nighttime leg muscle cramps

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  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
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    There are some non-medical things you can try. The first is to put a bar of soap under your fitted sheet on your bed, at the foot of the bed. It sounds crazy, but I've tried it and it works. I don't know why. Another one I read about in the People's Pharmacy is to keep packets of yellow mustard in your nightstand and eat one of them when the cramps start up. Supposedly it works very quickly and efficiently.

    You may also want to track your potassium here. It's very difficult to hit your required potassium amounts, and low potassium can cause leg cramps.

    Is there even a way to track potassium on MFP?

    I don't think there is.

    If there is, please enlighten us!

    There is.

    Go to your food tab
    Click settings
    Select Potassium as a nutrient to track

    :-O

    It kind of pisses me off that I didn't know that, like, several years ago.

    Thanks for the tip.
  • brentpaul33
    brentpaul33 Posts: 20 Member
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    Wow I was not expecting this many replies.
    Thanks everyone for the comments. I will give these things a try and report back.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Quinine helps as well.
  • brentpaul33
    brentpaul33 Posts: 20 Member
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    I tried drinking more water and doing more stretching.
    I had really bad leg cramps 2 days in a row.
    I did some research on foods with magnesium. So decided to snack on about a cup of peanuts and no cramps at all. It's either a coincidence or I am low on magnesium.
  • parkparksarah
    parkparksarah Posts: 59
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    consult your doctor
  • shadowofender
    shadowofender Posts: 786 Member
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    I used to be woken up from how intense the charlie horse pain I would get was...I upped my potassium levels and it went away.

    I'd ask your doctor, though, if you've tried changing some dietary things already to no avail.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    If it is a charlie horse, when it is happening, push down with your heel and flex your toes up. Your natural inclination will be to do the opposite but that will make it worse.

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