OT: Leg Cramps

[ems]

For those who get those awful leg cramps during the night, I wondered if anyone has some ideas how to stop them. Thanks.

[Kody]

I had a few incidents of those right after I got on the hose for some reason, same leg every time too. The kind where I would jump out of bed and start hopping it cramped so much.
After that I started eating a banana every morning for the potassium, thought maybe I wasn't getting enough or something. Not really wild about bananas, so I've cut it down to one every few days, but still haven't had any more of the cramps since then. Maybe other people have some better non banana related cures, good luck.

[Lizistired]

Salt substitutes, Like "no salt" are potassium. Don't bother buying potassium supplements because the dosage is so low it isn't worth taking. I also take a magnesium and calcium. Not sure which one works, I just stick with it.

[Marietjie]

For many years I took Caltrate Plus BUT had to stop taking this supplement because Caltrate Plus now comes with Vit D. Vit D gives me a nasty skin reaction so I know not to take anything with Vit D. After I stopped taking Caltrate I developed leg pains during the night. I asked my pharmacist what I can do about the leg pains and she suggested Magnesium. She gave me Mag SR - magnesium chloride - 535mg. My leg pains are gone AND ( a bonus !) I am sleeping ±1½hrs longer! Now, whether that is because I take magnesium I don't know - but I like it. Since on cpap therapy I couldn't manage to sleep longer than 6hrs per night.

[cflame1]

I take magnesium

[nanwilson]

I find if I don't get enough milk I get leg cramps. I can't eat bananas as they make my mouth swell, but I drink orange juice in place of a banana..........look it up has the same or more potassium than bananas.

[xenablue]

The best treatment I've found for leg cramps is a small glass of Tonic water every night some time before bed. Being diabetic, I take the SF version and haven't had a leg cramp since. I know a lot of people for whom this works as a preventative.

Bananas are out for me due to the carbs, but they didn't work for my leg cramps even before D.

Cheers,
xena

[GrantT]

The best treatment I've found for leg cramps is a small glass of Tonic water every night some time before bed. Being diabetic, I take the SF version and haven't had a leg cramp since. I know a lot of people for whom this works as a preventative.

Bananas are out for me due to the carbs, but they didn't work for my leg cramps even before D.

Cheers,
xena

Weird...does your tonic water contain potassium or any other salt other than Sodium. None I see have seen have anything but sodium...which should not do anything for leg cramps unless you have low blood sodium levels.

Grant

[Vader]

For those who get those awful leg cramps during the night, I wondered if anyone has some ideas how to stop them. Thanks.

I take magnesium citrate, which is the most easily absorbed form of magnesium supplements.
I used to have really bad leg cramps, but this product eliminated them.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WV ... 5II6PNQC4O

It works best if you take it in the evening, shortly before bedtime. Read the reviews, It's REALLY great stuff!

[SleepyToo2]

The best treatment I've found for leg cramps is a small glass of Tonic water every night some time before bed. Being diabetic, I take the SF version and haven't had a leg cramp since. I know a lot of people for whom this works as a preventative.

Bananas are out for me due to the carbs, but they didn't work for my leg cramps even before D.

Cheers,
xena

Weird...does your tonic water contain potassium or any other salt other than Sodium. None I see have seen have anything but sodium...which should not do anything for leg cramps unless you have low blood sodium levels.

Grant

Depends on the brand - the tonic water may contain a little quinine. Quinine used to be used off-label for the treatment of night cramps until the FDA demanded that it not be used for the purpose any more. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinine or http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... 82322.html. The dose from a small glass is not going to be therapeutic, but if your cramps are particularly sensitive to the effects, it may work.

By the way, someone else above commented about sources of potassium - I read recently that raisins may contain potassium. Whether sultanas or currants would work as well was not stated. Check out http://britishfood.about.com/od/glossar ... dfruit.htm for a description of the difference!

[retrodave15]

I suffer from the leg cramps, especially after the recent ankle surgery. low potassium can be an issue, along with poor circulation or even a blod clot. I had the full work up at the doc's office which did not show any reason for this to be happening. So with anything else that can't be explained with my legs it gets blamed on my restless leg syndrome.

It just go too much for me to stand so I am trying Lyrics for a trial as some recent studies have shown some pro is here. I have tried most of the other RLS treatments with no success.

B the way I eat a banana and drink a glass of OJ most mornings

[RomeinDNVR]

I have had this same issue and it has to do with my BP and circulation. Doctor gave me compression stockings for sleeping when it gets really bad and they make a world of difference.

[Papit]

Leg cramps occur for me less frequently than my Restless Leg Syndrome and sometimes during the same night. RLS happens about once a week on average, but can go many weeks without an occurrence. I get the cramps randomly in the arches of my feet, calves and thighs. Neither more nor less often since using xPAP. I wonder whether poor muscle tone or overexertion/over use of leg muscles might be a contributing factor.

[xenablue]

The best treatment I've found for leg cramps is a small glass of Tonic water every night some time before bed. Being diabetic, I take the SF version and haven't had a leg cramp since. I know a lot of people for whom this works as a preventative.

Bananas are out for me due to the carbs, but they didn't work for my leg cramps even before D.

Cheers,
xena

It's the quinine that helps with leg cramps. I ingest very little sodium in my diet - around 1000mg per day.

I have an acquaintance who suffered from severe leg cramps at night, and this worked incredibly well for him, so I tried it.

Cheers,
xena

[kempo]

This is going to sound stupid. A lest it sounds stupid to me but I have friends who swear by this. Put a bar of soap between your bead sheet and your mattress under the area of your legs. I have never tried it because I never have leg cramps but if I did I would give it a go. I'll try anything once to see if it will help my problem.