Spasm despite Magnesium supplement
karebear5891
Posts: 141 Member
I've been taking a magnesium supplement every night, I've been salting my foods heavily, I've been drinking plenty of water, yet the last 3 nights, my calf spasms have been getting increasingly worse.
As I sit here this morning, It hurts to put my heel all the way to the ground. I almost knocked out my poor dog when I got jolted out of bed by a super painful spasm in the middle of the night.
I've been getting muscle spasms, since I was about 14. Is there anything else that might be causing them other than magnesium, b/c in the past, magnesium supplements always worked.
I'm a get up and go person, I hate being grounded for a couple hour after I wake up b/c I can't walk, not to mention on a work day, I don't really have the option.
As I sit here this morning, It hurts to put my heel all the way to the ground. I almost knocked out my poor dog when I got jolted out of bed by a super painful spasm in the middle of the night.
I've been getting muscle spasms, since I was about 14. Is there anything else that might be causing them other than magnesium, b/c in the past, magnesium supplements always worked.
I'm a get up and go person, I hate being grounded for a couple hour after I wake up b/c I can't walk, not to mention on a work day, I don't really have the option.
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Replies
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potassium deficiency can cause spasms/twitches too. In addition to the 800mg of mag. glycinate I take daily, my doctor told me to up my potassium to actually hit the recommended 4700mg/day when I was having so many twitches that it felt like popcorn popping under my skin. It helped a ton and I definitely know it now when I've had a day or two in a row of not quite enough potassium.1
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how much mag is in your supplement? I'm only 8 weeks in, but right now I still DILIGENTLY track my sodium, potassium and magnesium (as in, like, I update diary foods to make sure they include accurate potassium) to make sure I'm getting the minimum of 5000mg of sodium. Just "salting your food" may not get you to 5000 mg of sodium. If you're not using some of the potassium salt, you might not be getting enough potassium. My mag pills are 200 mg. I take 2 or 3 per day (and still get leg cramps now and then if I don't stretch).1
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I have suffered with night leg cramps (calf,toes, ankles) most of my adult life, both on LCHF and off. This is what I found is helping me: 3 magnesium pills/day (200 mg each, mag. glycinate), take one during day and 2 an hour before bedtime; 1 potassium citrate (99mg) per day, and two cups/mugs of bouillion per day, the 2nd one two hours before bedtime. I found the timing to be helpful and so far, no cramps, perhaps minor twitching.
I feel your pain, for sure. Good Luck!3 -
Please read this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10358179/dizzy-weak-tired-headaches-cramping-muscles-electrolyte-imbalance-may-be-your-problem#latest
It should help you!0 -
I suspect the absorption of the magnesium.
What firm do you have? How much do you take?
I take 750-1000mg of magnesium carbonate a day.
And, typically salting food isn't enough to get the sodium we need as low carbers.0 -
My magnesium is 500mg. Maybe I should get some potassium salt and take two of the magnesium. I always have a difficult time figuring out how to get enough potassium. I eat spinach and avocados and mushrooms, and I use Himalayan salt which I know has a small amount. Maybe a salt broth with potassium salt?0
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karebear5891 wrote: »My magnesium is 500mg. Maybe I should get some potassium salt and take two of the magnesium. I always have a difficult time figuring out how to get enough potassium. I eat spinach and avocados and mushrooms, and I use Himalayan salt which I know has a small amount. Maybe a salt broth with potassium salt?
Yes.
You can do homemade gatorade too. I call it Ketoade: 12oz of water, water flavoring (0cal, 0carb like Mio or generic or use stevia and lemon juice if you can't do artificial sweetener), 1/4tsp salt, and 1/8 to 1/4 tsp potassium salt. Mix thoroughly. Chug.0 -
Potassium is one of those things that can be hard to figure, because it's not required on labels. Some have it, some don't. I don't ever worry about it, because of how much coffee I drink. Every 8 ounces is about 116mg, and since I'm already peeing like a racehorse from keto, the coffee being added in didn't affect my frequency or quantity at all.1
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I started cramping up bad during workouts, I'd have to stop and relax my calves, then after workouts I'd get horrible body anxiety, so bad I felt like my insides were shaking. Anyways after some googling I decided to buckle down and get some magnesium, I take the one mixed with zinc, as well as a potassium supplement. It's been 2 days and I already feel loads better! Hope you find some relief!2
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karebear5891 wrote: »My magnesium is 500mg. Maybe I should get some potassium salt and take two of the magnesium. I always have a difficult time figuring out how to get enough potassium. I eat spinach and avocados and mushrooms, and I use Himalayan salt which I know has a small amount. Maybe a salt broth with potassium salt?
If it's magnesium oxide, you're not actually getting very much at all with that dosage. Even magnesium citrate, that would be a low dose.1 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Potassium is one of those things that can be hard to figure, because it's not required on labels. Some have it, some don't. I don't ever worry about it, because of how much coffee I drink. Every 8 ounces is about 116mg, and since I'm already peeing like a racehorse from keto, the coffee being added in didn't affect my frequency or quantity at all.
I didn't even know that coffee had potassium. That interests me, bc I was doing a little caffeine fast over the past couple days and it didn't even occur to me that it could be the change that caused the cramps to start back up. I'll have to add it back in and see if it helps in addition to more magnesium and potassium salt.0 -
karebear5891 wrote: »I've been taking a magnesium supplement every night, I've been salting my foods heavily, I've been drinking plenty of water, yet the last 3 nights, my calf spasms have been getting increasingly worse.
As I sit here this morning, It hurts to put my heel all the way to the ground. I almost knocked out my poor dog when I got jolted out of bed by a super painful spasm in the middle of the night.
I've been getting muscle spasms, since I was about 14. Is there anything else that might be causing them other than magnesium, b/c in the past, magnesium supplements always worked.
I'm a get up and go person, I hate being grounded for a couple hour after I wake up b/c I can't walk, not to mention on a work day, I don't really have the option.
It took me 6-12 months to stop the cramps with Magnesium supplements. At my age I may had deleted a lot of it out of my bones even so they may have sucked it up fact. Cramps now are more related to a recent period of over working the muscles in question.1 -
@karebear5891 - Something else to consider, if this is still an issue, is that you might need to add Apple Cider Vinegar (liquid, with the mother, or pills) and/or digestive enzymes. If you have low stomach acid or decreased digestion in any way, you might not be properly absorbing the nutrients from your food or supplements. You *can* switch to liquid forms of vitamins - or just improve your digestion (with acid/enzymes, and sometimes probiotics and other things, too!)... Not having enough stomach acid and digestive enzymes can actually cause/trigger the majority of the metabolic issues most of us face!!! And yet almost no doctors mention this... Anyway, definitely worth looking into, as well.3
