Charlie horse/leg cramps?
Jbarnes1210
Posts: 308 Member
Every now and then I get these bad cramps in my calves. Today is one of those days, it feels like my muscles lock up while I'm walking. I drank some broth today, any other ideas?
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Hydration and potassium. Especially hydration. Pinch the skin on the back of your hand. If it doesn't return to "flat" instantly, you're dehydrated.0
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I drink tons of water....I take a potassium depleting diuretic, I didn't think of that. Do you have any tips for adding potassium while following a low carb diet?0
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Avocado.0
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Leg cramps for me were always magnesium. Once I started taking Magnesium Citrate every night, I stopped having this happen immediately. It can be the other electrolytes, but I instantly associate leg cramps with magnesium.0
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Ditto radiii. almost none since starting Magnesium.0
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And drinking a ton of water actually causes hyponatremia ( low sodium) which also affect potassium and magnesium. I supplement all three and can tell when I forget my bullion cubes!
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About a month or so into my WOE i had major cramps in my lower leg/calves area. Per the suggestions of my wife i started taking a glass of Ecodrink daily and have not had one since (going over 18 months now).. Just as long as i take a glass a day.0
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Make sure you don't forget to keep sodium up as well. Sodium deficiency will leach out potassium. Electrolytes are so important. I keep forgetting about them, then feel like achy, tired crap.0
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Are you taking stating for cholesterol? They caused terrible cramping for me and it took some experimenting to get the right prescription.0
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Thanks for all the tips. Not taking any statins, but my water pill eliminates potassium, so I guess that along with my diet is what's causing the cramps, I googled some high potassium/ low carb foods that I'm gonna try to eat more of, I'll have to look into magnesium too.0
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Since starting the keto diet, I've had the most horrible cramps - so bad they sometimes wake me up at night. I've had medically low potassium in the past, so assumed it was due to me taking my usual potassium supplement sources out of my diet (orange and cranberry juice, coconut water, banana).
I get avocados / guacamole every now and then, and have lite salt on hand (potassium sodium blend). That stuff is naaaasty, though, so I've been trying a cal-mag-pot supplement. I also have chicken broth in the evening warmed up like tea sometimes. I drink lots of water and suspect I'm flushing a lot of electrolytes away, so I've also started salting my food and taking electrolyte products.
I've used Aminolast which is an amino and electrolyte supplement you add to water for pre and during workout recovery. I also sometimes take those fizzy packets at night before bed. They're like Emergen-C, but without the carbs. The brand I've been using is Oxylent and I get it from the health food store (Sprouts).
To be honest, I've tried ALL of this and still have horrible cramps. Like...I have a picture I took where my foot was all twisted sideways and looked like I had a deformity. Scary. I think the answer is that it really depends on the person. SOMETHING is out of balance. I'm starting to suspect that I am having more calcium which I think conflicts with the absorption of magnesium and potassium. Feel like I have to be a chemist to eat like this sometimes...but on the plus side, I've lost weight. >_>
-T.
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Pre-Keto I had really bad jump-out-of-bed leg/calf muscle cramps. So, some fellow keto'er told me about Magnesium Citrate. In September-ish last year, I started out with 400 mg @ day (bedtime) and that lasted 3-4 weeks, and then I had another cramp. I was so disappointed. So I upped it to 2 @ day. Haven't had a cramp since (except when I miss a dose by forgetting) I'll get a weird toe stretching/tightening cramp ~ only when I miss one of my pills.
Pre-magnesium citrate, I dare not "point" my toes (like a ballerina) in the bed before I wake up, that would send me into a leg cramp. Now, that my mag levels are correct, I CAN point my toes. It is so weird doing that, because I haven't pointed my toes since I was in my 20's (I'm 58 now).
My doc checked my blood work a week ago, and my Mag was perfectly in the middle.
Somewhere I read that low mag levels are in 53% of the U.S. population. And that a heart attack is a really bad cramp. (IDK if that's true or not, but it aught to be).
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
Blog #13 DittoDan's Milestone's, First's And Good Changes Since Starting the Ketogenic Diet
LCHF is the XXXX (A funny animated explantion of the Keto WOE)0 -
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Drink lots of water. My son drinks dill pickle juice for leg cramps. His soccer coach told him about it. He says it works.
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I woke up Saturday morning with a leg cramp that would not relax (outside of my right lower leg, was attempting to pull my foot along with it). I got up and took a homeopathic treatment for it (not sure how I feel re: homeopathic but I figure hell if a placebo can help..), then took Magnesium with breakfast. But magnesium alone was not enough, nor was one dose in the morning. The extreme cramping faded but I felt that spot all day.
Sunday (yesterday) I took magnesium in the morning, drank broth mid-day, drank more water overall during the day, and had another magnesium before bed. I fared much better.
The ghost of the cramp is back today, so I had extra salt and NoSalt on my eggs this morning, the magnesium, and will have broth with my lunch (which will also have salt and NoSalt on it). Going to work on upping the water, too (even when I drink all day I have a hard time hitting 100oz).
Man I wish the stores' avocados weren't boulders right now...0 -
I really like the emergen-c electrolyte mix. I take one per day during exercise. I did happen to also eliminate nuts (a huge part of my diet) which I later discovered can block the absorption of some electrolytes. Between these two changes, all of my muscle cramps disappeared.0
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octobubbles wrote: »I woke up Saturday morning with a leg cramp that would not relax (outside of my right lower leg, was attempting to pull my foot along with it). I got up and took a homeopathic treatment for it (not sure how I feel re: homeopathic but I figure hell if a placebo can help..), then took Magnesium with breakfast. But magnesium alone was not enough, nor was one dose in the morning. The extreme cramping faded but I felt that spot all day.
Sunday (yesterday) I took magnesium in the morning, drank broth mid-day, drank more water overall during the day, and had another magnesium before bed. I fared much better.
The ghost of the cramp is back today, so I had extra salt and NoSalt on my eggs this morning, the magnesium, and will have broth with my lunch (which will also have salt and NoSalt on it). Going to work on upping the water, too (even when I drink all day I have a hard time hitting 100oz).
Man I wish the stores' avocados weren't boulders right now...
@octobubbles You can buy the boulder avocados and ripen them naturally in a brown paper bag. Make sure you check them frequently!0 -
Thanks again for the advice. My toes got stuck today while working out.....not fun! I'm going to try a magnesium supplement tomorrow, and follow up with my Dr. to have my labs drawn to see what I'm lacking.....0
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Guess why I'm awake at 1 in the morning? Aaagghh my left calf.....!0
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Pre-Keto I had really bad jump-out-of-bed leg/calf muscle cramps. So, some fellow keto'er told me about Magnesium Citrate. In September-ish last year, I started out with 400 mg @ day (bedtime) and that lasted 3-4 weeks, and then I had another cramp. I was so disappointed. So I upped it to 2 @ day. Haven't had a cramp since (except when I miss a dose by forgetting) I'll get a weird toe stretching/tightening cramp ~ only when I miss one of my pills.
Pre-magnesium citrate, I dare not "point" my toes (like a ballerina) in the bed before I wake up, that would send me into a leg cramp. Now, that my mag levels are correct, I CAN point my toes. It is so weird doing that, because I haven't pointed my toes since I was in my 20's (I'm 58 now).
My doc checked my blood work a week ago, and my Mag was perfectly in the middle.
Somewhere I read that low mag levels are in 53% of the U.S. population. And that a heart attack is a really bad cramp. (IDK if that's true or not, but it aught to be).
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
Blog #13 DittoDan's Milestone's, First's And Good Changes Since Starting the Ketogenic Diet
LCHF is the XXXX (A funny animated explantion of the Keto WOE)
What happens to me, and it's weird, is that I don't cramp during exercise, but after a long run (say 20+ miles) I have to be careful how I flex my foot. If I take off my shoes and socks and need to do some kind of foot maintenance, BAM!, a cramp can strike. But other than that I'm good. I guess it's possible that it's due to the same exact thing. My levels may be closer to normal (since I'm not low carb yet), but exercise may zap the stores and leave me in a state where it can happen. All this to say that this is good information because if true I'm probably more likely to experience this more often as I take up this way of eating. Forewarned is forearmed.
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I have this, too, @DittoDan. Not generally during exercise, during routine movement or in odd stretches. In fact, I try really hard to avoid stretches if I'm feeling any tension at all...0
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Mention this to your doctor next time you get blood work done. There are other magnesium tests they could consider running. I've seen this listed in either Gary Taubes of Phinney/Volek (athletes book).
“A serum test for magnesium is actually worse
than ineffective, because a test result that
is within normal limits lends a false sense
of security about the status of the mineral
in the body. It also explains why doctors
don’t recognize magnesium deficiency; they
assume serum magnesium levels are an accurate
measure of all the magnesium in the body.”
Dr. Carolyn Dean from ’The Magnesium Miracle0 -
Thanks again. I drank so much broth that night that the cramps did resolve, down side was that my ankles swelled up, I think from soooo much sodium....since then no more cramps and back to normal size ankles.0
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Here is a pic of the Mag I take:
400 mg
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
"Keto-flu" and Sufficient Intake of Electrolytes
Are You Having Charlie horse/leg cramps?
Need Potassium?
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Magnesium abd potassium are always the culprits for me, since I was a kid.0
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Yes, I get this often - usually at night (sometimes when I point my toes too Dan!). I am bad at remembering to take my supplements tho... I take Solgar Chelated Magnesium and Solgar Potassium. I don't supplement sodium as I feel like I get enough from diet.
But obviously I'm not getting something right as I still get cramps occasionally and never did when eating SAD-style (or in my case SUKD)0 -
Pickle juice works for me, I used to get a lot of cramps when swimming always worked like a charm.0
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So tell me, how much of what you need to take? I'm trying to up my potassium but can never get up to 3500, my sodium is often higher than 2400 but should it be more with drinking lots of water? and magnesium is not part of MFP so I have no clue here and will take 400 here and there. Too confusing. I have been experiencing cramps in my legs as well but I thought it was due to exercising and maybw straining a muscle.0
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This is so helpful! I woke up with a beast of a cramp in my left calf this morning. I have some magnesium citrate called "Natural Calm." I'll give that a try!0
