have to keep my calves warm enough. The calcium and potassium combo helps a lot, but if my calves get chilled in the night, they cramp up anyway. I sleep in fleece knee-highs and with a hot rice sock on the bed between my calves.

cw106

Recently returned to swimming.
Occurs at increasing intervals 20 mins-1hour.
Will add bananas to pre swim snack.

ninerbuff

check your sodium to potassium balance and ensure you're drinking enough water.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

lorib642

Do your calcium tablets have magnesium? I take magnesium to avoid leg cramps. It helps me. Maybe you could ask your dr about potassium and magnesium.

Onedaywriter

My wife gets cramps like these. She swears by this stuff ( I have no affiliation whatsoever):
Arnica Gel Pain Relief, Leg Cramp... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001VKXM8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

westrich20940

Proper hydration could be key (as others have suggested, potassium/magnesium particularly being important) - but make sure that's what it is before you go ham. You could eat more bananas (that's my go to potassium)....I also have Nuun tablets that I use routinely since I'm a runner and it's hot and I've had some awful feeling runs without being properly hydrated. Drink often throughout the day -- having to pee a lot sucks but it's better than cramping or feeling like *kitten*.

Stretching routinely can help too - and also paying attention to the circulation in your legs.

I get muscle spasms/cramps in my big toe/foot....hard to explain, but when I feel it coming on I IMMEDIATELY have to press my toe against something to stop it from making my foot curl up. That seems to stop it in it's tracks but I'm always terrified how it will feel if I don't catch it in time...

patriciafoley1

I get the same terrible leg cramps, in calves and feet and sometimes the long muscle from inner thigh down the leg. Super super painful. The only thing that helps is standing and walking around on it. They usually happen in the mornings, and can go on for half an hour or more. I don't have a solution. I seem to have them less than before, but they still come. I do a lot of walking, because I have big dogs, so I daily walk 5-7 miles every day. Its not lack of exercise.

Fuzzipeg

I second the magnesium for cramps. I was stricken with a nasty bout a few nights ago. I'd been doing so well so it was more than disappointing to have it come back. So I did the logical thing.......... an internet search. What I came up with, I'd cut my magnesium back so reinstated that one. Then, having low t3 came up as another possibility. Being hypothyroid is my downfall. In the last 8 years I've generally found relief with nutritional guidance and private professional supplements, I foot the bill.

I've known for years, I do better in every way when the ambient temperature is 20 degrees C 24x 7 so when its been hotter I've been able to cut back a little depending on my activity levels. Long story short, our temperature had dropped from the 20's to 11 or similar over night for a couple of weeks. I restored my supplements to my normal levels and back to normal again after a couple of days.

I accept not everyone can have thyroid issues, many do, though for those who do achieving a diagnosis and treatment which gives you the balance you personally need rather than, the usual story, you are within the "normal range" for anyone, when what matters is, what is right for you personally. I live in the UK where it is not considered useful let alone essential to test for t3 etc full counts, all that matters here is tsh. I hope one day NICE who set the supposed gold standard treatment will get the message, t3 is essential for so many bodily functions. For those of you with a long term history of cramping with may be other irritating issues reading up on hypothyroid issues could give you a way to find relief for the cramps and so much more.

springlering62

My doctor recommended magnesium citrate (specifically the citrate version).

It has absolutely done the trick. No more night cramps, heated mat class cramps are 99.5% gone, too.

Her rather graphic “prescription” for this OTC product was”start with two, add one a day til you get diarrhea and then cut back one. That’s how much you need.”

Hydration, too.

wilson10102018

Leg cramps can also be caused by edema. So people who are told to hydrate often exacerbate the problem.

westrich20940

westrich20940 wrote: »

Proper hydration could be key (as others have suggested, potassium/magnesium particularly being important) - but make sure that's what it is before you go ham. You could eat more bananas (that's my go to potassium)....I also have Nuun tablets that I use routinely since I'm a runner and it's hot and I've had some awful feeling runs without being properly hydrated. Drink often throughout the day -- having to pee a lot sucks but it's better than cramping or feeling like *kitten*.

Stretching routinely can help too - and also paying attention to the circulation in your legs.

I get muscle spasms/cramps in my big toe/foot....hard to explain, but when I feel it coming on I IMMEDIATELY have to press my toe against something to stop it from making my foot curl up. That seems to stop it in it's tracks but I'm always terrified how it will feel if I don't catch it in time...

I wrote the S---- word in my post and it says *kitten* instead....LOL

cwolfman13

sodium, potassium, magnesium.

When I first started dieting and exercising, I was trying to keep my sodium really low...that on top of then sweating everything out on a regular basis had me cramping up all of the time. Potassium for me was never really and issue or concern as I consume quite a few high potassium foods.

I continued to occasionally get those Charlie Horses at times in my calves (few times per month) when I'd get out of bed or something and started taking a magnesium supplement at night and haven't really had much problem since. Bonus, it helps with sleep as well.

Kevvboy

Pickle juice. It really works. Drink a big slug when the cramp starts. It's sold in small bottles in bike stores for this purpose.